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Summary This position is located in the Environmental Management Service Line at the Togus ME, VA Medical Center. This position is a full-time at 40 hours per week. Responsibilities The Hospital Housekeeping Officer exercises complete management and program responsibility for all hospital housekeeping operations and ancillary functions. He/she plans, organizes, directs, manages, reviews and evaluates an augmented program, which includes responsibility for Uniform Appropriation, Environmental Health and Sanitation, Pest Control, and Bio­hazardous Waste, management programs. Duties include, but are not limited to: Develop personnel management policies and effects all related personnel actions for the Service staff. Ensure the establishment of adequate training program and compliance with Veterans Health Administration and/or local policies. Set objectives, and coordinates program reviews and evaluations, resulting in a clean and aesthetically pleasing hospital environment. Serve on standing committees of the facility, such as the Administrative Executive Board and the Strategic Planning Board in addition to its subordinate entities and is extensively involved as a full member of multiple interdisciplinary committees. Provide input to determine long- and short-range planning, for establishing overall policy, and budgeting for the Center as well as for the Environmental Management Program and assists in formulating the overall hospital mission. Member of the Strategic Planning Committee for the facility, acts as a primary focal point and advocate for management improvement within the facility and its dependent facilities. Primary coordinator and liaison between Administrative Services and Clinical Services for epidemiology and infection control. Serve on the Infection Prevention and Surgical Services Committee. Provide input to such areas as Clostridium difficile control, disinfection, handling, and disposal of biohazardous waste, bloodborne pathogen precautions and disposal of anti-neoplastic materials. Work under the general administrative supervision and is responsible for implementing and managing the Environmental Management Service activities within Center policies. Technical authority within the medical center on assigned core sanitation, textile management and programs. Work is reviewed based upon results obtained in supporting the mission and meeting specific program goals and objectives. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday-Friday 7:00am-3:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not authorized Telework: Not authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Hospital Housekeeping Officer/PD03081A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Notification: This position is in the Competitive Service. This position is not a Bargaining Unit position. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Selectee required to serve one year supervisory/managerial probationary period. 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. Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade. 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. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/29/2025. 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 13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 12. 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: Individual Occupational Requirement Education: Undergraduate Education: Major study -- chemistry or biological sciences, sanitary science or administration, institutional sanitation or administration, hospital administration, hotel administration, public administration, business administration, or other fields related to the position. Graduate Education: Major study -- public health or business administration with emphasis in hospital administration. Specialized Experience: Experience in two or more of the following areas, or other work related to the position to be filled: Experience that demonstrated a practical working knowledge of the basic principles of chemistry, biology, and bacteriology as applied to environmental sanitation, infection control, and to the choice and use of antimicrobial agents in the disinfection, sanitization, and/or sterilization of surfaces and equipment. Experience in laundry and linen management. Experience in interior design management. Experience that demonstrated a knowledge of waste management, including the requirements relating to hazardous, toxic, and infectious wastes and provisions for their final disposition. Experience that demonstrated a knowledge of pest management, including alternative methods of control and the selection and application of chemicals. In addition to meeting the individual occupational requirement above, you must also meet the specialized experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization, which has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Hospital Housekeeping Officer. Examples of specialized experience are: Exercise complete management and program responsibility for a Healthcare housekeeping operations and ancillary functions. Direct and maintain a total sanitary environmental program in efforts to prevent the spread infections and or diseases and improve the status flow of every patient and bed in a Healthcare System to facilitate admission, discharge, and bed cleaning. Set objectives, and coordinates program reviews and evaluations, resulting in a clean and aesthetically pleasing hospital environment. Preferred Experience: Supervising a housekeeping section/department in a hospital environment. Overseeing the interior surface maintenance, general sanitation, cleanliness, and associated housekeeping responsibilities of assigned areas. Determining the personnel needed for duties, delegating workloads, and making adjustments as needed. Knowledge of and ability to perform housekeeping duties. Knowledge of pertinent regulations and policies as they apply to the duties of the position and to the functions of the housekeeping program areas. Providing training to employees on procedures, techniques, and equipment and supply usage. Promoting safety and compliance with policies and procedures concerning health, safety, and infection control. Recognizing, eliminating, and assisting in eliminating hazardous conditions, or establishing and enforcing methods for working safely in such conditions. Performing inspections and monitoring standards of quality and quantity of services to provide guidance and assistance to subordinates as needed. Counseling employees, addressing informal complaints/ grievances, issuing disciplinary actions, and initiating corrective actions as conditions require. Making daily evaluations/observations of employee performance. Completing annual performance appraisals for assigned employees. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Customer Service Influencing/Negotiating 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 is primarily sedentary although some slight physical effort may be required. Work is typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate-controlled office 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 There is no educational substitution at this grade level. 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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.