Clarification from the agency

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply. Federal employees (serving on a career/career-conditional appointment or covered under OPM's Interchange Agreement); Reinstatement/Transfer Eligible, 30% Disabled Vets, VRAs, Severely Handicapped; Preference eligible veterans or veterans separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three or more years of continuous active service.

This job will close when we have received 75 applications, which may occur before the closing date.

Provides high-level coordination and administrative support for the service lines under the assigned AD's purview, which may include but are not limited to: Business Office, Logistics, Safety, Police Services, Healthcare Technology Management, Facilities Management Services, Environmental Services, Fiscal, Nutrition and Food Service, Prosthetics, Veterans Canteen Services, Center for Development and Civic Engagement, Privacy/FOIA, System Redesign, Office of Information and Technology, High Reliability Organization, Human Resources, Public Affairs, and Congressional Liaison.

• Coordinates assignments, tracks progress, and ensures alignment with applicable policies and executive priorities.
• Provides technical guidance on correspondence, workflow, and records management.
• Identifies process and competency gaps; recommends training and development actions to service leaders and contributes input to performance feedback, as requested.
• Troubleshoots operational issues and develops recommendations for process improvements and staffing adjustments for consideration by service and executive leadership.
• Assists with HR actions by coordinating recruitment packages, position justifications, and staffing analyses in collaboration with Human Resources; tracks personnel actions and ensures alignment with workforce planning and VHA directives.
• Ensures compliance with VA/VHA policy, privacy, and regulatory standards.
• Reviews and aligns local policy, SOPs, and charters with VHA directives/handbooks; drafts or revises governance charters
• Represents ADs in high-level internal and external forums (VISN, VACO, congressional staff, affiliates, Veterans Service Organizations, interagency partners).
• Serves in Incident Command roles commensurate with training and assignment; coordinates after-action reviews and improvement plans.
• Leads rapid improvement and special studies where guidance is limited; creates novel frameworks/tools to address emergent or ambiguous issues.
• Designs and coordinates enterprise operating rhythms (leadership huddles, governance councils, dashboards) that align service execution with AD Resources/AD Operations priorities and the DMCD's intent.
• Achieves on-time completion of action logs (target >92%); supports cycle-time reduction for decision memoranda (target ??15% year over year); maintains a documented risk register with mitigation status.
• Reviews and prioritizes requests within the ADs' span (e.g., Facilities, Supply Chain Management, Fiscal, Police, Emergency Management, Environmental Management Services, Facilities Management Service, Prosthetics, Biomedical Engineering, Patient Experience, Quality). Conducts cost-benefit, workforce, and throughput analyses; drafts issue briefs and decision packages.
• Assists with contracting duties by reviewing procurement requests, coordinating with Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) processes, conducting market research, and preparing acquisition planning documents and justifications for compliance with federal acquisition regulations (FAR) and VA Acquisition Regulation (V MR).
• Recommends reallocations within approved ceilings; drafts justifications for unfunded requirements (UFRs) and unfunded capital requests; coordinates with Fiscal/Budget to align proposals with financial policy.
• Serves as the ADs' lead for external surveys (e.g., The Joint Commission, OIG, OAWP, L TCI, GARF, OSHA, NCPS/Patient Safety). Leads post-survey corrective action plans (CAPs) and sustainability checks.
• Triages and resolves complex patient, staff, and stakeholder escalations
  (congressional, VISN, VACO). Authors' executive correspondence and position statements with data validation and legal/FOIA awareness.
• Serves as the representative of the respective Associate Director in executive-level huddles, meetings, and committees, including local and VISN forums.
• May stand in for the Associate Director(s) to which assigned, exercising delegated decision-making authority on operational, resource, and administrative matters within established guidelines and ceilings.
• Recommends resource shifts, staffing models, service line prioritization, and policy changes; drafts packages for DMCD/Director approval.
• Serves as the primary coordination point between the AD offices and VISNNACO program offices on assigned matters.
• Handles pre-decisional, labor-sensitive, and procurement-sensitive information with discretion; coordinates with OGC, Privacy, and FOIA offices as applicable.

Work Schedule: 7:30 am - 4:00 pm or 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Monday - Friday
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist-Executive Assistant/PD266570
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
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• 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 the 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, 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, 05/07/2026.

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.


This occupational series has an Individual Occupational Requirement - for this series, the following Basic Requirement must be met in addition to the Specialized Experience.

Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): 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 Inservice 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:

GS-12 Specialized Experience

• Specialized Experience: one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11) 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 Systems Specialist.

Qualifying specialized experience is defined as, but not limited to:

• Develops position papers and decision documents representing the position of the ADR and the organization on a variety of complex and sensitive issues.
• Evaluates, processes, or makes recommendations for effective organization changes. Serves as a team leader for the VAMC and VISN studies or projects with significant organizational changes.
• Required comprehensive knowledge of the range of administrative law, polices, regulations, accrediting requirements, and precedents applicable to the administration of the health care delivery system in general and in the country at large.
• Perform work involving the development of life cycle or other cost analyses of projects, or the performance of cost benefits or economic evaluations of programs.
• Coordinates with the appropriate individuals or offices to develop proposals and supporting materials for presentation at conferences, meetings, hearings, and other external activities and meetings.
• Uses a high degree of analytical ability and specialized knowledge of the principles and practices related to the management of healthcare delivery systems.
• Works in coordination with other internal reviewing services regarding complex audits and internal/external reviews of a national concern.
• Contacts and engages frequently with clinical staff at all levels to facilitate the work of the office related to a variety of operations-focused assignments and projects initiated by senior leadership or program offices, or departmental offices.

Preferred Experience: The ideal candidate is an experienced healthcare operations leader with 5+ years in large, complex health systems (ideally V A/VHA/DoD or comparable tertiary, university-affiliated environments), who has provided high-impact executive support to senior leaders such as Associate Directors, COOs, or Service Line Chiefs. They should have a proven record of coordinating across multiple non-clinical service lines, such as Business Office, Logistics/Supply Chain, Safety, Healthcare Technology Management/Biomed, and Fiscal, and preferably have directly managed or led one or more of these areas, with responsibility for operations, staffing, budget, and regulatory compliance. This position calls for expertise in health system operations and readiness, resource stewardship and acquisition support (including familiarity with FAR/VAAR environments), and active participation in accreditation and regulatory activities such as Joint Commission and OIG surveys, including leading corrective action plans and sustainability efforts.
The incumbent should also bring advanced analytical and decision-support capabilities, including building and interpreting performance dashboards using tools such as VSSC, DSS, Power BI, SAIL, or similar tools, and converting complex data into concise executive decision memoranda with clear courses of action, fiscal impact, and risk analysis. Exceptional communication skills are essential, with experience drafting executive correspondence, congressional or high-visibility responses, and leadership briefings, as well as representing senior leaders in VISN/region, headquarters, affiliate, or community forums on sensitive or controversial topics. The strongest candidates will demonstrate success leading cross-functional projects and rapid improvement efforts, navigating ambiguous problems, managing employee engagement initiatives, and, ideally, holding experience in Incident Command or emergency management roles, showing they can integrate the operations of the ADR's service lines with broader organizational priorities in access, quality, safety, and patient experience.

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

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

Your 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. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and can provide valuable training and experience that translate directly into paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

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.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

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

• Resume

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)
• PCS Orders
• Performance Appraisal
• Proof of Marriage Status
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• 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 (2026) 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
• Awards 50s 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 that 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.

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.

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

NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is required that all HCPs receive an annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCPs are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCPs as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers, and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP includes all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers, and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows, and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.

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.

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