Lead Health Technician (Telehealth)

Clarification from the agency

Open only to current, permanent employees of the Durham VA Health Care System. This announcement will close on the closing date OR the point at which the system receives the first 50 applications, whichever comes first. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position.

• The Lead Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) provides an array of complex and specialized duties related to leadership, staff education, technology management, as well as project and program management for all dimensions of virtual care and telehealth initiatives
• Maintains responsibility for day-to-day operation of telehealth services at the assigned location and between the assigned location and remote sites of care as well as participating in the programmatic development and advanced support of the facility-wide telehealth program
• Exercises independent judgement and is responsible to regularly provide oversight and guidance to other staff members and will require
  minimal direct supervision
• Leads a team of telehealth staff by providing guidance and technical direction relating to the telehealth program
• Works with the supervisor to develop assignments for team members in order to meet routine and unusual deadlines and priorities
• Distributes and balances workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflow and/or job specialization and required rotations
• Serves as the work leader, monitors the status and progress of team members work and makes day-to-day adjustments in accordance with established priorities
• Instructs employees in specific tasks and job techniques, making available written instructions and reference materials for use by team members in the accomplishment of tasks or projects
• Monitors and reports on the status and progress of work to ensure that the supervisor's instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines and quality have been met
• Provides information to the supervisor concerning promotions, reassignment, recognition of outstanding performance, and personnel needs
• Resolves simple, informal complaints of employees and referring others, such as formal grievances and appeals, to the supervisor or an appropriate management official
• Gathers, compiles and analyzes data and statistics to develop integrated reports designed to assess impact, demand and utilization of Telehealth services for submission to facility and Veteran Integrated Service Network (VISN) leadership
• Supports designated, complex telehealth programs that require advanced technical skillsets
• Prepares the clinical environment, which may include preparing medical and telecommunications equipment to be used for clinical examination and treatment
• Ensures that patient privacy is protected by complying with all information security and patient privacy regulations
• Receives and schedules requests for simple and complex intra-facility, and inter-facility telehealth appointments using an electronic resource-based scheduling system
• Patients for Telehealth modality and referring patients that do not meet established criteria to appropriate care
• Arranges and completes test video calls with Veterans to prepare the Veterans for clinical encounters using telehealth technologies
• Performs other duties as assigned

Work Schedule: M-F, 8am - 4:30p
Remote: This is a remote position
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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 identification 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Experience and Education.
  • Experience. One year of experience in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical assistant (or technician) or health technician. OR
  • Education. Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. OR
  • Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Examples are listed below:
    • Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as, biological science, surgical technician courses, nursing assistant or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field; OR
    • Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, or medical service specialists given by the U.S. Armed Forces.
• Certification. None
• English Language Proficiency. A candidate will not be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. See chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part.

Grade Determinations
GS-8: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level,GS-7. Assignment. The Lead Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) provides an array of complex and specialized duties related to leadership, staff education, technology management, as well as project and program management related duties for all dimensions of virtual care and telehealth initiatives. Duties include: serves as an official team lead for telehealth staff; monitors and reports on the status of work to ensure that the supervisor's instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines and quality have been met; works with the supervisor to develop assignments for team members and distributes workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflows and specialized requirements, and provides information to the supervisor regarding all conduct and performance related achievements or concerns. The Lead Telehealth Clinical Technician is responsible for independently reviewing performance metrics to ensure telehealth operations are timely, effective and efficient. This includes the assessment and analysis of the impact, demand and utilization of telehealth services, the coordination of establishing telehealth clinics according to the Decision Support System and VHA guidelines, the monitoring of workload credit for interfacility workload credit and specialized encounters; responsible for the development or revision of complex standard operating procedures, and assisting stakeholders to develop new telehealth programs based on patient needs; serves in an official capacity as a telehealth preceptor and provides standardized training related to patient care, telehealth technology and quality assurance. This includes the facilitation of interactive simulations and referential documents, the assessment of competency of all clinical staff participating in telehealth programs and maintaining compliance with national VA standards established by the Office of Connected Care regarding training and operations. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
(a) Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize and coordinate activities of a Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) in order to effectively complete job duties of assignment such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work.
(b) Skill in leadership and interpersonal relations and conflict resolution to deal with employees, team leaders, providers, and managers.
(c) Ability to communicate effectively in order to meet program objectives. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels.
(d) Knowledge of quality control and assurance procedures and principles of performance improvement.
(e) Skill in the assessment and resolution of complex workload capture issues using multiple data sources.
(f) Ability to develop and compose complex written instructions.
(g) Knowledge of analytical and evaluative processes to independently resolve complex issues.


Preferred Experience: WebVRAM Business Unit Administrator - managing and auditing WebVRAM profiles. Clinic Profile management - updating and blocking provider grids. CVT and VVC troubleshooting - conducting VVC test calls.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-8.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

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 MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for 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.

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.

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:

• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• 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 ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Long-form resume/Curriculum vitae (CV)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps