Supervisory Healthcare Engineer (Deputy Chief)
: Job Details :

Summary The Supervisory Healthcare Engineer serves as the Deputy Chief Engineer at a highly complex, 178-bed General Medicine and Surgery Medical Center, state-of-the-art Research facility, patient bed tower, 23 outpatient clinics, 2 alternate site campuses (Trinka Davis Veterans Village and Ft. McPherson). The Deputy Chief Engineer serves as an alter ego to the Chief, Engineering Service, and shares the responsibility for all professional engineering matters and management of engineering programs. Responsibilities Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: The Supervisory Healthcare Engineer will serve as the Chief Compliance Officer responsible for developing/maintaining/updating policies and procedures to meet the requirements of organizations and agencies such as the National Fire Protection Association, the Joint Commission, College of American Pathologist (CAP), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA EPD), American Association for the Accreditation of Lab Animals (AAALAC), Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to name a few. The Supervisory Healthcare Engineer is required to act in the absence of the Chief Engineer. The Supervisory Healthcare Engineer will serve as a Supervisor within the Engineering Service. The Supervisory Healthcare Engineer has direct supervisory authority over five employees and line authority over 168 employees. The supervised positions are as follows: Associate Chief Engineer, Plant and Utility Operations ;Associate Chief Engineer, Facility Maintenance Supervisory Program and Management Analyst The Deputy Chief Engineer has full administrative and managerial authority for the medical center's engineering program. By coordinating the engineering activities with all administrative and medical activities, he/she initiates policies, procedures and goals for the Engineering Service. The Deputy Chief Engineer actively participates in formal and informal management meetings in an advisory capacity in all major aspects of the medical center relating to policy matters and long range planning. Formal meetings include committee work such as Environment of Care, Space Committee, and Capital Activations and Planning amongst other meetings. The Deputy Chief Engineer actively participates in the program planning and administration of all activities of the Engineering Service. The Supervisory Healthcare Engineer functions with authority to resolve problems, answer questions, and make decisions necessary for the operation of the service and for the service responsibilities to the entire Medical Center. Due to the requirements of maintaining the environment of care, the Supervisory Healthcare Engineer must be proficient in several engineering disciplines, i.e. electrical, mechanical, civil, etc. The Supervisory Healthcare Engineer, in conjunction with the engineering section supervisors, maintains a complete professional engineering support component within the service to meet the requirements and needs of the medical center and its professional and administrative staff. The Supervisory Healthcare Engineer provides direction and review of professional and technical maintenance programs; professional engineering work in several disciplines such as civil engineering, electrical engineering, biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering; emergency and disaster planning; and support and assistance to management in developing Medical Center policies, procedures and resource allocations. The Supervisory Healthcare Engineer works under the general supervision of the Chief, Engineering Service in overseeing Engineering operations at the Atlanta VA Medical Center, Trinka Davis Veterans Village, Ft. McPherson campus and providing support to the Community Based Outpatient Clinics across the healthcare consortium. This includes the areas of M&O operations, and energy plant operations. The Supervisory Healthcare Engineer coordinates the actions between the Construction Management (CM) Section and the M&O Section in coordination with the Supervisory General Engineer over the CM Section. The Supervisory Healthcare Engineer supports the Chief Engineer on special assignments and other duties as required. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 730am-4pm Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 508-52360F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. 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 Basic Requirements: To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Healthcare Engineer candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f). Education: Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering or Architecture. To be acceptable, the curriculum must be from a school with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Engineering Accreditation Commission (excludes engineering technology) or National Council of Architectural Registration Boards curriculum. Examples of acceptable engineering and architectural degrees include, but are not limited to: Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Architecture and Architectural Engineering. Titles may vary from educational institutions and change over time; OR, Evidence of passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination with a bachelor's degree. Evidence can be in the form of an Engineering in Training certificate issued from any State, the District of Columbia, Guam or Puerto Rico, or test results from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) identifying a passing score; OR, Evidence of current professional registration or licensure as a Professional Engineer or Architect. Evidence of current professional registration or licensure can be from any State, the District of Columbia, Guam or Puerto Rico. