Health System Specialist (National PCMM Coordinator)

Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent employees of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and CTAP eligible applicants.

This Health System Specialist will serve as the National PCMM Coordinator at the VHA Central Office, AUSH for Clinical Services, Office of Primary Care. Through their duties and responsibilities, the incumbent:

• Provides national-level program management and technical oversight for PCMM, serving as a strategic advisor, subject matter expert, functional leader, and technical authority and recommending solutions to program issues affecting VHA primary care operations.
• Leads, advises, trains, and supports facility and VISN PCMM Coordinators and other stakeholders to maintain PCMM program and data integrity, resolve application and operational issues, and ensure appropriate data entry, validation, and maintenance.
• Collects, analyzes, validates, and reports PCMM and health care operational data to evaluate resource allocation, capacity, efficiency, productivity, staffing, workload, and performance and identify opportunities for improvement at facility, VISN, and national levels.
• Conducts analytical studies and develops reports and recommendations addressing primary care goals, data integrity, workflows, staffing and FTEE, resource management, PCMM policy and business rules, system functionality, and achievement of performance measures.
• Advises leadership on program performance, risks, and improvement opportunities, providing regular status reports and recommendations concerning PCMM changes, technical or operational issues, and their potential impact on primary care operations.
• Leads short-, mid-, and long-term special projects and process-improvement initiatives, coordinating stakeholders, identifying and mitigating risks, resolving management problems, and recommending changes to improve efficiency, continuity of care, resource utilization, and customer satisfaction.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00AM - 4:30PM
Telework: This position may be authorized for ad hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Ad hoc is defined as occasional, non-recurring telework.
Virtual: This position may be authorized for Virtual Work. Virtual Work eligibility is for current VA employees that are already subject to the return to in person work mandate in their current position. Virtual Work is defined as working outside of the original hiring duty station at a VA owned or leased space.
Return to Office (RTO) Mandate: RTO mandate is in effect and selectees will be required to report to in person work unless they have an approved exception or an exemption. Any approval for an RTO exception, exemption, or extension will occur after the selectee's tentative job offer but before the final job offer.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist (National PCMM Coordinator)/PD305930
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Conditions of employment

• Applicants must be U.S. Citizens to apply for this job.
• To be considered, applicants must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment which measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• All applicants are subject to background/security investigation.
• Selective Service Registration is required for male applicants born after 12/31/1959.
• Physical Requirements: The work of this position 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.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• 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 used as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, the selected applicant will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate the selectee's fitness and whether continued employment advances the public interest. In determining whether the selectee's continued employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
  • the selectee's performance and conduct;
  • the needs and interests of the agency;
  • whether the selectee's continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
  • whether the selectee's continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
• Upon completion of the selectee's probationary period, their employment will be terminated unless they receive certification, in writing, that their continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements listed below by the closing date of this job announcement, 09/21/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current VHA employees and have held a GS grade position at any time in the past 52 weeks must meet Time-In-Grade requirement by the closing date of this job announcement. For a GS-13 grade position all applicants must demonstrate that they have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 grade. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. To demonstrate Time-In-Grade, an SF-50 must be attached with the application package. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate the 52 weeks of Time-In-Grade served, and, in that instance, an additional SF-50 may need to be provided. SF-50s issued for awards do not demonstrate Time-In-Grade and should not be submitted. 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 (IOR): All applicants must meet the IOR with one of the following IOR criteria:

Undergraduate and Graduate Education: 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

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. The 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.

OR

Special Provision of In-Service placement: Successful completion of 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.

In addition to the Individual Occupation Requirement (IOR), all applicants must also meet the following:

Specialized Experience Requirement: one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least at least the next lower grade (GS-12) in a normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of qualifying specialized experience includes, but is not limited to, the following.

• Applying advanced knowledge of health care delivery operations to analyze and evaluate complex program processes, including functionality, utilization, business rules, data integrity, resource allocation, capacity, efficiency, and productivity, and develop recommendations that improve program performance.
• Independently analyzing complex health care program issues using qualitative and quantitative methods, multiple data sources, and health care information systems to identify trends, discrepancies, operational problems, and root causes and recommend corrective actions or process improvements.
• Planning and conducting analytical studies or evaluations to measure program effectiveness, assess progress toward established goals and objectives, develop or apply performance measures, and translate findings into actionable recommendations for improving health care operations and administrative processes.
• Advising management and collaborating with multidisciplinary stakeholders to resolve complex program issues, implement improvements, and evaluate the impact of recommendations on PCMM operations, resource management, stakeholder communication, and health care delivery at the facility, network, or national organizational level.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) website.

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:

• Technical Competence
• Technical Problem Solving
• Data Systems
• Analytical Thinking
• Customer Service

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; 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.

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.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION: To be considered for this position, all applicants must provide a complete Application Package to include:

• Resume

ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION: The following documentation is acceptable, and may be required only if it is applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Applicants will not be contacted for omitted documentation.

• SF-50 - to demonstrate Time-In-Grade eligibility
• Transcript - if using education to demonstrate IOR eligibility
• Separation Notice (RIF) - if using CTAP eligibility to apply

______________________________

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action requirements:

• The most recent SF-50 is required for all current or former Federal employees to demonstrate Time-In-Grade eligibility
• If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate the Time-In-Grade served as required by the job announcement, and, in that instance, an additional SF-50 may need to be provided.
• SF-50s issued for awards do not demonstrate Time-In-Grade and will not be accepted for eligibility purposes.
• 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.

Resume Format and Length: Beginning September 27, 2025, federal agencies may 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 any resumes saved in your USAJOBS profile before applying for a job.

• Resumes must include only information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying (see this link for more information). VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. All information must be legible and grammatically correct so that it may be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.
• Resumes must not contain the applicant's photograph, birth date or Social Security Number.
• Resume files must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading the resume as a PDF to maintain the formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX) formats. We do not accept PDF portfolio files.
• We recommend using a sans-serif font such as Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans.
• We recommend making page margins 0.5 inches and using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point font size for the main text.
• The USAJOBS Resume Builder can assist applicants in creating a resume using these recommendations.
• Additional helpful hints in creating a two page resume:
  • Review the Applicant Guidance on Two Page Resume Limit document
  • Prioritize most relevant and recent experience
  • Use concise, results focused language
  • Align language from the job announcement
  • Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies
  • Remove outdated or unrelated experience
  • Use the USAJOBS Resume Builder

Veterans Preference: When applying for federal jobs, eligible Veterans may claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or 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 which 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 Veterans preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

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