Supervisory Health System Specialist

Clarification from the agency

Open to current, permanent Federal employees, Land & base management, Veterans eligible under the VEOA & CTAP/ICTAP eligible.

The incumbent will be programmatically responsible for a variety of Network-wide initiatives. These programs will include both clinical and administrative issues. Duties include but are not limited to:

• The incumbent serves as a Supervisory Health System Specialist to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for VISN 7 and fully supports the COO as well as assists the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) in carrying out assigned Network operations related to planning, organization, development, direction, and evaluation of network operations.
• As a senior Health System Specialist, the incumbent provides advice and consultation to the COO on a variety of health care related issues and programs.
• The incumbent is responsible for assisting with the day-to-day operation of the VISN Office and assisting the Network in advancing the goals of the Network and VHA.
• Supervision of assigned program, administrative oversight for the assigned program and Network Office work assignments.
• The incumbent will work with the VISN Office and all VISN 7 Medical Center leadership to accomplish VA/VHA/VISN 7 mission and goals, complete special assignments, and to impact policy implementation.
• Act as the principle liaison for the assigned program for the day-to-day administrative operations of the Network Office.
• Work creatively, cohesively, and insightfully with colleagues and other key staff within VA, to design and develop innovative initiatives to improve the quality and efficiency of Network operations.
• Serves as a representative of the Network on issues as appropriate and works with others toward meeting national mandates.
• Develop contacts at individual Network medical centers, clinics, other VISNs, and VA Headquarters that will facilitate open dialogue and rapid communication of concerns.
• Support administrative and clinical innovation at individual Network sites as well as between Networks and disseminates successes throughout the Network and VHA as appropriate.
• Support VHA mission, goals, and objectives and actively work towards implementation of these within the Network.
• Assist in developing the overall VISN program goals, and objectives and short- and long range plans for achieving them, which are consistent with identified methods of efficient operations.
• Coordinates and facilitates communications, planning among Network programs.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm (subject to change based on agency needs)
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Health System Specialist/PD102120
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
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. This position requires the application, assessment, and questionnaire to be fully completed. The assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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, 07/07/2026.

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-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13. 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.

Individual Occupational Requirements: To qualify for the Health System Administration Series, 0671, applicants must meet the requirements below as provided in the Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR) as defined by the Office of Personnel Management:

• Undergraduate and Graduate Education with Major study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration.

OR
Specialized Experience: 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: * Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; * Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and * 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: * Assignments providing a knowledge of basic health system administration philosophies, practices, and procedures, and basic government administrative policies and requirements; * 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 * 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 above Individual Occupational Requirements, applicants must also meet the specialized experience requirement to qualify:

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-13 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of Hospital and Healthcare Management and operations (both clinical and administrative); skill in administration in the medical care setting including resource strategies and written and oral communications; utilizing a wide variety of computer software programs; determining the appropriate focus and priority for a wide variety of duties and activities; knowledge of the principles and techniques of quality assurance and analysis; specifically, knowledgeable of risk management, Public Relations Office, accreditation, and management of these bodies of knowledge; developing long-and short-range plans and briefs senior management as required regarding accomplishments and existing or potential problems.

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

• Organizational Performance Analysis
• Analysis and Problem Solving
• Strategic Thinking
• Operations Support
• Manages and Organizes Information
• Oral Communication
• Written Communication

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. Travel is required.

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:
o Conflict Management
o Influencing/Negotiating
o Manages Resources
o Partnering
o Planning and Evaluating

Supervisory Situational Judgment Test. Applicants will be required to complete a Supervisory Situational Judgment Test (SSJT) as part of the assessment process for this position. The SSJT evaluates judgment and decision-making skills that align with relevant competencies, organizational values, and best practices. Assessment results may be used as part of the evaluation, ranking and referral process. This is not a timed test, however, the assessment is expected to take approximately 45 minutes or less to complete. The assessment for this application does not include a cut score for a minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. However, you must answer each item in the assessment.

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 (VA)
• Other (1)
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• 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.

Next steps