Clarification from the agency

Announcement open to current, permanent employees at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and CTAP eligibles.

• Performs duties directly contributing to the administrative management of a healthcare delivery system.
• Ability to apply the specialized principles and practices of health care management in directing or supporting a health care delivery system.
• Provides full staff assistance on administrative matters affecting operation of a VA Medical Center.
• Advises and assists management responsible for planning, organization, development, direction and evaluation or administrative programs.
• Performs staff support work to develop comprehensive short and long-range detailed Medical Center plans, goals, and objectives including those impacting strategic initiatives of the medical center.
• Develops medical center wide programs which have direct impact on patient satisfaction and customer service.
• Develops methodology to assess the functions of assigned areas and assists management in problem identification of various services and components.
• Conducts a wide variety of comprehensive studies or surveys to improve the efficiency and economy of operations with appropriate management reports.
• Interacts with all levels of healthcare system personnel on various projects, on a daily basis and with personnel from the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 9, VA Central Office, and other federal and non-federal agencies.
• Formulates and participates in the development of management policies, programs and operations, reviewing and coordinating actions to ensure compliance with policy and timeliness of results.
• Other duties as assigned.

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 (Executive Assistant)/PD03896O
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, 05/21/2026.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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 Requirement:Applicants 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.
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.

In addition to the Time-in-Grade Requirement and Individual Occupational Requirement, applicants must also possess the specialized experience as described below:

GS-13 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: advising on and/or coordinating healthcare delivery systems, strategic planning, and clinical operations; knowledge of clinical, administrative, and financial programs; interpreting rules, regulations, and administrative laws; developing and implementing policies, preparing correspondence and ensuring all memorandums, policies, etc. contain correct format, grammar, spelling, and punctuation; experience interacting with a variety of executives and high-ranking representatives; scheduling and coordinating meetings and conferences for the Executive Leadership Team and staff; Knowledge of latest technical planning developments in hospital management including current standard methods and techniques sufficient to formulate new criteria and control procedures and other planning guidance; providing qualitative and or quantitative methods for the assessment and improvement or program effectiveness or the improvement or complex management processes and systems.

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

• Administration and Management
• Communications
• Computer Skills
• Project Management

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/.

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.

Next steps