Clarification from the agency

Open to current Department of Veteran Affairs employees and Federal employees who met the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee, veterans and all other applicants.

Major Duties:

• Primary liaison to multiple staff offices under the Associate Director for Patient Care Services for the VA Maryland Health Care System (VAMHCS) and serves as the conduit for information flow and management of assignments between such offices and other members of the executive leadership team.
• Monitors and manages incoming actions and requests from initial receipt to completion and closeout.
• Analyzes the subject matter of incoming information for appropriate distribution to offices internal or external to the office.
• Receives and monitors completed actions or responses; analyzes responses for completeness and accuracy against known policies and procedures; and ensures action or inquiry is closed out with the inquirer or office.
• Conducts or participates in special information flow studies, analyses, presentations and briefings, as assigned.
• Conducts analytical studies on particular operational processes, issue topics, or related special projects.
• Develops position papers and decision documents representing the position of the organization on a variety of complex and sensitive issues such as the quality or timeliness of veteran care issues within the system or at times, issues of Congressional or media interest that have significant national impact e.g. quality and safety concerns or involve several functional areas.
• An expert level knowledge of health system services is required for the breadth and depth of studies encountered.
• Works in coordination with other internal reviewing services regarding complex audits and internal/external reviews of a national concern.
• Communicates with responsible staff agency members to ensure completion of all requested actions and appropriately closes out all requests.
• Works closely with senior management and others in implementing and evaluating policies, plans, and internal operational systems such as correspondence management, information tracking among pertinent offices and stakeholders, and internal/external communication flows.
• Contacts and engages frequently with staff at all levels to facilitate the work of the office related to a variety of operations-focused assignments and projects initiated by senior leadership or program offices, or departmental offices.
• Functions in myriad roles by contacting and engaging with various administrative program officials within the VISN, Headquarters and in the field to manage, coordinate, and complete various assignments or projects that involve or are initiated by these officials.
• Manages and coordinates of all online communication tools such as assigned intranet websites, internal SharePoint website collection, and other related informational tools in consultation with communication specialists.
• Assures compliance with all applicable policies, and development and maintenance of internal management processes related to these online tools.
• Coordinates events hosted by officials, including town hall meetings with internal staff, with assistance from continuing educational staff and initiatives when warranted.
• Completes all steps required within an event management process, including facilitating selection of the event time, developing a formal agenda, managing any required contracts and all logistical items, disseminating information to attendees, and ensuring smooth execution of the event.
• Works with various boards to coordinate regular committee meetings, ensuring all event management steps are completed.
• Coordinates with the appropriate individuals or offices to develop proposals and supporting materials for presentation at conferences, meetings, hearings and other external activities and meetings.
• Briefs and advises senior management on agenda issues in preparation for activities and meetings and may represent the office at internal or external activities or meetings.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Health System Specialist/PD15054O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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, 11/06/2025.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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.

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the 0671 occupational series: All applicants, regardless of grade level must meet minimum education or specialized experience requirements. For this occupation, the education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained.

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

• Education: 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: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. 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:

1. Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems;
2. Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and
3. Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement.

• Special Provision for Inservice 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:

1. Assignments providing a knowledge of basic health system administration philosophies, practices, and procedures, and basic government administrative policies and requirements;
2. Practical assignments providing an opportunity to apply health system administration skills and principles (as the individual progresses, work assignments must be characteristic of the grade level to which he or she is assigned); and
3. Oversight by an experienced health system administrator with periodic evaluation of the individual's progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program.

In addition to meeting the Individual Occupation Requirement above for the GS-13 grade level you must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience, equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-12). Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: Ability to analyze, evaluate, advise and coordinate actions within the health care delivery systems and operations. Primarily liaise with multiple staff offices, act as a conduit for information flow and management of assignments between such offices and other members of the executive leadership team. Experience conducting analytical studies of operational processes, issue topics or special projects requiring study planning, statistical measurements, data analysis, report preparation and development. Ability to meet submission of responses and actions deadlines to include communicating with responsible staff agency members to ensure completion and close out. Experience in coordinating events hosted by officials, including town hall meetings with internal staff, completing all steps required within an event management process. Ability to provide technical and administrative supervision for the administrative, financial, and timekeeping operations, first level supervision of direct team members and second level supervision to team members.

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

• Administration and Management
• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Decision Making

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: Work is sedentary. Some travel required. No other special physical demands are required.

Work Environment: The work is typically performed in an office setting.

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.

Area of consideration:

1. Permanent VA employees
2. All other Federal employees
3. Veterans
4. All other applicants

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

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)
• Other (1)
• Performance Appraisal
• Proof of Marriage Status
• 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.

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.

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