Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/01/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: planning, implementing, and evaluating environmental protection programs; administering a green environmental management program; leading environmental facility inspections to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations; advising management on environmental program status; preparing reports; and training others on specific environmental topics. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week.. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related, with major study courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. This education must have been obtained at an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond progressively higher-level graduate education (beyond the second year), as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Experience must be clearly indicated in your resume. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Compliance Inspection Environmental Engineering Planning and Evaluating Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work may require some physical effort (e.g. walking, standing, carrying light items such as manuals or briefcases, or driving or traveling by motor vehicle). Working Conditions: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, training rooms, and libraries. The work area is adequately lighted, headed, and ventilated. There may be occasional exposure to moderate risks or discomforts in storage areas or hazardous waste sites. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Duties

"Environmental protection specialists play a central role in planning and administering environmental programs.
Environmental protection programs deal with the environmental impacts of human activities on air, land, water, and other media.
Environmental protection programs are designed to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations governing air emissions, hazardous materials, non- hazardous and hazardous waste, oil spills, water quality, and the storage of regulated substances (e.g.
petroleum products, chemicals, and wastes), among other areas, and to alleviate the adverse impacts of human activities on the environment.
Environmental protection specialists support VA's Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) implementation and apply specialized knowledge of one or more programs or functional areas of environmental protection work, but do not require full professional competence in environmental engineering or science.
Major Duties include but are not limited to: Responsible for GEMS planning and implementation.
The employee assumes a lead role in the development of facility environmental policy and procedural documentation.
Completes permits and leads facility self-assessments, inspections, and other environmental investigations.
Works with facility leadership to integrate environmental considerations into planning and operational activities.
Coordinates safety activities with regional representatives and supports the development of integrated planning for all facilities within the region.
Supports the development of facility environmental policies, programs, and procedural documentation.
Responsible for GEMS program management to assure compliance with applicable laws and regulation for air emissions, wastewater discharge, solid and hazardous waste, fuel and oil storage, and spill prevention, among other areas.
Interacts with federal, state, and local environmental agencies with respect to facility environmental issues Leads environmental audits and incident investigations, conducts root cause analysis, develops corrective actions, and tracks incidents to closure.
Trains employees and lower grade environmental staff.
Supports environmental sustainability initiatives.
Participates in the national-level GEMS committees within VA.
Performs other related duties as assigned.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:00 am - 3:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies.
This position may be authorized for telework.
Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Environmental Protection Specialist/PD003360 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Notifications: This position is in the Competitive Service.
This position is an AFGE Bargaining Unit position.
This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C.
4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C.
4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System.
Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.
Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action).
The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).
In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held."