Healthcare Engineer

Description:

This position serves as the Deputy Capital Asset Manager (DCAM), Capital Asset Management Office as the full alter ego of the Capital Asset Manager (CAM) which supports and directly affects the multi-billion dollar operation and investments of the administration's healthcare and non-healthcare facilities. Decisions and actions made by them influence and guide industry policies and practices.

Requirements:

Basic Requirements :

• United States Citizenship : Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education.

1. 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 ( ABET ), 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
2. 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
3. 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.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation.

• Grandfathering Provision.

All individuals employed in VHA in this occupational series or are considered to have met all the qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education that is part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements of this standard, but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to the position, the following provisions apply:

(1) Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
(2) Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels.
(3) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
(4) Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
(5) Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.

• Foreign Education. (See note under Education)
• English Language Proficiency . Healthcare Engineer candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations : Healthcare Engineer, GS-14. Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to meeting the experience requirements for this grade level, the candidate must fully demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of current and evolving concepts and principles of general engineering to resolve novel or obscure problems; extend and modify techniques; develop new approaches that guide other engineers who solve a variety of technical problems; and/or apply new, innovative or experimental advanced engineering theories, developments or practices to problems or studies not susceptible to treatment by acceptable methods.
• Skill in construction, capital planning and multiple healthcare system portfolio management, inclusive of budget development and tracking.
• Skill in collaborating with persons having diverse viewpoints, goals or objectives to achieve a common understanding of the problem and a satisfactory solution of sometimes controversial and far-reaching matters through active participation in conferences, meetings or presentations.
• Ability to interpret broad guidelines and exercise considerable judgment and ingenuity in interpreting and adapting existing guides; in developing new and improved hypotheses, concepts or approaches not previously tested or reported; and/or in developing new policies that advance the organization.
• Ability to coordinate and interact with regional facilities, national and Department-level staff for the implementation and coordination of policies and program plans to apply prioritization methodologies that align facilities' capital asset requests and develop infrastructure options that result in the efficacious use of a regional healthcare organization capital strategic plan.
• Ability to adapt and apply trends in healthcare delivery systems that impact long-term capital assets (such as aging equipment and physical plants) for regionally integrated healthcare systems.
• Ability to consult and collaborate with all organizational levels in a national healthcare organization, outside organizations and businesses regarding both strategic and financial activities of a regional healthcare organization.

Assignment. For all assignments above the journey level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. This position serves as the national or VISN engineer for all activities related to engineering operations, compliance and/or construction and leases (major, minor, clinical specific initiative-inclusive of high-tech, high-cost medical equipment installations and nonrecurring maintenance) and capital planning to include budget approval, funding allocation and activation. Healthcare Engineers oversee project design programs for all VAMCs and CBOCs by reviewing, evaluating and coordinating planning data such as projected space requirements and strategic, operational, program and design requirements. They coordinate national or VISN capital investment submissions and provide guidance on investment categories, strategies, financial planning and budgeting. Healthcare Engineers provide technical expertise on capital asset proposals and develop guidelines and data tools in completing the application, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, Earned Value Analysis, Alternatives Analysis and Risk Analysis.

Preferred Experience:

• Preferred at least 2-5 years in a supervisory engineering operations position such as Chief Engineer, Assistant Chief Engineer, M&O supervisory engineer position at a VHA healthcare facility
• 2-5 years in a project engineer position
• Preferred at least 2-5 years' experience in managing VA healthcare design and construction projects
• Preferred experience communicating and providing feedback to executive leadership regarding space and project management requirements.

Reference: VA Handbook 5005/150, Part II, Appendix G72, March 18, 2022. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ .The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14.

Physical Requirements: Light lifting, under 15 pounds; Light carrying, under 15 pounds; Both hands required; Repeated bending (1/2 hour); Climbing, legs only (1/2 hour); Hearing (aid permitted)