Summary The incumbent serves as the Quality Assurance Specialist for Environmental Management Services with the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center located in Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is classified as a 1A VA facility for complexity and is currently the second fastest growing VAMC in the U.S. for percent unique patients increase, with a growth rate of 8.52%, and provides the full range of complex inpatient and outpatient care, including medical and surgical intensive care. Responsibilities The employee is responsible for developing, implementing, and maintaining a formal, comprehensive Quality Assurance Program encompassing all functions and programs for which Environmental Management Service has responsibility. The program must meet all regulatory requirements, including JCAHO, SERP, OSHA, EPA, and quality standards developed by VA Environmental Management. Although environmental sanitation absorbs the majority of the service's resources, and which requires considerable quality assurance effort, the incumbent must also assess the quality of work performed by the Interior Design Section, Linen Operations, Pest Management, and by the administrative support staff. The employee is responsible for ensuring that all current and new staff maintain training requirements and remain up-to-date. The employee is responsible for training of all VAMC environmental staff who are responsible for the Charleston VA Medical Center, an adjacent free-standing Mental Health Research building, and a VA Fisher House. In addition, the incumbent provides VA cleaning criteria to contractors responsible for several lease sites of care, including the James Island Administrative Annex, the Montague Administrative Annex, and Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Charleston (Trident campus), Myrtle Beach, Savannah, and Hinesville. Future lease activations include a 75,000 sq.ft. Primary Care/Dental Annex, a 10,000sq. ft. Tele-Mental Health Annex, a 84,000 sq. ft. lease in Myrtle Beach, and a 4,000 sq. ft. Community Resource and Referral Center. The total square footage is 499,725 sq. ft. for the Charleston VAMC Campus, 13,206 sq. ft. for a VA-owned CBOC in Myrtle Beach, and 15,300 sq. ft. for the Fisher House. The incumbent is responsible for quality assurance and staff training with the Charleston VA Environmental Management Services, including advice, assistance, and support to top management in developing and implementing procedures, policies, and programs. Policies and programs must meet the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), American Hospital Association (AHA), Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals Organization, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and any other applicable accrediting bodies. As an instructor, this person will occasionally rotate their tour of duty to accommodate meeting the needs of the Service. The employee will be required to have first-hand knowledge pertaining to the Environment of Care issues and interior design knowledge. The presentation must be at a level at which all employees can comprehend. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00 am - 3:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: May be Authorized Telework: 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#: Quality Assurance Specialist/PD079860 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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 To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. 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) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/10/2026. 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-09. 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. Individual Occupational Requirements Education Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- quality assurance, statistics, mathematics, production management, industrial management, computer science, engineering, engineering technology, physical sciences, textiles, or other fields related to the position. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education s described below: Specialized Experience: 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: . OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. 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 . 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 Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related 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 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. The Ralph H. Johnson VA & its CBOC's are committed to hiring a diverse workforce from various backgrounds and individuals who demonstrate a diversity, equity and inclusion-related mindset and behaviors. We are strongly seeking candidates who represent the full range of cultural and identity factors including but not limited to race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation/identity, gender identity and expression, age, language, abilities/disabilities, socioeconomic status, religion, spiritual practices, geographic region, and other characteristics. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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 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/.
