Clarification from the agency

All qualified candidates encouraged to apply. Open to U.S. Citizens but non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

The Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS) for Primary Care position provides executive leadership and oversight for all aspects of Central Virginia VA Health Care System (CVHCS) primary care services, including direct supervision of clinical teams and administrative staff, program development, and operational effectiveness. This includes responsibility for primary care services at the Central Virginia VA Health Care System (CVHCS), CVHCS community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), the Fredericksburg Health Care Center (FHCC), and other CVHCS sites of care.

The Central Virginia VA Health Care System (CVHCS), Richmond, VA is a level 1a 349-bed facility offering primary, secondary, and tertiary health care in medicine, surgery, neurology, rehabilitation medicine, intermediate care, acute and sustaining spinal cord injury, skilled nursing home care, and palliative care. The medical center has community-based outpatient clinics located in Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, Emporia and Henrico County, and a strong and mutually beneficial affiliation with the Medical College of Virginia. Residency programs exist in virtually all general and specialty areas of medicine, radiology, rehabilitation, surgery, psychiatry, and dentistry.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package. VHA Physician Total Rewards.

Education Debt Reduction Program (Student Loan Repayment): The position is eligible for the EDRP. Learn more.
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact Ms. Monique Head at monique.head@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance

Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases
Paid Time Off: 50-55 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year and possible 5 day paid absence for CME)
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory
CME: Possible $1,000 per year reimbursement (must be full-time with board certification)
Malpractice: Free liability protection with tail coverage provided
Contract: No Physician Employment Contract and no significant restriction on moonlighting

This includes ensuring that care delivery aligns with the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model, emphasizing patient-centered, data-driven, continuously improving, accessible, timely, comprehensive, and coordinated care that delivers continuity for Veterans. This position is responsible for the promotion of quality improvement, actively monitoring clinical outcomes, implementing best practices, and driving organizational performance based on data and national benchmarks. Key responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Provides executive oversight and strategic direction for all primary care programs and clinical teams.
• Collaborating with executive, managerial, and clinical leadership to formulate policies, best practices, and resource planning for staffing, equipment, and space.
• Develops and maintaining collaborative relationships across the medical center to improve patient care and support organizational mission and strategic priorities.
• Communicates regularly with executive leadership, including the Chief of Staff (COS) as well as other service and program leaders to provide updates on primary care performance, challenges, and opportunities.
• Directs the continuous measurement and improvement of care quality through utilization of multiple quality measurement tools.
• Oversees implementation of quality improvement programs, monitoring clinical outcomes, safety, patient satisfaction, and adherence to evidence-based standards.
• Conducts or overseeing case reviews, multidisciplinary huddles, and patient/family engagement to align service-line goals with PACT model operations.
• Oversees implementation of the PACT model to balance patient load equitably across providers, continuously monitoring panel sizes to meet national and local standards, and making data-driven adjustments to maintain optimal access for Veterans.
• Ensures that PACT panel assignments are regularly scrubbed and updated, mitigating provider overload and reducing barriers to timely care.
• Supervises and mentoring primary care providers as well as primary administrative staff and any additional staff aligned under primary care.
• Ensures that all primary care providers receive comprehensive training and ongoing education in the PACT model.
• Provides direct patient care and clinical oversight/supervision within primary care, ambulatory care or other clinical areas for which the incumbent is qualified to provide clinical patient care.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, you must meet the basic requirements as well as any additional requirements (if applicable) listed in the job announcement. Applicants pending the completion of training or license requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Currently employed physician(s) in VA who met the requirements for appointment under the previous qualification standard at the time of their initial appointment are deemed to have met the basic requirements of the occupation.

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.
• Degree of doctor of medicine or an equivalent degree resulting from a course of education in medicine or osteopathic medicine. The degree must have been obtained from one of the schools approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the year in which the course of study was completed.
• Current, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or surgery in a State, Territory, or Commonwealth of the United States, or in the District of Columbia.
• Residency Training: Physicians must have completed residency training, approved by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in an accredited core specialty training program leading to eligibility for board certification. (NOTE: VA physicians involved in academic training programs may be required to be board certified for faculty status.) Approved residencies are: (1) Those approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), b) OR
  [(2) Those approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA),OR
  (3) Other residencies (non-US residency training programs followed by a minimum of five years of verified practice in the United States), which the local Medical Staff Executive Committee deems to have provided the applicant with appropriate professional training and believes has exposed the physician to an appropriate range of patient care experiences.
  Residents currently enrolled in ACGME/AOA accredited residency training programs and who would otherwise meet the basic requirements for appointment are eligible to be appointed as "Physician Resident Providers" (PRPs). PRPs must be fully licensed physicians (i.e., not a training license) and may only be appointed on an intermittent or fee-basis. PRPs are not considered independent practitioners and will not be privileged; rather, they are to have a "scope of practice" that allows them to perform certain restricted duties under supervision. Additionally, surgery residents in gap years may also be appointed as PRPs.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.

