Clarification from the agency

Open to current, permanent, VA Sierra Nevada HCS only.

Serves as advisor to the Medical Center Director exercising independent responsibility and accountability for the full scope of roles and responsibilities in three functional areas: Public Affairs Program, Outreach Program, and Administration. Supports the delivery of health services at the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS) and Community Based Office Clinics (CBOCs) to Veterans. Acts as Principal Health System Specialist (HSS).

Health System Management

Incumbent will conduct studies and continuing analysis of internal and external programs or projects by: x Conducting business case analysis for a variety of programs and services within the Health Care System to determine to identify improvements opportunities, recommended system, and procedural changes, evaluate outcomes and make recommendations to top management. x

• Determining the kind of information needed to show whether programs or other projects do or will accomplish their objectives effectively.
• Devising appropriate methods of securing required information and developing data from such sources as discussions with staff, outside contacts, records, and similar materials.
• Providing analyses of all aspects of programs to include a review of objectives, policies, operations, and progress, resource estimates, and other related materials.
• Measuring progress towards objectives and determination of compliance with scheduled timetables.
• Identifying actual or potential problem areas, trends, significant programs accomplishments, deficient situations, areas of personnel imbalance, or other similar factors in the programs involved.
• Developing and recommending changes in program management, operations, and resource utilization to correct deficiencies and maintain cost effectiveness.
• Evaluating the effect of alternative or corrective actions on the programs under consideration, on interrelated programs, and on the overall utilization of manpower, money, and material resources.
• Presenting conclusions and recommendations based upon analysis and evaluation to the supervisor to use, in insuring efficiency.

• Represents the health care system on VISN Committees and Ad Hoc assignments.
• Responds to inquiries for information as necessary on a variety of special interest topics.
• Adheres to timeframes and communicates with VISN staff to ensure a smooth transfer of information.
• Stays abreast of key areas of VISN interest and briefs top management accordingly.
• Collaborates with staff from other facilities in VISN 21 in the development of mutual policies, procedures, systems, business analysis and initiatives.
• Monitors specific areas of performance to identify issues while complying with the dynamics of new policies and performance standards.
• Analyzes administrative and clinical delivery systems to develop strategic focus for management team decisions.
• Develops, evaluates, and adjusts organizational structures and management systems to accomplish implementing a comprehensive health care delivery system.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/05/2026.

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-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): The 0671 series requires specific education or experience to be met in order to be appointed into a position of this series. You must meet one of the pre-determined Education or Experience Individual Occupational Requirements listed below as set by Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

1. Undergraduate and Graduate Education in a Major study of hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration.
2. Experience of 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
3. Special Provision for In service 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.

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-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical 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.

• Administration and Management
• Leadership
• Manages and Organizes Information

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.

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

• 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

• 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