Supervisory Medical Supply Technician- Sterile Processing - Assistant Chief

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Wilmington (DE); On-site; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking an Assistant Chief, Sterile Processing to oversee decontamination, sterilization, and disposition of critical reusable medical equipment.

The position includes developing internal review systems to ensure compliance with regulatory and accrediting bodies. This role requires demonstrated supervisory experience, the ability to plan staffing, manage budgets, and implement policy changes to support department goals.

Qualifications

• Six months of experience that demonstrates ability to perform the work or understand the work.
• Education: one year above high school with at least 6 semester hours in health care related courses.
• Experience/education combination is acceptable as a qualification for entry level.

Responsibilities

• Plan and project staffing needs.
• Supervise MSTs and manage attendance, leave, and schedules.
• Inform higher level management of vacancies or workload increases.
• Develop and revise policies aligned with organizational goals.
• Perform full supervisory duties including planning, evaluating work, and training needs.
• Evaluate new products and equipment and make recommendations.
• Forecast resource and equipment needs and administer the budget.

Skills

Staffing planning

People management

Policy development

Supervisory duties

Product/equipment evaluation

Fiscal management

Budget forecasting

Education

Healthcare related courses

Job description

The Assistant Chief, Sterile Processing, contributes to the oversight of all supervision, administrative management, and direction of the Sterile Processing Service. The incumbent in this position oversees all decontamination, sterilization, and disposition of facility critical and semi-critical reusable medical equipment. The Assistant Chief develops and maintains a system of internal reviews that ensure service programs operate in compliance with regulatory and accrediting organizations.

To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following:

• Citizenship - You must be a citizen of the United States
• English Language Proficiency - English Language Proficiency - You must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j, this part.

Basic Experience and/or Education

• Experience - Six months of experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work; OR
  • Education - One year above high school that included at least 6 semester hours in health care related courses such as sterile processing, nursing assistant, hospital corpsman, and operating room and surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position;OR
  • Experience/Education Combination - Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.

Specialized Experience Requirement:

• In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-09 you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-8). Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Serving as a first-level supervisor responsible for the oversight of a group of MSTs, with administrative responsibility for planning and directing the work; oversees attendance and leave, including approval of sick and annual leave and vacation schedules; informs higher level management of anticipated vacancies or increases in workload; recommends promotions, reassignments, recognition of superior performance, retention or release of probationary employees or other changes of assigned personnel; holding corrective interviews with employees, referring disciplinary problems to higher levels of management; resolving informal complaints of employees and dealing with union representatives on personnel matters; provides technical supervision necessary for accomplishing the work of the organizational unit.

Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs):

• Ability to plan and project staffing needs and requirements.
• Ability to manage, interact and deal with individuals of varying backgrounds.
• Ability to manage, direct and adapt work to accomplish program goals and objectives, and meet new and changing program requirements.
• Ability to develop and recommend new or revised policies that are consistent with organizational goals and objectives.
• Ability to perform a full range of supervisory duties, including assigning, planning and evaluating work, recommending awards, approving leave, identifying training needs, and resolving staff issues.
• Ability to evaluate new products and equipment, develop options, and make recommendations.
• Ability to manage, interpret, and present fiscal data (i.e. fund controls, contracts and equipment expenditures), forecast resource and equipment needs and administer an allocated budget.

Preferred Experience:

3 Years serving as a first-level supervisor or Lead MST responsible for the oversight of a group of MSTs, with administrative responsibility for planning and directing the work; assigning tasks as necessary to provide new employees with the experience and training required to perform decontamination of scopes and instrumentation in the work area.

Reference:

For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements:

You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.