• Chief of Staff: A facility chief of staff must serve on a full-time basis. The chief of staff develops and maintains currently accepted management practices throughout the clinical services. The chief of staff develops and presents the budgetary requirements of the clinical services and assists in the formulation of the annual budget program. The chief of staff is fully responsible to the medical center director for programs of patient care and for the educational and research activities of the clinical services. To carry out these responsibilities, the chief of staff:
  • (a) Formulates and recommends plans for a comprehensive program of medical care,
  • (b) Develops the requirements of staff, facilities, equipment and supplies needed to support an integrated program, utilizing necessary reviews and controls, and
  • (c) Appraises the effectiveness of the various medical programs in meeting the needs of patient care
    

• Demonstrated executive leadership experience overseeing large, complex primary care operations across multiple sites of care, including
  VA medical centers, CBOCs, and health care centers.
• Extensive experience implementing and managing the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model, including team-based care, equitable panel assignment, care coordination, proactive population management, and data-driven performance improvement.
• Proven ability to drive organizational performance through evidence based practice, continuous quality improvement, and active monitoring of clinical outcomes, access, patient satisfaction, and safety.
• Experience ensuring compliance with VHA policies, regulatory standards, and accrediting bodies, with demonstrated success preparing
  for and maintaining regulatory readiness.
• Strong background in strategic planning and resource management, including staffing, equipment, space utilization, and long and
  short range organizational planning.
• Experience collaborating with interdisciplinary leaders at facility, VISN, national and community partner levels to enhance primary care delivery and advance organizational priorities.
• Successful record of staff supervision and professional development, including mentoring, recruitment, credentialing, provider training, and ensuring staff competency in the PACT-model.
• Demonstrated ability to manage data driven operations, including panel management, workload distribution, performance metrics, and
  continuous monitoring of PACT-related standards.
• Experience serving as a liaison to executive leadership, effectively communicating performance, challenges, and strategic opportunities related to primary care services.
• Proven effectiveness in direct clinical practice, providing patient care and clinical oversight within primary or ambulatory care settings.
• Demonstrated executive level leadership experience overseeing comprehensive primary care operations within a complex, multi-site
  healthcare system.
• Demonstrated excellence in leading large, complex primary care operations with a proven record of advancing PACT-aligned care
  delivery, quality improvement, and organizational performance across multiple clinical sites.
• Exceptional ability to drive system-wide performance improvement through data-driven monitoring of access, clinical outcomes, patient
  satisfaction, and adherence to evidence-based primary care standards.
• Advanced proficiency in quality management, including overseeing continuous quality improvement initiatives, multidisciplinary reviews, case reviews, and utilization of performance measurement tools to elevate care delivery.
  Strong record of regulatory compliance and accreditation readiness, ensuring adherence to VHA policies, regulatory requirements, and
  accrediting body standards across all primary care delivery settings.
• Demonstrated success leading multidisciplinary teams, including supervision, mentorship, recruitment, credentialing, and professional development of primary care providers and staff.
• Excellence in strategic planning and organizational alignment, including collaboration with executive, clinical, and managerial leadership to support resource planning, mission alignment, and continuous organizational improvement.
• Ability to serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, effectively communicating primary care performance, challenges, opportunities, and strategic needs at facility, VISN, and national levels.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application, resume, C.V., and/or other supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

NOTE: A formal pay-setting process will be used to determine your salary. The salary may be at any point in the range listed for this vacancy.

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.

Veterans' Preference Note: Preference eligible candidates and other Veterans will be given preference when qualification of candidates are approximately equal for Title 38 positions in VHA. When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for 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 preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

To apply for this position, you must submit a C.V. and/or resume. Other documents may be requested later in the process if needed.

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

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