Healthcare Engineer (Deputy Chief)

This position serves as the Deputy (Assistant Chief) - Engineering Service, acting as the full alter ego of the Chief with responsibility for professional Engineering programs including Maintenance and Repair, Utility Plant Operations, Energy Management and Conservation, Safety, Fire Prevention, Industrial Hygiene, Emergency Preparedness, Green Environmental Management, Vehicle Fleet, Grounds, Capital Planning, and Construction Project Management.

Responsibilities

• Plan, organize, direct, evaluate, and manage Service Line programs, setting qualitative and quantitative standards.
• Oversee The Joint Commission (TJC) Environment of Care Programs for Utility Systems Management, Safety, Life Safety, and Medical Equipment Management for the Medical Center and all Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).
• Strengthen and enhance healthcare facility engineering and operations.
• Collaborate with operations and program managers to ensure integrated goals and priorities for Engineering Service are met.
• Facilitate stakeholder understanding of clinic program desires and engineering, technical, facility, and infrastructure requirements and capabilities.
• Play an integral role in accomplishing overall VISN and Medical Center goals, missions, and priorities to positively impact other programs and resources.
• Provide professional and technical guidance and direction for assigned programs, including professional engineering work in disciplines such as civil, electrical, mechanical, structural, environmental engineering, and fire safety and safety engineering.
• Develop Medical Center policies, procedures, and resource allocations for assigned programs.
• Oversee human resources management matters, including development and implementation of succession and workforce plans, performance, training and development, hiring, and firing.
• Support the Strategic Capital Investment Planning (SCIP) process.
• Create and support programs ensuring the healthcare system manages and maintains fire safety equipment, systems, and life safety building features.
• Identify risks associated with highly sophisticated utility systems and the general physical environment.
• Provide budgeting and financial management for Engineering Service.
• Research and analyze problems, issues, or program requirements related to all areas of the facility and all facets of Engineering Service.
• Develop technical data regarding materials, sizes, dimensions, quantities, and costs to be incorporated in formal specifications.

Requirements

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency: Healthcare Engineer candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).
• Education:
  • Possess a Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering or Architecture 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 (NCARB). Examples include Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Architecture, and Architectural Engineering. (Transcripts required)
  • OR evidence of passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination with a bachelor's degree, such as an Engineering in Training certificate or test results from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). (Examination documentation & transcripts required)
  • OR evidence of current professional registration or licensure as a Professional Engineer or Architect from any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. (PE or license documentation required)
• GS-13 Grade Requirements:

  One full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-12) in the Federal government. Specialized experience includes:

  • Knowledge of current and evolving concepts and principles of general engineering to resolve novel or obscure problems, extend and modify techniques, develop new approaches, and guide other engineers.
  • Skill in construction, capital planning, and multiple healthcare system portfolio management, including budget development and tracking.
  • Ability to collaborate with diverse viewpoints, interpret broad guidelines, and exercise judgment in developing new policies.
  • Ability to coordinate with regional facilities, national staff, and external organizations for policy implementation and capital asset prioritization.
  • Ability to adapt trends in healthcare delivery systems impacting long-term capital assets.
  • Consult and collaborate with all organizational levels regarding strategic and financial activities of a regional healthcare organization.
  • Implement and sustain a capital asset and construction program meeting healthcare facility-related standards, codes, policies, and regulations.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):
  • Knowledge of data analysis techniques for managing workload, quality, performance, and productivity.
  • Knowledge of managing overall department resources (finances, space, equipment, supplies, schedules, and staffing).
  • Knowledge of supervisory duties, including performance evaluations, staff selection, training, awards, advancements, and disciplinary actions.
  • Skill in effective communication for managing interpersonal relationships and leading teams.
  • Ability to balance multiple responsibilities, set priorities, delegate tasks, meet deadlines, and analyze organizational problems.
  • Ability to draft and recommend local policies related to healthcare engineering management.
  • Ability to recognize and assess evolving scenarios and utilize initiative and resources to resolve issues.
• Creditable Experience: Experience must have been accomplished after satisfying the basic education requirement and must involve the use of KSAs directly applicable to the assignment within the scope of healthcare engineering.
• Grandfathering Provision: May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard (applicable to current VHA employees in this occupation).

Physical Requirements

• The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts requiring normal safety precautions typical of offices, training rooms, and libraries.
• The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated.
• Occasional outdoor work in all types of weather.
• Exposure to moderate risks or discomforts in storage areas or hazardous waste sites.
• Primarily sedentary work, but may require walking, standing, climbing ladders, stooping, kneeling, carrying light items, or driving/traveling by motor vehicle.

Schedule

Full time, Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM.