Supervisory Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing)

Summary The Supervisory Medical Supply Technician is responsible for direct supervision of day-to-day operations in Sterile Processing Service, regardless of tour of duty. Communicates daily with customers in order to ensure open communication that results in uninterrupted and consistently accurate flow of necessary reusable medical equipment. Resolves informal complaints and grievances. Develops work improvement plans, recommending personnel actions as necessary. Responsibilities The Supervisory Medical Supply Technician provides advice and counsel to workers related to technical work and administrative matters. Makes operational decisions based upon findings, observations or challenges presented by subordinate technicians and direct observation. Directly oversees the work of employees under his/her supervision, orients new employees to their duties, validates competencies of employees, identifies equipment requirements, and recommends methods to improve the quality and productivity of the service. Ensures SOPs and SPS mandates are followed during the performance of workflow. Reviews work in progress or spot checks work not requiring review to ensure completed work meets supervisors' instructions on such things as work sequence, procedures, methods, and deadlines. The incumbent will perform the following duties: Provides information to management officials concerning performance issues, assignment changes and task completion. Instructs employees on work-related activities, policies, procedures, and goals. Leads sound quality and infection control programs, assuring that required cultures and tests are preformed on all sterilized and High-Level Disinfected (HLD) items, and that proper packaging, handling, storage and recall procedures are maintained for all sterile items. Recommends work schedules and sequence of operations to provide an even flow and distribution of work, revising work schedules as needed to meet changes in unpredictable workload, changing priorities to meet schedules and customer needs, prepares workload and production reports, identifying the effects of meeting work schedules, plans and leads the work of all employees in the Preparation Unit, Decontamination Unit and Endoscope Reprocessing Area. Advises and recommends to SPS Chief/ Assistant Chief, actions relating to staff; e.g. promotions, reassignments, retention or release of probationary employees, stop increases, awards, workload affecting the staff assignments; resolves informal complaints of employees contacting gather level supervisor and labor management when appropriate. Assists with internal audits using systematic reviews and quality assurance protocols in the Preparation, Decontamination and Endoscope Reprocessing Area of SPS for strict compliance with all established policies and regulations as well as compliance with Joint Commission, OSHA, & VHA requirements. Data input on shared electronic database, the incumbent must constantly update count sheets, manually and electronically to provide the current needs of the end users. Plans work schedules and sequences of operations on a weekly projected, or longer, basis to assure an even flow and distribution of work, the expeditious handling of priority cases, and meeting schedules and deadlines. Makes recommendations concerning the maintenance or replacement of equipment and maintenance and safety of facilities. Prepares workload and production reports as necessary and reports on highlights of operations and problems in meeting work schedules to higher level supervisors. Make recommendation concerning employee performance, e.g. Formal appraisals and performance standards. Provides first line counseling and assistance for minor personnel problems, e.g. disciplinary actions consistent. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday; 7:30am - 5:00pm Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. 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). Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-7). Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. (a) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1. Ability to manage, interact and deal with individuals of varying backgrounds. 2. Ability to direct staff and manage tasks to be completed. 3. Ability to oversee and supervise all aspects of decontamination, preparation, sterilization, monitoring, and distribution of RME. 4. 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. (b). Creditable Experience 1 . Knowledge of Current MST Practices. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) associated with MST responsibilities. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid/non-paid employment as an MST. Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to MST experience at the next lower grade level of the position being filled. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Part-Time Experience. Part-time experience as a MST is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, an MST employed 20 hours a week, or on a 1/2 time basis would receive 1 full-time workweek for 2 weeks of service. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005, PART II, APPENDIX G47 The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-8. Physical Requirements: This work is performed in various settings: decontamination, preparation, clean sterile supply (preparation), gastrointestinal intestinal endoscope reprocessing hub, and in other services and departments throughout the medical facility/campus. The incumbent may be required to work in areas that are hot, cold, drafty and poorly lighted. The work requires proper body mechanics when standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of packages/instrument trays (occasionally weighing as much as 25 pounds). The work requires dexterity and visual acuity for manipulating, disassembly and assembly of instrumentation. On a regular and recurring basis, the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment. The employee wears special clothing, hair covers, personal protective equipment and shoe covers that can be uncomfortably warm. The employee uses insulated gloves to remove carts from sterilizers. The employee is subject to burns from accidentally touching hot items. The hazards of working around minute quantities of sterilizing gasses are unknown. The employee often works around body fluids, mucous, excretions and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling. Strong, unpleasant odors are encountered while decontaminating bloody or grossly contaminated instrumentation or reusable medical equipment. The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments, rumbling of carts and operation of pre-sterilizing equipment. Education IMPORTANT: 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 Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. 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.