Summary Position serves as the Environmental Protection Specialist for the Northern Arizona Veterans Affairs Healthcare System Occupational Safety and Health Service Line. The purpose of this position is to provide environmental expertise and support in on or more specialized environmental fields. The Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) Program Manager provides professional technical services related to environmental issues and program planning to achieve compliance with proposed regulations. Responsibilities ***Compressed or alternate work scheduled and/or Telework: Ad-Hoc can be offered to highly qualified applicants*** ***Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized to highly qualified applicants*** Major duties include, but are not limited to: Environmental Protection Specialist is responsible for interpreting policy, laws, regulation, Executive Orders, and directives related to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and management of the GEMS Program. Advises stakeholders, federal, and state partner agencies on federal responsibilities and the requirements of NEPA and EPA, the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR 1500-1508), and implementation to assure compliance with environmental laws and regulations. Reviews, analyses, and recommends modifications to existing environmental programs and practices. Determines whether such practices comply with applicable standards and determines requirements needed to meet continuously changing regulations. Completes and manages environmental analysis; environmental regulatory and compliance evaluations; risk assessments; assessments of past environmental practices; implementation of environmental regulations and policy, requiring interpretation of laws, orders, regulations, and agency guidance; and technical direction and guidance to other specialists. Advises executive leadership on the status of environmental programs and recommends changes in the design of facility programs to meet new environmental requirements. Interacts with federal, state, and local environmental agencies with respect to facility environmental issues. Independently schedules and leads environmental inspections. Provides technical direction to facility staff and contract support staff on environmental issues and program planning to achieve compliance with proposed regulations. Environmental protection programs are designed to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations governing air emissions, hazardous materials and hazardous waste, oil spills, water quality, and the storage of regulated substances (e.g., petroleum products, chemicals, and wastes) and to alleviate the adverse impacts of human activities on the environment. Maintains 100% accountability of waste manifests. Analyze and propose recommendations concerning capital improvement of expenditures affecting specific programs and service areas. Ensures that regulatory reports to the State agency are accurate and timely. Reviews construction project plans and specifications for pollution control features to ensure compliance with established standards. Advises management of any permit requirements needed to comply with federal, state, or local administrative requirements. Actively participates in construction projects as the technical expert on environmental issues. Provides guidelines to improve operation and maintenance of environmentally related systems and functions. Assists design engineers in the preparation of operation and maintenance manuals. Systematically inspects on-site operations, maintenance procedures, and record-keeping practices to ensure compliance with established policies. Exercises judgement and broad perspective in applying a thorough knowledge of the principles, concepts, and practices relating to environmental protection programs as they concern problems of organizing, planning, funding, and controlling environmental activities. Participates in coordinating activities with municipal, state, regionals, and federal environmental regulatory agencies. Reviews laws, codes, and regulations promulgated by environmental control agencies at all levels and assess their impact on operations and real property in terms of changes in both equipment and dollar requirements. Performs periodic on-site inspections of facilities to determine compliance with applicable federal, state, and local environmental, hazardous materials, and waste standards. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm 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/PD142370 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized for highly qualified candidates Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this jo Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/12/2024. 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 GS9. 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: Manages environmental programs; plans, organizes, implements, and provides technical assistance for projects to resolve environmental problems; manages response to environmental emergencies; develops, implements, and maintains effective programs for the identification, collection, and disposal of hazardous wastes; measures the effectiveness of existing environmental programs and recommends modifications to existing programs as needed to meet changing environmental requirements; determines compliance with environmental regulations and policies, permit requirements, contract clauses; and evaluates the effectiveness of hazardous property management systems. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed 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.M. 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 a master's or equivalent graduate education. Preferred: One year experienced as Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) Program Manager/Coordinator. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Compliance Decision Making Environmental Engineering Hazardous Materials 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: Some physical effort may be required with audits of waste storage areas (e.g., walking, standing, bending, hand dexterity, climbing, carrying of items, and driving of government motor vehicles). 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/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.