Location: Pittsburgh,PA, USA
Summary 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. Responsibilities The environmental protection specialist is responsible for GEMS ( Green Environmental Management System) program planning and implementation to assure compliance with environmental laws and regulation. The environmental protection specialist completes permits and leads facility self-assessments, inspections, and other environmental investigations. (1) The employee administers the GEMS program and is responsible for management of GEMS activities and internal reporting activities. (2) The employee 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. (3) The employee interacts with federal, state, and local environmental agencies with respect to facility environmental issues. (4) The employee independently schedules and leads environmental audits to identify and evaluate program implementation and compliance activities. (5) The employee trains other employees and lower grade environmental staff, providing instruction on a variety of subjects related to specific and specialized environmental topics. He/she 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. (6) The employee participates in the facility GEMS committee. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm 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/PD013680 and PD013690 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): not authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. 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, 11/14/2024. 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-9. For the GS-09 you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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 GS-09: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: schedule audits to identify and evaluate program implementation and compliance, train employees on subjects related to environmental topics, research environmental regulations and determine relationship between the guidelines and State and Federal needs and requirements are necessary in recommending changes to procedures to improve data, enhance services, correct deficiencies, plan, organize, implement and provide technical assistance for projects to resolve environmental problems. OR Posses a master's or equivalent graduate degree OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.B. or J.D., if related OR An equivalent combination of education and specialized experience as described in the announcement. NOTE: If you select this option, a copy of your transcripts is required and must clearly show date and degree conferred to receive credit. Specialized Experience GS-11: 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: Assist with facility GEMS program to ensure compliance with environmental laws and regulations, complete permits and aids with facility self assessments, inspections and other environmental investigations, researches issues related to environmental statutes including Resource Conservation and Recover Act, Clean Water Act, Superfund, National Environmental Policy Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, etc., collaborates with Senior Leadership on the status of environmental problems and recommends changes in the design of facility work programs to meet requirements, interacts with federal, state and local environmental agencies with respect to facility issues, adapts various media to fit special and unique training requirements and participate in the development of novel or innovative environmental training and activities, assists with environmental impacts of human activities on air, land, water and other media. OR Possess a Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree or three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. NOTE: If you select this option, a copy of your transcripts is required and must clearly show date and degree conferred to receive credit. OR An equivalent combination of education and specialized experience as described in the announcement. NOTE: If you select this option, a copy of your transcripts is required and must clearly show date and degree conferred to receive credit. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Information Management Planning and Evaluating Technical Competence 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 includes frequent audits of waste storage areas and involves a good deal of walking, standing, bending, and climbing. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at 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: 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: Additional Information 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. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.