Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

Support to Executive Office

• Independently identifies and collects necessary data; assembles and assesses information gathered; formulates findings, conclusions, and recommendations; presents results in written and oral form.
• Performs duties directly contributing to the administrative management of a complex health care delivery system.
• Provides full staff assistance on administrative matters affecting patient care and organizational policy and serves as a staff member directly supporting the top management team responsible for planning, organizing, developing, directing, and evaluating VAPORHCS operations.
• Provides comprehensive resource allocation information support decisions involving organizational funds.
• Assists the Deputy Medical Center Director with complicated assignments especially in regards to analysis and support during medical center integration planning.

Program Management and Planning

• Facilitates short and long-range planning efforts.
• Administers planning process and provides authoritative recommendations to the Deputy Medical Center Director and assesses priorities to best meet Veterans' health care delivery needs.
• Examines programs and recommends expanding, contracting, combining, separating, or realigning them to best meet patient health care needs most economically as well as Congressional mandates, regulatory requirements, VISN requirements, etc.
• Directs and assists VAPORHCS staff in management functions as delegated by the Deputy Medical Center Director.
• Analyzes and develops reports pertaining to program plans, development operations, and assessment of any planning phase of VAPORHCS' activities.

Evaluates Programs/Monitors Data

• Conducts special studies on manpower, space, and equipment utilization to facilitate resource management decision-making by Executive Leadership.
• Provides staff support in human resources, equipment, and space planning process and performs administrative functions for staff programs.
• Works with adjustments in allocations during the year, consults in preparation of monthly reports, and handles other day to day operations.
• Plays a critical support role in developing and coordinating internal review systems to assure that both clinical and administrative activities are in compliance with agency, accrediting, regulatory requirements, and resource sharing organizations and contracts.
• Analyzes data, identifies trends and concerns of issues and brings to Deputy Medical Center Director's attention, those areas where possible discrepancies exist.
• Recommends actions or adjustments necessary to achieve required objectives.

Special Projects

• Acts as an expert on special projects, and advises top managers on major office issues.
• Leads, conducts and participates in complex management studies and reviews, particularly those with wide or significant effect upon the health care system's organizational structure, policies, processes, operations, fiscal control and economy.
• Ensures action items and goals are identified and communicated to appropriate members of management and labor and accomplished within timeframes and deadlines.
• Selects qualitative and quantitative methodologies appropriate to the subject under examination and organizes and leads integrated process teams

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am to 4:00pm PST
Position Description Title/PD#: Health System Specialist (Executive Assistant to the Deputy Director)/PD21510-0
Physical Requirements: No special physical demands are involved except the ability to work under pressure, tight time deadlines, and rapidly changing priorities. The work requires substantial walking throughout the VAPORHCS. The incumbent may work irregular hours. Travel may be required.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required
• 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.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 02/19/2026.

Specialized Experience: You must have at least 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 System Specialist. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as 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:

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

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Utilizing qualitative and quantitative methods to develop recommendations regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of a program; working directly with healthcare professionals and organizational leadership to solve problems in support of the delivery of patient care and program/operational functions; experience planning, organizing, and developing studies or projects; developing and leading strategic planning initiatives to enhance healthcare service delivery and operational efficiency; and performing a wide range of administrative functions.

NOTE: 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.

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.

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. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.

Resume Reminder - Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:

• Job title
• Duties (be as detailed as possible)
• Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
• Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
• Salary/Rank etc.
• Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
• References, current or recent supervisor

Do not include the following types of information in your resume:

• Classified or Government sensitive information
• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Photos of yourself
• Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.

Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail. The experience stated in your resume must support your assessment responses.

Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications.

Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.

Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.

Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

Documents Accepted:

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Other (1)
• Performance Appraisal
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Documents Required:

• Resume

Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application. Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).You will not be contacted for additional information. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.

Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.

Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.

Next steps