Supervisory Health System Specialist - VISN Operations Center Director

Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to a specific area of consideration: current permanent VISN-level employees at the Legacy VISN 15, Legacy VISN 16, Legacy VISN 17 or Legacy VISN 19 (excluding Montana). Location negotiable after selection and must be physically located within the VISN 4 catchment area (states of AR, CO, KS, LA, MO, MS, NE, OK, TX, UT, WY), as well as those eligible under CTAP.

Duties include but not limited to:

• Oversees administrative functions for the VOC and exercises executive authority for all VISN operational activities, including direct oversight and allocation of resources for Health Service Areas (HSAs), direct management of communications and policy implementation from VA headquarters;
• Directly manages all communications, correspondence, and external stakeholder engagement activities, including Congressional inquiries, regulatory reviews, and national task force assignments, without requirement for additional supervisory approval;
• Develops and prepares special or recurring reports and studies for the Network Director, Deputy Network Director, and other senior agency executives ensuring direct transmission of data and analysis without intermediary review;
• Coordinates cross-program projects, establishes collaborations with top agency stakeholders, and independently directs the implementation and execution of special projects and initiatives;
• Manages and prepares responses to correspondence, and ensure closure on all identified barriers to exceptional care;
• Directs administrative plans and teams to implement directives, address concerns, and solve VISN-wide issues;
• Establishes and monitors key performance metrics and dashboards to drive ongoing improvement and accountability;
• Identifies long and short range needs, formulates proposals for top management consideration, and plans and initiates improvement actions for VISN wide implementation and quality attainment;
• Oversees the measurement of signature activities against established goals and objectives and directs continuous assessment and improvement of all programs and procedures, exercising authority to review or terminate elements that do not meet established standards;
• Directs the HSAs response to national emergencies, disasters, and other crises, with executive authority for all operational decisions, resource allocations, and external engagements across the VISN;
• Supervises subordinates and is responsible for the full range of leadership activities, to include selecting official for key administrative and supervisory positions across multiple program areas to meet agency needs;
• Provides direct oversight and allocation of resources for assigned health areas;
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm
Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Location: Selected candidate will maintain their current duty station in accordance with return to office procedures.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Health System Specialist - VISN Operations Center Director/PD80001VS
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 identification 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, 09/29/2026.

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. 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: All applicants, regardless of grade level must meet one of the following individual occupational requirements:

• 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: 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. -OR-
• 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 Requirement (IOR), applicants must also meet the experience relevant to this position.

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:

• Oversight and administrative management of multiple program areas to meet the needs of a healthcare organization; identify and implement improvements to optimize processes, access strategies, and decisions through an in depth analysis; coordinating cross-program projects or initiatives in the health care field. This work must have been performed in an operating health care facility or a higher organizational echelon with advisory or directional authority over such facilities.

Preferred experience: The ideal candidate possesses progressively responsible leadership and management experience in a large, complex healthcare system or comparable organization, demonstrating experience in several of the following areas; Executive-level leadership of complex healthcare or health-system administrative operations involving multiple facilities, programs, service lines, or geographically dispersed organizational components; Supervising subordinate team leads, and professional/administrative staff, including experience with recruitment and selection, performance management, employee development, corrective action, workforce planning, and organizational effectiveness and applying advanced analytical and evaluative methods, performance metrics, dashboards, process improvement methodologies, and/or digital technology to identify organizational problems and develop executive-level recommendations.

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

• Administration and Management
• Data Management
• Decision Making
• Leadership

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 is performed in a typical 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.

This announcement is open to a specific area of consideration: current permanent VISN-level employees at the Legacy VISN 15, Legacy VISN 16, Legacy VISN 17 or Legacy VISN 19 (excluding Montana). Location negotiable after selection and must be physically located within the VISN 4 catchment area (states of AR, CO, KS, LA, MO, MS, NE, OK, TX, UT, WY), as well as those eligible under CTAP.

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
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

Resume Requirement: Your resume must include the following information:

• Job title
• Description of duties
• Beginning and ending date (month/year) of employment, and average hours worked per week

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
• Time in Grade SF50
• Other (2)
• 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: Not applicable for this job announcement.

Next steps