Clarification from the agency

Open to current, permanent employees of the VISN 17 and CTAP only.

Strategic Planning

• Performs analysis on the current and future needs of the VISN, identifies gaps and opportunities, and then executes business case analysis on the best strategy to accomplish multi-year VISN-wide program services and goals and objectives as they relate to the overall mission.
• Evaluates, processes, or makes recommendations for effective organizational changes based on current and future (workload) projections.
• Supplies demographic mapping support, current and projected workload project/facility analysis, gross and program space needs, collaboration, summary problem statements, alternative planning options, detailed development of preferred alternatives, draft and final presentations, document submittals, environmental assessments, life safety reviews, task order deliverables, and pricing overviews.
• Knowledgeable of planning and operational issues throughout VA.
• Exercises the authority of strategic planning at the VISN and serves as the technical expert on all planning by the VISN.

Community Partnership Development & Capital Planning

• Responsible for participating in and leading all aspects of a transaction process including prospecting, valuation, negotiation, diligence, legal agreements drafting and closing on business partnerships.
• Collaborates with executives and operations leaders to examine opportunities based on their strategic and economic characteristics.
• Close coordination with Chief Financial Officer (CFO), General Counsel, Contracting, and Real Property for financial viability and to ensure agreements are properly executed.
• Updates and reports concerning strategic initiatives to the Executive Leadership Team.
• Participates actively in a variety of workgroups, such as the Healthcare Operations Committee (HOC) to increase the return on investment of VA resources; analyzes network-wide programs, functions, and organization to determine whether the management systems in current use efficiently accomplish objective sought and whether they provide controls necessary for sound management; and various analytic techniques are used, many of a complex nature.

Project Management

• Leads teams composed of service leaders presenting their results to senior leadership at the VISN to implement strategic changes to the entire network.
• Ensures that project teams are using VA compliant project management principles, policy, processes, and procedures.
• Provide oversight, direction, guidance, and technical expertise on assigned project components as follows: develops innovative strategies and recommendations for initiating and establishing goals, timetables, and procedures for expediting projects.
• Identifies and implements project management processes and procedures for project initiation, project definition, risk management, management reporting, governance, and project closure.
• Manages design or review or proposed and actual methods for implementing surveys and demonstration and/or research projects including, but not limited to, definition and standardization of inclusion/exclusion criteria, sampling methodology, sample size calculation, outlining limitations and threats to internal and external validity, data entry, and verification of item content across samples and surveys.

Research Analysis

• Research and/or analyzes problems, issues, or program requirements; provides expert analysis and advice on complex programs and issues and based on operations and changing program requirements, identifies relevant issues, and develops action plans.
• Collects relevant information from a variety of complex sources, performs quantitative and qualitative analysis, and makes expert recommendations to the Executive Leadership Team.
• Provide administrative support and oversight of functions across other program and administrative areas as assigned by the Executive Assistant to the Deputy Network Director or the Deputy Network Director.

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.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: This position may be authorized for Ad-hoc telework only at supervisor discretion.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Systems Specialist/PD011080
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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, 11/05/2025.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Individual Occupational Requirement

Health System Specialist requires the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) be met.

• Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. 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: 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 for 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 and oversight by an experienced health system administrator with periodic evaluation of the individual's progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program.

GS - 11 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 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, develops, promotes and/or provides services to support the VISN to ensure progress on programs and strategic planning; Prepares and coordinates reports timely and serves as the point of contact for VISN strategies and initiatives within the assigned area; mastery knowledge of the principles and practices related to the management of health care delivery; application of qualitative and/or quantitative methods for the assessment and improvement of program, process and system effectiveness; comprehensive knowledge of the range of administrative laws, policies, regulations, and precedents applicable to the administration health care delivery systems; develops and directs the total and complex administrative duties for VISN leadership; plans and accomplishes special projects; research and analyze problems, issues, or program requirements. OR,
Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, Or LL.M in the related field of the position to be filled (i.e., hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration). The education portion must include courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. OR,
Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond a master's degree to qualify for the GS-11 level.

GS - 12 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 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, develops, promotes and/or provides services to support the VISN to ensure progress on programs and strategic planning; Prepares and coordinates reports timely and serves as the point of contact for VISN strategies and initiatives within the assigned area; mastery knowledge of the principles and practices related to the management of health care delivery; application of qualitative and/or quantitative methods for the assessment and improvement of program, process and system effectiveness; comprehensive knowledge of the range of administrative laws, policies, regulations, and precedents applicable to the administration health care delivery systems; develops and directs the total and complex administrative duties for VISN leadership; plans and accomplishes special projects; research and analyze problems, issues, or program requirements.

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

• Strategic Planning
• Community Partnership Development & Capital Planning
• Project Management
• Analysis and Problem Solving

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
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other (1)
• Other (2)
• 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.

Next steps