Clarification from the agency

Open to current, permanent employees of the VISN 9 Network ONLY and CTAP eligible.

The incumbent must have knowledge of Congressional, VA, and VHA organizations, including the various administrative support functions and clinical areas that support and/or impact the overall experience of care for Veterans. The incumbent must also possess knowledge of Veteran-Centric Complaint Resolution principles and VA/VHA appeal processes. The core duties of this position include but are not limited to the following:

• Safeguard confidential/sensitive information and apply policy, regulation, and law appropriately when preparing documents and decisions.
• Prepare, review, edit, and oversee clinically complex and politically sensitive correspondence to ensure accuracy, tone, and compliance.
• Ensure responses comply with executive preferences, VA practices/policies, and requirements for medically sensitive information (privacy, confidentiality).
• Maintain executive suspense tracking for all correspondence and action items; update electronic systems; monitor deadlines and escalate as needed.
• Independently research issues; gather pertinent data from staff/files; synthesize findings to draft responses within tight timeframes.
• Support service lines with Patient Advocate improvement projects; provide consultation and process guidance.
• Triage administrative/clinical problems raised by Veterans/families/staff; notify appropriate officials; prepare or ensure timely responses.
• Meet with VSOs; communicate with Veterans, families, internal/external stakeholders to gather/share essential information.
• Provide interim verbal and email updates to stakeholders (Congressional offices, VHA/VISN leadership, senior management, clinical staff, Veterans/families) until final letters are complete.
• Perform Patient Advocacy duties; engage in customer service and service recovery for Veterans, families, stakeholders.
• Maintain open communication channels to enhance Veteran experience; model professionalism and patient-centered care.
• Serve as primary point of contact for all Congressional inquiries and formal/informal executive-level inquiries regarding Veteran patients; triage, assign, and track through resolution.
• Formulate policy recommendations; prepare issue briefs, memoranda, executive summaries for facility leadership, VISN, and VACO on sensitive/complex inquiries.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday | 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM CST
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Congressional Liaison Officer/PD709920
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, 05/04/2026.

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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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.

• Examples of appropriate SF-50s include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50s at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

In addition to the Time-in-Grade Requirements, you must also meet specialized experience.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Health System Specialist. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as:
  • Preparing, reviewing, editing, and overseeing clinically complex and politically sensitive correspondence ensuring accuracy, clarity, tone alignment, and adherence to policy.
  • Maintaining suspense tracking for all correspondence and action items; updating electronic systems; monitoring deadlines and escalating as needed.
  • Researching issues; gathering pertinent data from staff/files; synthesizing findings to draft responses within tight timeframes.
  • Formulating policy recommendations; preparing issue briefs, memoranda, and summaries for facility leadership, VISN, and VACO on sensitive/complex inquiries.
  • Interpreting VA policy, directives, regulations, and law related to Veteran healthcare, privacy, correspondence handling, and congressional processes.

NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates, AND hours worked per week

OR

• EDUCATION: Successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. The education portion must include courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Education must have been obtained in an accredited college, or university.

NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

OR

• COMBINATION: Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond the first 2 years) and specialized experience as described above to meet total experience requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of this position.

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

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

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 but also demands some standing, walking, bending, lifting, and carrying charts, clinical folders, forms, and miscellaneous supplies to various locations within the medical center. The incumbent frequently walks to various parts of the medical center including patient care areas.

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
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

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 50s do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50s include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50s at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Next steps