Hospital Housekeeping Officer-Chief

This position is located at the Edward Hines Jr VA Hospital, Hines, IL, a 1A level complexity facility and reports to the Assistant Hospital Director.
The Hospital Housekeeping Officer-Chief directs operations of an expanded Environmental Management Service (EMS) for a 147-acre campus and six Community Based Outpatient Clinics spanning multiple counties.

A Relocation/Recruitment Incentive may be authorized for highly qualified candidates.

EMS operations include program areas of environmental sanitation, textile care, grounds maintenance, transportation and motor pool.
The Hospital Housekeeping Officer-Chief is responsible for planning, organization, staffing, controlling, evaluating and directing functions of Environmental Management Service (EMS) operations.

Principal duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Develop and implement organizational structures and operating plans and procedures to achieve program goals.
• Final responsibility and authority for interviewing and selecting applicants for appointment and promotion, evaluating performance, maintaining discipline, orientation, and training in compliance with VA regulations.
• Determine needs for resources and consider a broad spectrum of factors including Joint Commission and OSHA requirements, public relations, economic impact, labor/management relations, and effects on other hospital activities.
• Coordinate program efforts with other internal activities, top management and Central Office.
• Develops procedures, standards, and instructions concerning Environmental Management Service activities.
• Member of various committees throughout the Hospital and associated Outpatient Clinics.
• Delegate to subordinate supervisors.
• Responsible for and coordinating contract development and administration, contracting officer representative responsibilities, budget preparation, determining program equipment and supply needs, manpower requirements, and program changes.
• Purchase Card approving official, responsible for complying with all applicable acquisition regulations.

Environmental Sanitation Program

• Coordinates complete program to include development and maintenance of standards, methods, procedures, required supplies and safety precautions.
• Maintain complete orientation and training plan for EMS staff.
• Initiate and maintain chemical labeling system and hazard communication program.
• Coordinate Environmental Sanitation coverage to designated patient and non-patient care areas.

Textile Care Program

• Serve as Linen Control Officer, responsible for full cycle of linen management.
• Work with Textile Care Supervisor to determine transportation methods for soiled and clean linens, and the launder, repair, and replacement of uniforms and scrub wear.

Grounds Maintenance

• Plan, coordinate, evaluate, and direct operation of the Ground Maintenance program, to include sidewalk repairs, lawn maintenance, snow removal, waste removal, landscaping and gardening.
• Coordinate projects (predictable and unpredictable) with other services.

Transportation and Motor Pool Management

• Manage motor pool, to include semi-tractor trailers, passenger vans, sedans, SUVs, step vans, mobile medical units, trucks, and buses which are used for patient transport, patient care, employee travel, grounds maintenance, departmental moves on and off campus, and transport staff, caregivers, and patients to and from special events in and out of state.
• Significant coordination with other services due to unpredictable nature of the operation.

Work Schedule: : Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 4:00pm, may include some evenings and weekends.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Hospital Housekeeping Officer-Chief/PD10165O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be available for highly qualified candidates.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/22/2026.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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:

Basic Requirements
Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): You must meet one of the following Education or Experience requirements to qualify for this occupation.
Education:
Undergraduate Education: Major field of study - Chemistry or biological sciences, sanitary science or administration, institutional sanitation or administration, hospital administration, hotel administration, public administration, business administration, or other fields related to the position.
-OR-
Graduate Education: Major field of study -Public health or business administration with emphasis in hospital administration. (Copy of transcripts must be provided with your application package)
-OR-
Experience:
Specialized Experience: Possess experience in in two or more of the following areas or other work related to the position to be filled such as: (1) Experience that demonstrated a practical working knowledge of the basic principles of chemistry, biology, and bacteriology as applied to environmental sanitation, infection control, and to the choice and use of antimicrobial agents in the disinfection, sanitization, and sterilization of surfaces and equipment; (2) Experience in laundry and linen management; (3) Experience in interior design management; (4) Experience that demonstrated a knowledge of waste management, including the requirements relating to hazardous, toxic, and infectious wastes and provisions for their final disposal; (5) Experience that demonstrated a knowledge of pest management, including alternative methods of control and the selection and application of chemicals.

In addition to the Basic Requirements above, you must also meet the following Grade Requirements below to qualify for this occupation at the GS-13 grade level:
GS-13 Grade Requirement:
Specialized Experience: Possess at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Hospital Housekeeping Officer-Chief position and that is typically in or related to the work of this position.
Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: Performing or assisting in performing duties associated with planning, directing, managing and monitoring all aspects of an environmental management services in a healthcare setting; exercising administrative, managerial, and budget responsibilities in overseeing areas to include environmental sanitation, pest management, waste management, transportation and motor pool, grounds maintenance, and laundry/linen service; assisting with determining long range, intermediate and short-range environmental management program goals and policies; participate in employee training, counseling, disciplining, and establishment and evaluation of employee performance measures.

Note: Evidence of specialized experience must be supported by detailed documentation of duties performed in positions held. Please include this documentation on the resume.

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/.

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/.

• 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.