Health System Specialist (Facility Planner) Job in Poplar Bluff, MO

Vacancy No. CBSS-12699028-25-JE Department Veterans Health Administration
Salary $88,621.00 to $115,213.00 Grade 12 to 12
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 2/21/2025 Close Date 3/3/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Poplar Bluff, MO


Summary

The Health Systems Specialist (Facility Planner) serves as the Strategic Planner and Analyst for the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center. The Medical Center delivers complex clinical care and is a site for complex clinical referral programs.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Current permanent VA employees of the John J. Pershing VAMC facility.

Duties

The Health System Specialist (Facility Planner) serves as the Strategic Planner and Analyst for the John J. Pershing VAMC (JJPVAMC). The Medical Center delivers complex clinical care and is a site for complex clinical referral programs. Reports directly to the Associate Medical Center Director as the principal manager for all aspects of facility planning and business case analysis for present and future hospital operations involving clinical and administrative services. Oversees the master facility plan (space, Minor, capital NRM, Leases, SCIP, and in-house construction) and conducts market analysis for strategic planning. The incumbent also serves as the principal advisor to the executive leadership team and the engineering team on CBOC placement/leases, resource utilization, and strategic and capital planning priorities.

  • Evaluates, processes, or makes recommendations for effective organizational changes based on current and future (workload) projections.
  • Performs organizational analysis for clinical and administrative services which require the use of complex processes and communications such as, but not limited to, staffing productivity, population analysis, cost effectiveness analysis, lean process analysis, coordination with national, regional, and local entities, and various other analytical and interpersonal interactions.
  • Performs analysis on the current and future needs of the medical center, identifies gaps and opportunities, and then executes business case analysis on the best strategy to accomplish VHA, VISN, and VAMC goals and objectives as they relate to the overall mission.
  • This includes analysis of existing high-cost medical equipment, space, infrastructure, sites of care and other complex issues that require a mastery of management principals with the autonomy to carry out major projects with review by management officials, accepted with minimal change.
  • Leads and makes recommendations concerning long-range planning activities such as the Facility Master Plan, Health Care Planning Model, and Strategic Capital Investment Plan.
  • The incumbent leads efforts for short- and long-term planning. Incumbent is responsible for the annual business case process (Strategic Capital Investment Plan (SCIP), requirements, and submission.
  • Develops long term plans (5 year and 10-year plans) to delineate medium- and long-term capital improvement projects and to meet the intent of projected clinical needs and/or services.
  • The incumbent is responsible for utilizing data from the VSSC Capital Asset Inventory database and other VA databases for purposes of developing action plans and business cases in the business case (aka SCIP) portal that mitigate all defined 10-year projected gaps, to include space, access, energy, and facility condition.
  • The position requires direct coordination with impacted services for business case development and Facilities Engineering for construction estimation.

Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Monday-Friday
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is Not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist (Facility Planner)/PD101730
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
  • Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/03/2025.

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 series has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR). An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can't be waived.

Education: Undergraduate or Graduate Education 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. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED).

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:1. Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems;2. Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and3. Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement.

OR

Special Provision of 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:

GS-12:
  • 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: plans, schedules requests for resources and makes recommendations based on needs; reviews policies and procedures related to healthcare programs and addresses program issues with appropriate stakeholders; provides guidance and advice on program specific matters such as legislative issues, the development and implementation of policy or program initiatives, protocol issues, and other important correspondence or related matters; participates in strategic planning throughout the healthcare system to produce decisions and actions that shape and guide the organization's purpose and activities.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Capital Planning and Investment Assessment
  • Change Management
  • Cost Benefit Analysis
  • Manages and Organizes Information
  • Without more than normal supervision


POSITION REQUIREMENT: The position requires the incumbent to possess a valid, State Driver's license required to operate a motor vehicle. In addition, if selected for the position, the applicant must provide a copy of their driving record. Please note that applicants should state in their resume that they possess a valid State Driver's license and disclose any incidents/accidents, within the past five (5) years. It is recommended that applicants include in their resume the size and type of vehicles (standard vehicle, trucks, buses) they have operated and how frequently.

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: Performance of the incumbent's duties may require extensive walking per day to meet with the facility managers and other clinic personnel. Trips to satellite outpatient clinics are sometimes necessary and will involve transportation via automotive vehicle. The work performed is of a precise nature requiring long periods of concentration that is often interrupted. Incumbent is often faced with changing priorities and with meeting deadlines.

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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current permanent VA employees of the John J. Pershing VAMC facility.

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.

Required Documents

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

  • Resume
  • SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
  • Transcript


The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to 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.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/03/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12699028.

  1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
  2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
To verify your application is complete, log into your USA JOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Application page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USA JOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USA JOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Agency contact information

Jerome Edmonds
Phone
(573)712-3971
Fax
573-778-4001
Email
JEROME.EDMONDS@VA.GOV
Address
John J Pershing VA Medical Center
1500 North Westwood Boulevard
Poplar Bluff, MO 63901
US

Next steps

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.

You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.

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 a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious 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. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP 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 include 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.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.