Supervisory Medical Technician

Summary

This position is located within the Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service (P&LMS) of the VA St. Louis Health Care System. This role provides daily oversight, resource coordination, staff coaching, and process improvement leadership that advances safety, quality, and a high-reliability culture. The role extends to supporting specimen collection and receipt from ambulatory care centers and Community-Based Outpatient Clinics, ensuring seamless, patient-centered pre-analytical services.

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Duties

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Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Supervises a team of Medical Technicians/Phlebotomists, aligning team objectives with VA and Medical Center mission, vision, values, and strategic priorities.
• Plans and assigns work to be accomplished by subordinates.
• Sets and adjusts short-term priorities and prepares schedules for completion of work based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of employees.
• Coaches staff in problem-solving, workflow distribution, technical practices, and professional growth.
• Oversees and performs complex specimen processing across inpatient, outpatient, and CBOC settings; identifies and addresses labeling defects, contamination, hemolysis, insufficient volume, or other pre-analytical issues.
• Executes quality control procedures, documents deviations, implements corrective actions, and conducts basic troubleshooting where applicable; enforces safety, infection-control, and biohazard handling protocols.
• Performs and oversees routine venipuncture for inpatient, outpatient, and ambulatory populations, modeling best practices for staff while maintaining safety, accuracy, and patient dignity.
• Selects appropriate venipuncture sites, maintains sterile technique, ensures proper point-of-collection labeling in the patient's presence, confirms hemostasis, and ensures specimens are submitted to the clinical laboratory without delay.

Work Schedule: 2:30pm-11:00pm

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Medical Technician / PD10500A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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 ( 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 or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/10/2026.

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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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.

Individual Occupational Requirements: Specialized Experience For positions at GS-4 and above: (a) Technical medical laboratory support work such as performing laboratory tests and examinations (chemical, microbiologic, hematologic and blood banking) and preparing reports of findings or (b) technical support work in a closely related field, e.g., biological laboratory technician work, that required application of the methods and techniques for the position to be filled. Do you meet the Individual Occupational Requirement for this position?

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-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: sets and adjusts short-term priorities and prepares schedules for completion of work based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of employees; Identifies developmental and training needs of subordinates and plans and delivers training on team-building, technical procedures, safety, and administrative requirements; Performs and oversees routine venipuncture for inpatient, outpatient, and ambulatory populations, modeling best practices for staff while maintaining safety, accuracy, and patient dignity; Oversees and performs complex specimen processing across inpatient, outpatient, and CBOC settings; identifies and addresses labeling defects, contamination, hemolysis, insufficient volume, or other pre-analytical issues. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one (1) full year of graduate education that is directly related to the work of this position? Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Administration and Management
• Communications
• Diagnostic Medical Testing
• Leadership
• Specimen Collection

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.

Preferred Experience: Knowledge of venipuncture, specimen collection, sterile technique, and patient identification standards. Skill in diagnostic specimen processing, accessioning, and resolving pre-analytical issues. Knowledge of CAP, Joint Commission, and VA laboratory regulatory requirements. Ability to apply safety, infection control, and biohazard protocols. Skill in recognizing issues affecting specimen integrity (hemolysis, contamination, insufficient volume).

Quality Ranking Factor: Skill in workload planning, scheduling, and resource allocation. Ability to coach, mentor, and develop staff. Skill in performance management, feedback provision, and documentation. Ability to resolve conflicts and address conduct or performance issues. Skill in decision-making and prioritizing in a clinical environment. Ability to support recruitment, interviewing, selection, and onboarding.

Physical Requirements: Long periods of standing; recurrent bending/stooping; pushing/pulling carts; repetitive fine motor skills and above-average dexterity required.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

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: 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:

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.