Duties
The incumbent serves as a Health System Specialist (GHATP Trainee) within a one year formalized national training program. The GHATP training program is designed so that the incumbent acquires the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies necessary to assume progressively more complex responsibilities and assist the Office of the Medical Center Director in successfully meeting its mission and strategic goals. The incumbent will develop an individual development plan (IDP) and receive recurring progress reviews by the supervisor.
The Graduate Healthcare Administration Training Program (GHATP) is intended to build upon and enhance basic knowledge, skills, and abilities previously obtained through higher education and experience related to the management of a VA Healthcare Delivery System.
Major duties include but are not limited to:
- Utilizes data and reporting tools to develop health-planning strategies impacting the operations of medical centers, network offices and/or VHACO program offices.
- Analyzes data trends in budget and fiscal operations supporting the preparation and execution of budget and committee meetings.
- Researches laws, regulations and policies related to budget and fiscal management displaying knowledge of VA health care system operations.
- Participates on project teams in lead or support roles identifying and improving operational processes impacting services of the VA health care system.
- Displays knowledge of VA priorities and mission statement to recommend improvement to policy and procedures related to budget and administrative operations.
- Observes, analyzes, and reports under professional service direction the areas of discipline, rewards and recognition, reassignment, staff adjustments and realignments, labor/management relationships, affirmative employment, and alternative dispute resolutions and grievances to understand processes for conducting projects and studies.
- Performs rotations and on-site visits to make recommendations to the issues and opportunities present at the Network and other VA/VHA facilities and program offices.
- Analyzes org charts, policies, VERA and SAIL data to represent the service line of the facility or program office priorities during resource allocation committee meetings.
- Participates in disaster preparedness and emergency management planning meetings to evaluate efficiency and effectiveness of policies and procedures at the service line level.
- Attends facility/Network/ and VHACO program office strategic and succession planning meetings to observe techniques and methodologies in VHA personnel management.
- Gathers organizational data from reports and TRIP packs in preparation for media and community events either separately or in conjunction with the Public Affairs Office.
- Reviews and explores VHA relationships and processes with affiliated education programs.
- Participates in local hospital council, veteran organization and community organization meetings with VHA senior leader staff members.
- Manages, leads, and administers project plans which include meeting objectives, assigning resources, giving briefings and presentations as project representative, maintaining quality assurance processes, creating project documentation, and completing after action review reports and follow-up procedures in conduct comprehensive project management.
- Reviews and reports on facility policies in preparation for surveys, audits and inspections in quality assurance, compliance and procedures governed by internal and external organizations.
- Develops and presents an innovative project recommending improvements to policies, procedures, and services provided by VHA at the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).
- Performs other related duties as assigned.
Work Schedule: 7:30am-4:00pm Mon-Fri
Position Description Title/PD#: Health System Specialist - Graduate Healthcare Administrative Program Trainee (GHAPT)/PDS0001A
Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required.
Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.
Requirements
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.
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.
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. . 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.
Qualifications
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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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.
GS-9: To be eligible for this position applicants must have completed a master's degree (within the last 2 years, 6 years for preference eligible veterans) in an institution accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) in major field of study such as: hospital administration, public health administration (MHA, MHSA, MPH), or related fields such as business or public administration (MBA, MPA) with course work in health care administration by program start date, OR have 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education in an institution accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) in major field of study such as: hospital administration, public health administration (MHA, MHSA, MPH), or related fields such as business or public administration (MBA, MPA) with course work in health care administration by program start date.
GS-11: After completion of the Recent Graduate Program the selectee may be converted to a permanent career/career-conditional position up to the GS-11, contingent on successful job performance and funding availability.
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 http://www.opm.gov/qualifications. OPM Qualifications Standards for GS-671.
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.
Education
A transcript must be submitted with your application.
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from an institution accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) in major field of study such as: hospital administration, public health administration (MHA, MHSA, MPH), or related fields such as business or public administration (MBA, MPA) with course work in health care administration by program start date. You may verify your school's accreditation by using the following link: CAHME-Accredited Healthcare Administration Programs by State (healthcareadministrationedu.org).
Additional information
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
A supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Participation in the seasonal influenza program is 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.
Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
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.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
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.
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.
Required Documents
Documents Accepted:
- 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
Documents Required:
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.