Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to current, permanent employees of VISN 6, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and the Veterans Administration (VA). A recent, non-award, SF-50 must be submitted.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

Administrative Management:

• Develops progressive administrative, organizational, and operational improvements and efficiencies within budget
• Improve the quality of customer service provided our patients and to improve the service's organizational program
• Implementation of a wide variety of management improvement initiatives utilizing current management principles and practices
• Provides full staff assistance on administrative matters affecting patient care, education, and organizational policy of the Surgical
  Service

Budget Guidance and Administration:

• Serves as the principle management resource to clinical and administrative section and sub-unit chiefs within Surgical Service
• Serves as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) providing information on service level and medical center policies on personnel, equipment, budget, regulatory compliance, etc.
• Maintains an awareness of available resources, and makes recommendations regarding needs, distribution or redistribution of resources.
• Analyzing, evaluating, advising, and coordinating administrative and clinical activities associated with the successful outcome of efforts to improve patient access to VA healthcare

Leadership and Supervision:

• Provides direct oversight of daily activities and supervision of the administrative staff within the Surgical Service
• Collaborates in the selection, training, and utilization of administrative collaborates in the selection, training, and utilization of administrative staff within the Surgical Service
• Directs the functions of the administrative staff through training, assigning personnel, monitoring work output and initiating changes as required to meet changing workload demands
• Evaluates administrative work practices, utilizing work simplification and cost saving techniques.

Accreditation and Program Administration:

• Provides for full administration of reporting, evaluation, and fee requirements associated with the Accreditation of the organization and establishes procedures to meet unusual or unique standards
• Assembles and monitors current required materials to assist the Service Chief in satisfying requirements
• Oversees maintenance of the Service staffing List assuring that the provider profiles are updated quarterly, and necessary reports run for completion and updates of information
• Performs audits necessary for continued accreditation and reviews and assembles the data for approval

Work Schedule: 7:30 am - 4:00 pm, Monday - Friday
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Administrative Officer/PD020750
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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
• 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 dentification 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, 03/24/2026.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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-9) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Developing both long and short range policies and plans for the organization by coordinating the medical administration needs of the organization for which accountable, Initiating and preparing contract requests to secure adequate resources to facilitate Anesthesiology and/or other Clinical/Surgical Service Line operations to include determining estimated contract costs, conducting market research and performing cost analysis for independent government estimates, providing documentation to support sole source contract requests and agreements. Fiscal Management, Personnel Management, Patient and Public Relations, Knowledge of Department of Veterans Affairs policies, procedures and regulations, JACHO standards, Accounting and Budgeting procedures, Bookkeeping, Reporting Tools and various software applications to include Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc..

PREFERENCE WILL BE GIVEN TO THOSE APPLICANTS WHO HAVE PRIOR EXPERIENCE REFELCTING THEIR ABILITY TO ACCOMPLISH THE FOLLOWING SBYHCS SURGERY AO RESPONSIBILITIES EFFECTIVELY:

• The direct supervision of approximately 11-16 subordinates.
• Annually developing a strategic budgetary plan that includes funding for instrumentations, supplies, surgery service staffing plan (coordinated no less than quarterly with HR PARR report) and surgery contracts across all three VHASBY HCS medical centers with an operating room.
• Simultaneous capability of complex, often difficult decisions, with frequent short deadlines while under considerable prioritization pressures
• The incumbent is primarily responsible for the efficient operation of 12 Surgical Specialty Sections of the Surgical Service, comprised of approximately 155 FTEE, Scattered across three medical centers One hundred miles apart, which perform approximately 100,000 clinic visits and 5,000 surgical procedures annually.
• In addition to operational oversight and management on a daily basis, the incumbent is responsible for administrative training and support; patient access and consult management; human resources; logistics; fiscal; contracting; policy development and implementation; systems development, implementation and integration; compliance and ethics; and strategic planning for the service.
• The incumbent is independently responsible for and manages all aspects of Surgical Service administration.
• The incumbent interacts with all programs at VASBYHCS both on professional and administrative levels in performing assigned duties and is in daily contact with chiefs and other departments throughout the system on administrative matters for budgets, personnel, supplies, and equipment.
• The incumbent ensures all VA and Joint Commission standards are met and appropriately incorporated into Ophthalmology policies and procedures. Incumbent has responsibility for developing and implementing all administrative procedures within the Service.
• Ensures administrative priorities support the mission, goals and objectives of the Service Chief. Incumbent has full delegated responsibility to perform staff functions by conducting surveys and making recommendations of utilization of space, resources, manpower, and equipment by planning and supervising budgets; by developing quality improvement monitors; and managing positions within the Surgical Service; and by coordinating the clinical service's activities with VA and non- VA programs to provide optimum safety, economy, and satisfaction in patient care.
• Supervises and manages administrative and clinical staff within Surgical Service and other referring and supporting services to oversee and manage patient access to clinics.

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

• Administration and Management
• Data Management
• Organizational Performance Analysis

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.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. 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/.

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/.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

• Cover Letter
• Other (1)
• Performance Appraisal
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
• An SF-50 showing 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
• Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

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