Clarification from the agency

Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred to hiring managers in the following order: 1. Current permanent VA employees of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS). 2. All other VA employees.

Provide technical and program support to sustain Telehealth and Connected Care operations throughout VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS) using state-of-the-art, clinical technologies, and partnerships to provide access to care to Veterans.

Deliver health care through all Telehealth modalities: synchronous, asynchronous, and remote monitoring.

Act as the subject matter expert (SME) for all Telehealth, Connected Care technologies, and information technology (IT) platforms, processes, and systems that the VA utilizes.

Responsible for supporting Facility-wide clinical Telehealth and Connected Care initiatives primarily by ensuring efficient operation of all Telehealth modalities, especially Synchronous Telehealth programs.

Provide support to the Facility Telehealth Coordinator (FTC) and clinical leaders in technology planning.

Prepare and implement budget.

Coordinate and implement technical program initiatives.

Manage and evaluate all Telehealth and Connected Care technologies/applications, in accordance with VISN and VACO (Connected Care and Telehealth in VA Central Office) guidelines, policies and procedures.

Coordinate with Information & Technology (OIT), Biomedical Engineering, Unified Communications Infrastructure Support (UCIS) and other Service Lines and staff to incorporate new technology, concepts, and programs into new and existing systems.

Serve as the SME for all Telehealth and Connected Care technologies.

Work independently to serve the needs of VA Puget Sound Health care Systems' Telehealth and IT staff.

Flexibly serve the ever-changing challenges of both Telehealth and Connected Care programs.

Assist and support projects and assignments that are the responsibility of the Facility Telehealth Coordinator (FTC) under Clinic Operations and Business Intelligence (COBI) service line program managers.

Perform other duties as assigned.

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 through Friday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM PDT.
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Ad-hoc telework is defined as situational telework approved on a case-by-case basis. Examples of situational or ad-hoc telework include telework because of inclement weather, doctor appointment, or special work assignments. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD41264A and PD41525A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

Physical Requirements: Physical demands include above average ability, dexterity, and strength to perform the work. There will be walking, standing, bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching, reaching, carrying items, driving of an automobile, etc. May be required to sit or stand for most of a normal tour of duty. Will lift and move equipment up to 20 pounds and will reach above shoulder level for technology installation or with assistance with technology installation. Fieldwork may involve travel for training activities, attendance at meetings and conferences.

Work Conditions: The work is usually performed in an office environment, meeting rooms, clinical spaces or similar settings. Travel involves the normal risks and discomforts of automobile, bus, rail or air transportation.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• The Selected Applicant must possess a valid driver's license as a condition of continued employment.
• The Selected Applicant must pass an initial pre-employment medical examination and an annual medical examination.
  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)
• 5 CFR § 330.502 - General restriction on movement after competitive appointment applies.
  

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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, 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 03/30/2026.

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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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.


This is a two grade-level position, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

GS-07

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level or pay band in the Federal service that includes performing the following duties: experience with telehealth modalities: Synchronous, asynchronous, and remote monitoring, as well as all Telehealth and Connected Care technologies and information technology platforms; experience with budget preparation, coordination, and implementation of program technical initiatives; experience with implementation, management, and evaluation of all telehealth technologies/applications; skilled in conducting administrative and clinical duties; able to analyze and solve complex problems/issues; experience interpreting and applying laws, regulations, policies, and precedents that affect the outcome of program operations; and skilled in adapting analytical techniques and evaluation criteria to the measurement and improvement of tele-health program effectiveness and/or organizational productivity. OR,

EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): You have completed one (1) full year of graduate level education OR have a bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement. This education must have equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position at this grade level and is in a field directly related to the position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR,

COMBINATION: EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): You have some specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 grade level but less than one year, and I have some graduate level education but less than one year. I have computed the percentage of the requirements that I meet, and the total is at least 100% of the requirement for the GS-7 grade level. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): To meet the qualification requirements for this position using Superior Academic Achievement (SAA). You have completed all the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled and I meet one of the following: Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university or major subdivision OR A grade-point average of "B" (a GPA of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study OR A grade point average of "B+" (a GPA of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study OR Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. For a list of recognized honor societies please visit http://www.achsnatl.org/quick_link.asp. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

GS-09

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level or pay band in the Federal service that includes performing the following duties: experience with telehealth modalities: Synchronous, asynchronous, and remote monitoring, as well as all Telehealth and Connected Care technologies and information technology platforms; experience with budget preparation, coordination, and implementation of technical program initiatives; experience with implementation, management, and evaluation of all telehealth technologies/applications; skilled in conducting administrative and clinical duties; able to analyze and solve complex problems/issues; experience interpreting and applying laws, regulations, policies, and precedents that affect the outcome of program operations; skilled in adapting analytical techniques and evaluation criteria to the measurement and improvement of tele-health program effectiveness and/or organizational productivity; independently review quality and performance data (patient satisfaction surveys, image quality, performance metrics, clinic wait times) for Telehealth and Connect Care program effectiveness and satisfaction and develop process improvements as required; act as the subject matter expert (SME) for all Telehealth, Connected Care technologies, and information technology (IT) platforms, processes, and systems that the VA utilizes; and evaluate communication hardware/software and troubleshoot network related problems in technology/system operational settings, provide technical support, and participate in the integration and testing of Telehealth networks. OR,

EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): You have successfully completed a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree OR I have two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree OR I have a LL.B. or J.D., if related, that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR,

COMBINATION: EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): You have some specialized experience as described in A but less than one year, and I have more than one year but less than two years of graduate education as described in B. I have computed the percentage of these requirements that I meet, and the total is at least 100%. (To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond two years by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify). NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation


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.

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:

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

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.

Resume Reminder- Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:

• Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible)
• Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
• Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
• Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
• Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all the questions by addressing your work experience in detail.

Recommended: Other than the 2-page resume requirement, we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications.

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.

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
• License
• Other (1)
• Performance Appraisal
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• 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.

Veterans' Preference: 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.

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.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and 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.

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.

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