The Environmental Protection Specialist position is in the Facilities Management Service at the Boston Healthcare System located at the West Roxbury, MA location. This position is full time at 40 hours per week.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/14/2026. 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-9. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7.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: GS-9: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: Assists in planning, organizing and implementing and providing technical assistance for projects to resolve environmental problems, industrial wastewater sampling, potable water sampling, treatment, management, storage and disposal of hazardous and non hazardous solid waste, clean-up of hazardous material spills, air pollution control and assistance with environmental permit management/reporting requirements. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. or LL.M., if related, OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade level. GS-11: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: Provides oversight and technical assistance for a wide range of environmental activities. Assignments include, but are not limited to domestic and industrial wastewater treatment and disposal; safe drinking water; treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste; release of hazardous material/spill response; air pollution control; environmental media permitting; toxic substances, underground storage tanks and general environmental regulatory oversight. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three (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 Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade level. 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. 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-qualificat.... Physical Requirements: The physical layout of the VABHS and Clinics and the immediate span of control over all environmental operations require frequent walking throughout the hospital environment. Incumbent is exposed to wet, slippery floors, moving equipment, high temperatures, drafts and continuous noise. Working Environment: Must possess the education and work experience to understand all phases of the environment and the impact that environmental concerns may pose to VABHS operations and services. Must be familiar with how construction might environmentally impact VABHS.
Duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to the following: Responsible for the Medical Center's Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) program planning and implementation. Administer GEMS program by managing and implementing GEMS activities and internal reporting. Implement Hazardous Waste Management program. Manage multimedia environmental programs such as Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure Plan, Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan, and Clean Air compliance Recommend changes in design of facility work programs to meet new environmental requirements. Serves as technical expert on issues related to environmental statutes. Review facility projects to determine the effect on the environment. Provide information that will minimize adverse impact to human health and the environment and reducing the Medical Center's vulnerability. Manage and/or providing technical advice regarding response to environmental emergencies. Interact with federal, state, and local environmental agencies with respect to facility issues. Schedule and leading environmental audits to identify and evaluate program implementation and compliance activities. Conduct internal gap analyses of Environmental Management Service. Issue reports of gap analyses and tracking status of corrective and preventative actions. Manage computer programs and databases to enhance management of environmental programs. Train other employees and lower graded environmental staff. Provide instruction on a variety of subjects related to specific and specialized environmental topics. Adapt various available media to fit special and unique training requirements. Participate in the development of novel or innovative environmental training and promotion activities. Participate in the facility GEMS committee. Perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Environmental Protection Specialist /PD000400 and PD009920 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Notifications: This position is in the Competitive Service. This position is an AFGE Bargaining Unit position. Current and former Federal employees may submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. No award SF50's will be accepted.