Health System Specialist (Credentialing and Privileging)

Clarification from the agency

Announcement open to current permanent Veterans Health Administration (VHA) employees only.

The incumbent assists the C&P Manager/Analyst in developing short- and long-term goals necessary to accomplish the mission of the C&P program.

Major duties include, but not limited to the following:

• Assists in identifying the resources necessary for accomplishing the mission and function of the credentials and privileging program.
• Serves as SME in the field of credentials and clinical privileging.
• Keeps leadership and appropriate administrative staff informed of program changes, new regulatory requirements, and policies and procedures pertaining to the C&P process.
• Assists C&P Manager/Analyst in drafting local credentialing processes and Medical Staff Bylaws in compliance with all applicable regulations.
• Receives and reviews correspondence and communications for the C&P function and determines which items require immediate attention and which are confidential in nature.
• Receives and reviews VetPro reports detecting problem areas requiring further investigation.
• Upon identification of a problem, researches reference materials, regulations, and standards to identify appropriate action necessary to correct the problem.
• Issues of a serious nature are elevated to the supervisor for guidance.
• Ensures accurate provider data is entered into and maintained in the VetPro computer program.
• Ensures current information is present on providers relative to state licensure, Drug Enforcement Organization (DEA) license, National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) Continuous Query (CQ) enrollments and renewals, Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), documentation of professional education, specialty medical training, certifications, adverse licensure or privileging actions, initial and renewal of privileges which may affect the status of privileges granted for medical practice.
• Informs C&P Manager/Analyst of trends identified, audit results and identified problems that may affect a provider's privilege status.
• Manages provider applications (initial and renewals) for LIPs C&P within the VAMC.
• Incumbent must have a broad knowledge of medical specialties and core privileges and is the technical advisor to clinical leadership for the development of department specific privileges and assures that complete documentation is available to support privileges granted to providers within their training and/or experience.
• Provides guidance and instruction to hospital staff in completing the required documentation of establishing privileges for LIPs.
• Upon receipt of individual credentials' files for review, incumbent ensures primary source verification to include, but not limited to, state licenses, DEA license, certifications, medical specialty training, and board certifications.
• Primary source verification includes, but may not be limited to, the American Medical Association, NPDB, state licensing agencies, specialty certification boards, universities, DoD and healthcare facilities.
• Assures application packages and other documents meet technical requirements per specialty of provider and assures application folder and database account (VetPro or other internal databases and spreadsheets) meet technical requirements.
• Communicates with LIPs to assure timely completion of applications and VetPro requirements.
• Provides oversight to application process; analyzes exceptions and deviations in expected application process; determines course of action and makes recommendations.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: Ad-hoc only
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist (Credentialing and Privileging)/PD99876A
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, 07/08/2026.

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. 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: Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirements described below are fully qualified for the specified entry grade and must also meet the specialized experience requirements.
INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
Must possess an undergraduate or graduate level degree with a major study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. (Transcript must be provided)
OR
Must possess progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the healthcare 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.

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-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Broad and thorough knowledge of pertinent laws, regulations, policies and precedents, accreditation standards and guidelines such as The Joint Commission (TJC), which affect the use of program related support resources in the area of Credentialing and Privileging (C&P); VHA Handbooks, Directives, Memos, and Notices; VetPro Policies/Standard Operating Procedures; and local medical center policies related to the principles, practices and program goals of the C&P program. Comprehensive knowledge of VetPro policies, including but not limited to, VetPro Data Integrity, Facility level access control, mandatory annual VetPro security and confidentiality training, and mandatory annual privacy act training. Skill in applying analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to issues or studies concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of the C&P operations and toward the planning and accomplishment of a variety of routine and complex work assignments, such as advising leadership on documentation requirements for provider profiling and competence. Ability to communicate orally technical information to a diverse group of individuals with varying levels of understanding.
  OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree, successfully completed two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, LL.B or J.D in a related field of the position to be filled (i.e., hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration). Education at the graduate level must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. 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 year) and specialized experience as described above, to meet the 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 (i.e. hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as course work in health care administration). This 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. Experience must be clearly indicated in your resume.

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

• Attention to Detail
• Communications
• Compliance
• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Quality Assurance
• Reading Comprehension
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork
• Technical Competence

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:

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)
• 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 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.

Next steps