Health System Specialist

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open to current, permanent employees of the Amarillo VA Healthcare System.

Program Responsibilities
Provide access related consultative services, working in collaboration with facility service lines to review and develop guidance and policies that will facilitate standardized processes with the facility and applicable CBOCs. Review and provide input on regulations and policies for local interpretation, utilizing local group practice management and communication strategies. Works as part of an in-house team to ensure a wide range of local factors are considered in the application of national policies and procedures. Reviews and evaluates assigned processes and procedures to determine areas of effectiveness, efficiency, and improvement for proposal through local GPM group and supervisor. Reports to supervisor and access leadership in the facility. Proposes improvements to supervisor regarding national training curriculum for onboarding and sustainment activities.

Veteran Experience Responsibilities
Works with the Veteran Experience Officers with the local facility to evaluate patient and family concerns regarding access to services needed. Aligns efforts with national and local requirements. Assist the supervisor in coordinating efforts to ensure patient concerns are received, evaluated, and addressed in a timely and effective manner by the appropriate subject matter experts. Provides accurate date to ensure that processes and procedures developed are appropriately supported. Aligns local processes with planning and policies at higher levels.

Project Administration
Utilize advance principles and strategies for access improvement to review and provide recommendations to Clinical Leads, including strategies to reduce backlog. Monitors existing or emerging workflow issues; monitors consult management issues and provide guidance to Clinical Leads and Administrative Leads. Works with local personnel to integrate data analytics and measures with continuous process improvement utilizing Lean, Six Sigma and other improvement methodologies to meet and sustain ambulatory care goals and objectives. Collects and analyzes/reports trended data sets; makes recommendations to assist in the allocation of resources. Assist clinic managers in identifying casual interrelationships between the various aspects of ambulatory care and its impact on clinical operations to achieve and sustain quality, safe, efficient, and effective ambulatory care. Incorporates process improvement based upon knowledge of Veteran Health Administration and local organization philosophy, policies and management principles. Performs data analyses of performance related to existing internal and/or external requirements.

Budget Guidance
Assist clinic manager in forecasting the impact of staff changes and developing countermeasures to mitigate the effect of staff shortages on access to care. Makes recommendations to managers regarding allocation of resources, including potential use of community care options. Monitors and makes recommendations to adjust plans to effectively and cost-efficiently accomplish the mission within budgetary constraints. Performs cost analysis and cost effectiveness studies to determine make/buy decisions to address gaps. Works closely with clinic managers to formulate budget recommendations for all outpatient services to allocate all available resources to achieve optimal outcomes in access to care and the Veteran Experience.

Office Program Planning Work
Provides administrative program advice for ambulatory care clinical support services. Evaluates and monitors administrative activities and make substantive recommendations for program improvements. Performs demand/capacity analysis, templating and scheduling. Provides guidance on effective use of office staff and recommends desirable changes to enhance central support services. Implements established action plans that will enable clinical grids to accurately reflect supply. Monitors profile indicators to help eliminate issues with backlogs (such as recall delinquency, past due return to clinic order and open consults).

Liaison and Communications
Acts as a liaison or point person for communications with persons and/or groups internal or external to the facility, representing Group Practice Management on clinical access issues. Promotes effective communication and optimal information flow within the clinics. Follows the established communication plan regarding reporting procedures for CPM access. Identifies modes of communication and reporting templates. Utilizes or creates standardized templates for Access Reporting.



Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 7:00am - 3:30pm
Telework: Ad-hoc. This position may be authorized for telework.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD99865S
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 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, 07/26/2026.

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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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.


Candidates must meet the following Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR):In addition to meeting the time in grade requirement, you must meet the following minimum qualifications requirements. Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration.
OR
Specialized Experience: Progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care field. This work may have been performed in an operating health care facility or a higher organizational echelon with advisory or directional authority over such facilities. Work must have involved a close working relationship with facility managers and analysis and/or coordination of administrative, clinical, or other service activities, and provided knowledge of the following:

• Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems;
• Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and
• Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement.

Special Provision for In service Placement: Successful completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program may be substituted for qualifying experience, provided it included a formal individualized training plan. Such a training program must have been conducted in an operating health care system and included:-Assignments providing a knowledge of basic health system administration philosophies, practices, and procedures, and basic government administrative policies and requirements;-Practical assignments providing an opportunity to apply health system administration skills and principles (as the individual progresses, work assignments must be characteristic of the grade level to which he or she is assigned); and-Oversight by an experienced health system administrator with periodic evaluation of the individual's progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: knowledge of a wide range of qualitive/quantitative as well as analytical/evaluative methods for development and management of a major administrative program for the assessment and improvement of program effectiveness or the improvement of complex management processes and systems in the areas of Clinic Cancellation and No Show, Veteran's Choice Process, Auditing Consult Management, Contingency Planning, Communications Planning, Process Improvement, knowledge of the range of national administrative laws, policies, regulations, expertise in a wide variety of computer and data management packages, and VA databases, knowledge to plan, organize and lead teams, knowledge and understanding of goals and requirements for delivery of effective, high quality ambulatory care services.

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

• Communication
• Administration & Management
• Project Management
• Critical Thinking
• Cost Benefit 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: he work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

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
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other (1)
• PCS Orders
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• 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 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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