Environmental Protection Specialist (GEMS)

This Position is the GEMS Coordinator for John J. Pershing VAMC and is a key official and advisor to the Chief, Environment of Care. The Green Environmental Management Systems (GEMS) Coordinator and is also responsible for managing environmental program(s) and coordinating the efforts of organizations that relate to environmental matters.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/20/2026.

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-9. 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-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: managing environmental programs; planning, organizing, implementing, and providing technical assistance for projects to resolve environmental problems; managing response to environmental emergencies; developing, implementing, and maintaining effective programs for the identification, collection, and disposal of hazardous wastes; measuring the effectiveness of existing environmental programs and recommending modifications to existing programs as needed to meet changing environmental requirements; determining compliance with environmental regulations and policies, permit requirements, contract clauses; and evaluating the effectiveness of hazardous property management systems. NOTE: 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 OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.B. or J.D. in a related field that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work of this position. Transcripts required. 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 the first two years of progressively higher level graduate education (or 36 semester hours) to meet total experience requirements .

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/.

Responsibilities:

Duties include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Administers the Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) program with responsibility for management of GEMS activities and internal reporting activities.
• Advises senior level management officials within the facility on the status of environmental programs and recommends changes in the design of facility work programs to meet new environmental requirements.
• Interacts with Federal, state, and local environmental agencies with respect to facility environmental issues.
• Schedules and leads environmental audits to identify and evaluate program implementation and compliance activities.
• Trains other employees and lower grade environmental staff, providing instruction on a variety of subjects related to specific and specialized environmental topics; adapts various available media to fit special and unique training requirements; and participates in the development of novel or innovative environmental training and promotion activities.
• Evaluates, modifies, and implements pollution prevention alternatives to reduce the generation of waste.
• Conducts or oversees the identification, collection, segregation, packaging, and manifesting of hazardous wastes.
• Participates on the facility's GEMS committee.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: ADHOC
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Environmental Protection Specialist (GEMS)/PD098150
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

Salary : $74,678