Summary The Emergency Management Specialist position is organizationally aligned under the Associate Director at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago IL- a complexity level 1b VHA Facility. The position of an Emergency Management Specialist manages the health care system in sustaining national and regional support to the Comprehensive Emergency Management Program. Responsibilities Major Duties Exercises supervisory personnel management responsibilities. Selects or recommends selection of candidates for vacancies, promotions, details, and reassignments in consideration of skills and qualifications, mission requirements, and EEO and diversity objectives. Explains performance expectations to employees and provides regular feedback on strengths and weaknesses. Appraises the subordinate worker's performance ensuring consistency and equity in rating techniques. Initiates action to correct performance or conduct problems. Identifies employee developmental needs and provides for or arranges for training (formal and/or on-the job) to maintain and improve job performance Periodically reviews position descriptions to ensure accuracy, and the most effective utilization of personnel resources. Explains classification determinations to subordinate employees. Recognizes and takes action to correct situations posing a threat to the health or safety of subordinates. Applies EEO principles and requirements to all personnel management actions and decisions, and ensures all personnel are treated in a manner free of discrimination. Responsible for coordinating the Healthcare System efforts and engaging staff. Develops, implements, sustains, and maintains policies and guidance within the VHA. Participates in the development, coordination and review of directives, white papers, Medical Center Memorandum, service support agreements, and standard operation procedures. Assists the Area Emergency Manager in maintaining and reporting daily bed inventory for NDMS and VA/DoD contingency, as deemed appropriate. Plans, organizes, implements, overseas and provides technical assistance for projects relating to emergency management programs Responsible for managing and maintaining the health care system's automated alert and notification system. Conducts program analysis, evaluations and reviews ensuring plans are current meeting both internal and external requirements. Develops and maintains the VA Contingency Plans covering the provisions of continuous patient care and treatment during emergencies Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00am - 3:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Emergency Management Specialist/PD99789S 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 Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 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 or trial 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, 05/21/2026. 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-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: 1 full year of specialized experience in or related to the emergency management specialist position that provided the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. To be creditable, this specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include: Knowledge of state and national laws, policies, precedents, regulations, and directives to plan, develop, and execute a comprehensive emergency management program to include catastrophic and mass casualty incident response capabilities, decontamination program capabilities, patient handling, and integrated incident command system; expert knowledge of emergency management program principles, concepts, practices, and functional areas; expert knowledge of advanced management and organizational principles and practices; expert knowledge of analytical and evaluative methods; and interpersonal skills to function effectively with management, staff, and community emergency management organizations. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Emergency Management Incident Management Planning and Evaluating Vulnerabilities Assessment 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 sedentary during non-emergency situations. However, participation in the field exercises and operational support missions may require strenuous physical activity to include carrying persons and equipment, walking long distance, climbing, working long hours, long periods of standing, and bending and stooping. May include various housing and living conditions to include non-climate controlled, limited privacy (for example, cots, tents, "hot-bunking", gymnasiums, or similar) Limited shower and laundry facilities. 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. Additional Information 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. 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.
