Program Specialist

Summary The Program Specialist works directly under the Assistant Hospital Housekeeping Officer of the Environmental Management Services (EMS) in the Northern California Health Care System (NCHCS) and is responsible for providing guidance and/or advice to achieve effective overall objectives, goals, and policies when dealing with unusual situation in the Quality Assurance Programs(s). Duties Works and communicates with clients and customers (e.g., any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit provides, including individuals who work in your agency or in other agencies or organizations outside the Government) to satisfy their expectations. Conducts quality services reports. Develops training for all supervisors and leaders using the Talent Management System (TMS), keeping abreast of new courses, new technology, updated training modules, and other training requirements that are required in person and uploaded into TMS (N95, or current CDC approved, mask for yearly fit testing). Presents information, creates training materials, and training of employees on a repeated basis in their respective positions; the presentation must be at the level in which the respective employees can comprehend the in-formation and be able to distinguish between differences in procedures followed, products used, and reporting of injury/exposure. Seeks to cost- effectively meet or exceed compliance with applicable Federal, state and local environmental, public health, and resource protection laws, regulations, and VA requirements. Familiarizes themselves with how their activities, including purchasing, consumption, and recycling decisions impact VA's goal to implement sound stewardship practices that are protective of the air, water, land, and other natural and cultural resources. Knows of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods to protect and improve the quality of the environment and its resources; and to monitor, control, abate, and prevent pollutants. Uses efficient learning techniques to acquire and apply new knowledge and skills; uses training, feedback, or other opportunities for self-learning and development. Provides formal and on-the-job training and instruction for managers and supervisors within the Environmental Management Service (EMS). Provides acquisition support from the acquisition planning stage to the contract administration, contract implementation, and activation stages. Completes the procurement and administration of contracts for non-personal services, supplies, and equipment for housekeeping or textile services. Establishes and maintains a master file of all inter/intra-service support agreements, memorandums of understanding, and memorandums of agreement involving the department and/or Northern California Health Care System (NCHCS). Evaluates performance against contractual requirements and/or performance standards. Inspects completed services and notifies internal leadership, Contracting Officer, and contractor of violations or deficiencies found during inspections or reported and verified, particularly in the areas of critical technical performance (inpatient care, critical care, and other areas that patients are frequently cared for). Identifies actual or potential slippages in contract schedules and recommends appropriate action to the Contracting Officer such as withholding payment, re-negotiations of certain clauses, new equipment, products, or cleaning techniques. Develops contract surveillance plans in accordance with the Quality Assurance Performance Standards (QAPS) and quality assurance policy requirements. Performs systematic evaluations and verifications for all elements including contract review, inspection system evaluation, evaluation, and validation of all operations for assigned items. Ensures contractor is provided copies of any written deficiencies for same or next day corrections and re-inspection. Responsible for ensuring that the contractor maintains accurate inspection data for the VA auto-mated system (SOARD/MAXIMO) for contracted services. Ensures the contractor adheres to the terms set forth in the contract and meets stringent Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) standards for prevention of infectious diseases. Advises on the administrative and technical aspects of the hospital's Environmental Sanitation Program, leaving the planning, organizing, directing, controlling, and evaluation of the program to the supervisors and/or respective housekeeping contractors. Coordinates the housekeeping program activities with housekeeping supervisors and/or respective contractors. Understands and interprets written material, including technical material, rules, regulations, instructions, reports, charts, graphs, or tables; applies what is learned from written material to specific situations. Work Schedule: Varies Compressed/Flexible: Not available Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD01127O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/07/2026. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Develops and implements quality assurance plans to evaluate the in-house and contractor's conformance to contractual and quality assurance performance standard requirements. Establishes techniques, procedures, and requirements concerning methods to implement surveillance techniques for evaluations of contractor's performance, perform surveillance, investigate customer complaints, and prepare deficiency reports. Knows about hospital regulated medical waste to include the collection transportation, destruction requirements, government regulatory requirements, and disposal procedures. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related (unofficial transcripts required). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience as described above, and graduate education as described above which totals at least one year. [To compute the percentage, divi