Clarification from the agency

Current and Permanent Western New York VAMC (Buffalo & Batavia) Employees

Program Management/Administration
The incumbent will assist the Chief who is responsible for evaluating, planning, direction, and management of all inpatient care functions including admission, pre/registration, eligibility, enrollment, and outpatient clinics scheduling and management. The incumbent will be responsible for maintaining databases, spreadsheets and other tracking mechanisms which will aid in the operations of the service. He/she provides support with all oversight monitoring activities to ensure that the eligibility of Veterans for VA care is verified by staff members during every patient interaction, and that all pertinent demographics are updated. The incumbent will be responsible for meeting and agendas.

Unit Operations/Coordination
The incumbent will disseminate supervisory communication(s) of guidance and advise to first level supervisors as directed/delegated by the Chief. He/she will coordinate the implementation and effectiveness of the MSA Training Program for the VAWNYHS. The incumbent will communicate the decisions of supervision and leadership to section supervisors within HAS and work with the section supervisors to ensure that day-to-day operations are completed in the absence of the HAS Chief. He/she coordinates administrative and managerial support and coordinates his/her activities with other administrative and medical departments in the VAWNY Healthcare System. The incumbent will assist the Chief with initiating, shaping and setting policy, procedures, standards and goals in his/her organization; develops and applies an internal program of management review, appraisal and improvement; establishes priorities in light of budget and manpower constraints; and provides for formal and on-the-job training and instruction for his/her staff. The incumbent formulates, implements, coordinates and controls comprehensive facility improvement programs.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30-4:00pm -negotiable after fully trained
Compressed/Flexible: Not eligible
Telework: Not eligible
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD494750
Functional Statement #: PD494750
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.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• 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).

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/03/2026.

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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

Specialized Experience:

• Experience: Must have one year equivalent to at least next lower grade level

OR

• Education: Two full years of graduate education or a master's degree meets the requirements for GS-09. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one year of full-time study

OR

• Combination of Experience & Education.

Specialized experience is experience where you were responsible for providing administrative/clerical support; collecting, compiling and tracking data and information, timekeeping, processing documents and reports; establishing, updating and maintaining office files and records; performing automation duties using software applications such as word processing, spreadsheet, electronic mail, desktop publishing, calendar, database and/or graphics; answering telephones, scheduling meetings, and providing information.

NOTE: 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.

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

• Accountability
• Analytical Thinking
• Creative Thinking
• Criminal Law
• Knowledge Management
• Planning and Evaluating

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 includes some walking, standing, bending, lifting and caring of relatively light items such as books, papers, and folders. The incumbent must be in good physical condition to work under pressure and able to tolerate the stresses of various aspects of this position.

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.

Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.

Documents Accepted:

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other (1)
• PCS Orders
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Documents Required:

• Resume

Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application. Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).

You will not be contacted for additional information.

Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.

Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.

Next steps