Summary
The Environmental Management Service (EMS) Instructor is a professional position the duties of which are to administer, supervise, advise on, design, develop, and provide educational and training services in formal education and training programs. The work requires knowledge of learning theory and the principles, methods, practices and techniques of several specialties of the instructional systems field. The position reports to the Chief, EMS of the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center.
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Duties
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The position support supervisory staff by performing instructional certification training and it coordinates all training support for the entire service a 130
authorized position Service. The incumbent works independently developing, managing and maintaining the EMS Training Program at JHQVAMC. He/she is responsible for coordinating through the respective EMS managers, supervisors and work leaders all training programs in support of environmental management systems at JHQVAMC. The incumbent serves as subject matter expert with full responsibilities for certifying staff including work leads, supervisors, managers, and the EMS staff on a variety of subjects including industrial hospital laundry, hospital linen maintenance, hospital environmental sanitation, regulated medical waste, environmental safety, infection Control, Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards, respirator fit testing, infectious diseases, The Joint Commission Standards, Environmental Protection Agency, Guidelines for Regulatory Standards for Pharmacy Compounding Practices, new employee orientation, and other subjects. The incumbent must have practical knowledge of education and training principles and techniques and a practical knowledge of the various subjects required to certify and maintain staff competencies.
The incumbent creates and develops curriculum and course materials including competency standards, course content, handouts, evaluations, and certification standards supporting the EMS training mission requirements. He/she is responsible for initial and recurring/refresher or continuous training for EMS staff ensuring proper and consistent achievement of standards supporting Veterans health. He/she maintains records of course evaluations and certifications on EMS staff to back up managers, supervisors and work leaders. He/she develops findings, authors updates and changes tracking Veterans Health Administration policy and market changes ensuring training standards keep pace with state-of-the-art technology, product efficacy and product availability.
The EMS instructor programs, plans, coordinates, and resources training schedules, plans, courses, locations, and special and guest instructors encompassing the full spectrum of EMS training requirements for environmental management technicians, industrial hospital textile technicians, regulated medical waste technicians, work leads, and supervisors. He/she delivers instruction in a group setting and self-paced using a variety of materials with the key purpose to certify staff and promote high standards of environmental processes.
The incumbent coordinates and collaborates with other VA medical centers, private sector medical centers, hospital environmental sanitation manufactures and vendors to keep pace with evolving standards of practice, processes, protocols, and products. He/she maintains liaison with internal and external training program instructors and training specialists to obtain information and data for projects and activities. The EMS instructor coordinates meetings and the gathering of information for specific analysis and testing for several uses such as validating test processes, scores and materials.
The Ems instructor is responsible for several computer systems, a video teleconferencing system, Vocera devices, and advises on the EMS portion of the Bed Management System. He/she protects the data and information from unauthorized release, loss, alteration, deletion, or other dishonest practice. He/she manages the data and information systems, for integrity, access and proper destruction once the data and information are outdated. The incumbent follows applicable regulations and instructions regarding access to computerized files, release of access codes, protocols and IP
addresses, etc. as set out by the Office of Information and Technology and as agreed upon by signed agreement.
Work Schedule: Monday through Thursday, 6:00 am to 4:30 pm
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Training Instructor/PD604690
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Requirements
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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.
- 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 identification 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, 07/27/2026.
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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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 s described below:
- Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized Experience is defined as experience that demonstrated a practical knowledge of the subject area of the position and of the methods and techniques of instruction. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:
- Teaching or instructing in an adult education program, secondary school, college, military installation, or industrial establishment in the appropriate field(s).
- Supervising or administering a training program.
- Development or review of training/course materials, aids, devices, etc., and evaluation of training results.
- Work in the occupation or subject-matter field of the position to be filled that required training or instructing others on a regular basis. OR,
- Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have:
- 1 year of graduate level education with a major study in education or a subject area related to the position to be filled. An academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1academic year of full-time study. This determination is made based on normal course loads for a full year of study in the graduate program. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours or 27quarter hours. (Transcripts are required). OR,
- Superior Academic Achievement (SAA). S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership.
- Class standing Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.
- Grade-point average (G.P.A.) Applicants must have a grade-point average of: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.
- Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies.
- Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a Bachelor's degree. To compute, first determine your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determine your education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-11. (Transcripts are required).
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
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.
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.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill addi
