Environmental Protection Specialist
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Prescott, AZ, United States
Summary
This position serves as the Environmental Protection Specialist for the Northern Arizona Veterans Affairs Healthcare System Facilities Management Service. The purpose of this position is to provide environmental expertise and support in one or more specialized environmental fields. The Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) Program Manager provides professional technical services related to environmental issues and program planning to achieve compliance with proposed regulations.
Qualifications To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 04/03/2026. 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-09. 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: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: managing environmental programs; planning - organizing - implementing - and providing technical assistance for projects to resolve environmental problems; managing response to environmental emergencies; developing - implementing - and maintaining effective programs for the identification - collection - and disposal of hazardous wastes; measuring the effectiveness of existing environmental programs and recommending modifications to existing programs as needed to meet changing environmental requirements; determining compliance with environmental regulations and policies - permit requirements - contract clauses; and evaluating the effectiveness of hazardous property management systems. NOTE: 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. 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 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree - or an LL.B. or J.D. in a related field that demonstrates the knowledge - skills - and abilities to do the work of this position. OR - Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first two years of progressively higher level graduate education (or 36 semester hours) to meet total experience requirements. For more information on these qualification standards - please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/
Duties
Duties of the Environmental Protection Specialist include are not limited to: Responsible for interpreting policy - laws - regulation - Executive Orders - and directives related to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - and management of the GEMS program
Advises stakeholders - federal - and state partner agencies on federal responsibilities and the requirements of NEPA and EPA - the Council on Environmental Quality regulations and implementation to assure compliance with environmental laws and regulations
Completes and manages environmental analysis
environmental regulatory and compliance evaluations
risk assessments
assessments of past environmental practices - implementation of environmental regulations and policy - requiring interpretation of laws - orders - regulations and agency guidance
and technical direction and guidance to other specialist
Manages environmental permits and leads facility self-assessments - inspections - and other environmental investigations
Advises executive leadership on the status of environmental programs and recommends changes in the design of facility programs to meet new environmental requirements
Interacts with federal - state - and local environmental agencies with respect to facility environmental issues
Independently schedules and leads environmental inspections
Maintains 100% accountability of waste manifests
Ensures that regulatory reports to the State agency are accurate and timely
Reviews construction project plans and specifications for pollution control features to ensure compliance with established standards
Advises management of any permit requirements needed to comply with federal - state - or local administrative requirements
Provides guidelines to improve operation and maintenance of environmentally related systems and functions
Reviews laws - codes - and regulations promulgated by environmental control agencies at all levels and assess their impact on operations and real property in terms of changes in both equipment and dollar requirements
Performs periodic onsite inspections of facilities to determine compliance with applicable federal - state - and local environmental - hazardous materials - and waste standards
Evaluates facility contracts to ensure proper services are being rendered in a consistent and timely manner
Performs all other duties as assigned
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 08:00AM to 04:30PM - but tours may vary depending on the needs of the service
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Position Description/PD#: Environmental Protection Specialist/PD142370 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
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Qualifications To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 04/03/2026. 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-09. 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: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: managing environmental programs; planning - organizing - implementing - and providing technical assistance for projects to resolve environmental problems; managing response to environmental emergencies; developing - implementing - and maintaining effective programs for the identification - collection - and disposal of hazardous wastes; measuring the effectiveness of existing environmental programs and recommending modifications to existing programs as needed to meet changing environmental requirements; determining compliance with environmental regulations and policies - permit requirements - contract clauses; and evaluating the effectiveness of hazardous property management systems. NOTE: 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. 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 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree - or an LL.B. or J.D. in a related field that demonstrates the knowledge - skills - and abilities to do the work of this position. OR - Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first two years of progressively higher level graduate education (or 36 semester hours) to meet total experience requirements. For more information on these qualification standards - please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/
Duties
Duties of the Environmental Protection Specialist include are not limited to: Responsible for interpreting policy - laws - regulation - Executive Orders - and directives related to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - and management of the GEMS program
Advises stakeholders - federal - and state partner agencies on federal responsibilities and the requirements of NEPA and EPA - the Council on Environmental Quality regulations and implementation to assure compliance with environmental laws and regulations
Completes and manages environmental analysis
environmental regulatory and compliance evaluations
risk assessments
assessments of past environmental practices - implementation of environmental regulations and policy - requiring interpretation of laws - orders - regulations and agency guidance
and technical direction and guidance to other specialist
Manages environmental permits and leads facility self-assessments - inspections - and other environmental investigations
Advises executive leadership on the status of environmental programs and recommends changes in the design of facility programs to meet new environmental requirements
Interacts with federal - state - and local environmental agencies with respect to facility environmental issues
Independently schedules and leads environmental inspections
Maintains 100% accountability of waste manifests
Ensures that regulatory reports to the State agency are accurate and timely
Reviews construction project plans and specifications for pollution control features to ensure compliance with established standards
Advises management of any permit requirements needed to comply with federal - state - or local administrative requirements
Provides guidelines to improve operation and maintenance of environmentally related systems and functions
Reviews laws - codes - and regulations promulgated by environmental control agencies at all levels and assess their impact on operations and real property in terms of changes in both equipment and dollar requirements
Performs periodic onsite inspections of facilities to determine compliance with applicable federal - state - and local environmental - hazardous materials - and waste standards
Evaluates facility contracts to ensure proper services are being rendered in a consistent and timely manner
Performs all other duties as assigned
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 08:00AM to 04:30PM - but tours may vary depending on the needs of the service
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Position Description/PD#: Environmental Protection Specialist/PD142370 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
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