Summary This position is located within the VA Hudson Valley Healthcare System at the VA facility in Montrose, NY. Responsibilities THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION Some duties include, but are not limited to: Plans and manages the fire protection, prevention, life safety and emergency medical services programs comprised of healthcare, ambulatory healthcare, behavioral healthcare, long term care, board and care and medical outpatient facilities. Supervises the inspection, testing and maintenance programs of all fire protection equipment, including fire alarm systems, sprinkler systems, fire hydrants, portable and installed fire extinguishing systems. Prepares and executes formal personnel actions (reassignments, promotions, and recruitments); Selects, promotes, counsels and disciplines employees; Receives formal grievances and develops training plans. Directs, oversees, and manages an ongoing intense formal training program consisting of over 100 hours each year. Ensures regulatory compliance at the Local, State and Federal level for Life Safety Requirements, as well as Joint Commission and LongTerm Care Institute elements of performance. Negotiates and maintains mutual aid agreements with the local community fire departments and ambulance corps to provide additional resources to effectively extinguish working fires on the campus and to assist local communities. Manages and performs fire/arson investigations to determine the specific cause of fires by directing or assisting investigators and personally conducts the investigations. Develops, submits and executes an annual budget; determines need, budgets for and recommends acquisition of additional or different fire prevention, firefighting, and specialized rescue equipment, contract services, formal training, etc. Manages both a Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) program for emergency medical calls and nonemergency ambulance transports. DESIGNATED DRUG-TESTING POSITION: 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. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received. Work Schedule: 7:30am - 4:30pm, with one 24 hour shift per week, which is on a flexible day Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Fire Chief/PD38603O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required 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/trial period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/19/2025. 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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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 at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-11, in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Fire Chief. Such duties may include: (1) controlling or extinguishing fires as a member of an organized military, industrial, volunteer, or governmental fire department or brigade; (2) rescue operations; (3) detection, reduction, or elimination of potential fire hazards; (4) operation of fire communications equipment; (5) controlling hazardous materials incidents and/or (6) developing, implementing, or providing training in fire protection and prevention; Additional qualifying experience includes: Experience working in a management capacity, managing fire protection, prevention and emergency medical service programs. AND MAXIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT: This position requires a maximum entry age for an initial appointment; applicants cannot have reached their 37th birthday by the date of appointment. Applicants who have passed the designated entry age limit, but who have previously served as a federal employee in a covered position, may be eligible to re-enter the fire service provided that they: (1) meet all applicable qualifications for the position and (2) will be able to complete a total of 20 years of covered and creditable Federal fire service by the time the firefighter reaches the age of 57. AND DRIVER'S LICENSE: All applicants must possess a current, unrestricted valid state Driver's License. AND CERTIFICATIONS: All applicants must possess the following certifications: National Fire Officer IV; National Fire Instructor I; National Fire Inspector II; National or New York State Hazardous Materials Incident Commander certification; National or New York State Hazardous Materials Technician; National or New York State Confined Space Rescue Technician Certification; National or New York State Certification as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Basic; National Incident Management System (NIMS) - ICS 400 Certification. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Compliance Fire Management Manages Human Resources Manages Resources 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: Applicants will be given a physical examination including a treadmill and agility test. Failure to pass these tests may be justification for disqualification. Periodic medical examinations following appointment may be required to determine fitness for continued performance of the duties of the position.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.