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements outlined above, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Supervisory Healthcare Engineer (Deputy), GS-13. (1) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade. (2) Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to meeting the experience requirements for this grade level, the candidate must fully demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of the management of overall healthcare system resources, (i.e., finances, space, equipment, supplies, schedules and staffing). (b) Knowledge of mechanical, electrical, structural, civil and other engineering/architectural principles, practices and their applications as related to healthcare facilities. (c) Skill in using effective communication in managing interpersonal relationships with internal and external customers, stakeholders, executive leadership, labor representatives and managers. (d) Skill in balancing priorities, delegating tasks and meeting multiple competing deadlines. (e) Skill in interpreting broad or general national policies and guidelines and adapting/applying them to specific compliant programs at the local healthcare system. (f) Skill in recognizing and assessing evolving scenarios, utilizing initiative, self-direction and assigned resources to affect resolutions. (g) Ability to analyze complex organizational problems and develop and implement effective solutions that result in efficient operations.(h) Ability to anticipate, develop and implement strategies in meeting the healthcare system's short term and long-term strategic goals in a highly fluid environment. (i) Ability to ensure compliance with healthcare industry standards and regulatory agency and organization (including but not limited to TJC, OSHA, NFPA, etc.), regulations, requirements, guides, policies, procedures, directives and general medical program requirements as they relate to healthcare engineering. (j) Ability to interview candidates for positions, recommend appointments, advancements, or when appropriate, disciplinary actions; evaluate performance and identify continuing education and training needs. Assignment. For all supervisory assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, range of variety and be performed by the incumbent as a major duty at least 25% of the time. The incumbent must supervise staff for at least 25% of the time, administratively and technically at the full performance grade level or below. This Supervisory Healthcare Engineer, GS-13, position is the deputy to the Supervisory Healthcare Engineer, GS 14, who supervises professional engineers and other support staff. They supervise the engineering service to accomplish the operations of the service. The deputy, as an assistant chief, in this position exercises the full range of supervisory responsibility to include but not limited to development of performance standards and performance evaluations, recommendations for appointment, awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary actions and identification of continuing training needs. The deputy provides a safe, reliable and precisely controlled operating environment for direct patient care. They are experts in the design, sustainment and improvement of the medical care environment, including all hospital building features, automated building management and environmental control systems, critical utility systems and medical equipment technology. They work under the authority and direction of the Supervisory Healthcare Engineer, GS-14, and may collaborate directly with executive leadership, medical staff, nursing staff and other clinical personnel regarding the design and operation of the environment for medical care. They manage the healthcare system's capital assets program and construction projects. They educate and advise clinical staff on the safe use of critical building features, utility systems and fire prevention systems as they relate to the environment of care. They educate and advise clinical staff on medical equipment technology including selection, operation, safety and security. Deputies/Assistant Chiefs ensure the healthcare system complies with a multitude of VA established or adopted standards, codes, accreditation and regulatory requirements including, but not limited to, those issued by TJC, OSHA and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In summary, they apply engineering concepts and methodologies to enhance the delivery of healthcare by providing a technologically advanced, safe and reliable healthcare environment. They coordinate the operational planning, organizing, directing, evaluating and management process for service line programs, which may include setting qualitative and quantitative standards. They may develop and provide the Executive Leadership Team and the clinical staff information on the methods, techniques and procedures necessary to integrate engineering, maintenance, biomedical, capital management and other engineering programs into the mission of the medical center. They assist the Supervisory Healthcare Engineer, GS-14, with oversight of the TJC, Environment of Care Programs for Utility Systems Management, Safety, Life Safety and Medical Equipment Management for both their assigned medical center and all CBOCs. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit Physical Requirements: VA Directive and Handbook 5019. Education IMPORTANT: 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 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. 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.