Training Specialist

Clarification from the agency

AREA OF CONSIDERATION: This announcement is open to Current, Permanent VA Federal employees ONLY. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred in the following order: 1) Current, permanent employees of VA Phoenix Health Care System; 2) Current, permanent VA employees.

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Reviews and incorporates training mandates and guidelines from VHA (local, VISN and National), Joint Commission, OSHA and other accrediting body's mandates into education programs to meet the intent of the standards ensuring staff are provided adequate and appropriate training based on requirements and position.
• Interprets higher level policies, goals, regulations and statutes.
• Analyzes data, conducts studies, makes recommendations.
• Applies new methods to resolve complex or controversial issues/ problems.
• Participates in all phases of planning, implementing and administering a training program which is responsive to immediate and long-range needs and goals of the organization.
• Analyzes overall training program and validates local programming, training needs and budgeting.
• Coordinates a variety of contracted off-site training courses, on-site training courses, Learning Management (LMS) offering§ and staff -conducted training to meet program needs.
• Identifies training courses, disseminates course information to individuals, answers inquiries concerning the nature and purpose of available courses, explains eligibility requirements and procedures or application, maintains liaison with VACO and maintains documentation prescribed by higher and local authorities.
• Prepares, reviews, and/or monitors the organizations training budget, ensuring accurate and timely submission of budget plans and required financial reports.
• Reviews and monitors expenditures and obligations within the training budget.
• Prepares records and reports related to fiscal training resources, reviewing materials to ensure timely and appropriate payment.
• Monitors and reviews obligations and expenditures and prepares statistical information to support the management's overall training budget. Develops statistical data pertinent to the training program.
• Performs as resource person and technical authority for the facility's training coordinators.
• Monitors and tracks mentor trainee documentation of practical experience hours and certification status. Reports progress and status in meeting the Director's Performance measures to facility Director's Office.
• Provides guidance and assistance to supervisors and employees with information on the organization's policies, procedures, and guidelines where they are directly applicable to the situation in planning job-related career development programs and a variety of special training programs.
• Provides direction for the training and development aspects of medical center employment programs.
• Proposes new policies and practices or establishes methods to modify, adapt, and/or refine guidelines to resolve specific issues/problems.
• Advises supervisors and employees of available training courses.
• Advises supervisors and employees concerning regulations and procedures for training in government and non-government facilities.
• Answers questions of employees, supervisors and management based upon knowledge of regulations and policies and of similar situations and experiences.
• Coordinates and conducts surveys of training needs on an annual basis.
• Provides detailed guidance concerning survey procedures, training sources, available training courses, and course prerequisites for completing survey responses.
• Consolidates survey results in the training plan.
• Designs reports as required for individual, Care/Service Lines, and Medical Center Management; links education curriculum with Medical Center mission and strategic directives; ensures education requirements at facility are included in TMS system set up and management; and creates assignments of appropriate training to local users through the use of assignment profiles.
• Trains or ensures local TMS administrators, instructors, employees, staff, and supervisors are trained on TMS user interface and assists users with logging onto TMS to complete national mandatory training.
• Assists Service Lines with crea1ni g presentations for training, as well as in-service training, continuing education and other classes to be delivered on the intranet.
• Reviews. analyses, and evaluates training courses and programs to assess their quality and effectiveness.
• Maintains training course attendance records and ensures completion of training is properly recorded.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30AM -4:00PM
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Training Specialist/PD04464A
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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

30 Day Hiring Model
The Department of Veterans Affairs is implementing a streamlined 30-Day Hiring Model designed to accelerate hiring while maintaining the highest standards of merit-based selection. This improved process reduces traditional hiring timelines by integrating early coordination, faster assessments, and efficient pre-employment actions. Applicants can expect a more transparent, predictable, and efficient hiring journey from announcement to entry on duty.

What Applicants Can Expect:

• Expedited Candidate Review Once the announcement closes, Human Resources will quickly review applications, issue certificates of eligible candidates the day after the announcement closes and refer applicants for hiring manager consideration.
• Quick Interviews & References

Qualifications

30 Day Hiring Model Cont...

HR may arrange interviews and will request references within 3-5 days after being referred to the hiring manager.

• Streamlined Pre-Employment Requirements: Following a tentative offer, applicants should be prepared to complete required steps, such as fingerprinting and background check, credentialing, and medical examination within 3 days of the offer.
• Clear and Timely Communication: Applicants will receive clear communication at key milestones, including referral, tentative offer, and onboarding instructions.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/16/2026.

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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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.You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

This position has an Individual Occupational Requirement that must be met:

Education

Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- education or a subject area related to the position to be filled.

or

Experience

General Experience (for GS-5 positions): Experience that provided evidence of the ability to instruct students in the use of equipment, principles, or practices of the subject or occupation. This experience may have been gained as a teacher or instructor; in on-the-job supervision or instruction of subordinates or fellow workers; or in work involving application of the principles, practices, and techniques of the occupation or subject-matter field of the position to be filled.

Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience that demonstrated a practical knowledge of the subject area of the position and of the methods and techniques of instruction. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:

• Teaching or instructing in an adult education program, secondary school, college, military installation, or industrial establishment in the appropriate field(s).
• Supervising or administering a training program.
• Development or review of training/course materials, aids, devices, etc., and evaluation of training results.
• Work in the occupation or subject-matter field of the position to be filled that required training or instructing others on a regular basis.

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade SG-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Comprehensive knowledge of computers, including common, off-the-shelf software, at a level to develop and maintain data base systems and of hospital specific computer systems and other web-based applications. Knowledge and application of skills in the principles, techniques and practices of adult learning. Ability to design curriculums utilizing sequencing learning and knowledge of instructional strategies. Knowledge of instructional systems design to develop and publish web-based learning materials or on-line tutorials. Assignments require comprehensive knowledge of distance learning methods and web-based academics. Knowledge of the human resource programs governing Personal Improvement Plans and Personal Development Plans to be able to guide and make recommendations to supervisors. Ability to design, evaluate, and develop employee development programs, training plans, course methods, materials and aids. Provides technical assistance on techniques and methodology, assessing project performance, and negotiating major changes in project plans. Develop, evaluate, and plan programs utilizing current resources when possible to meet the training needs of Medical Center employees. Knowledge of software packages used in the Medical Center such as Word, Excel, Access, Power Point, etc. Ability to independently plan, organize and prioritize work assignments within timeframes established by management. Ability to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers, maintain confidentiality of patient/employee information, the medical center performance improvement program, and how to work and function in the medical center in a safe manner, including infection control and the correct operation of equipment.

OR,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have master's or equivalent graduate degree OR 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.B. or J.D., related directly related to the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted to receive education credit.

OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 1 full year of graduate level education. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted to receive education credit.

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 required is generally sedentary in nature but includes standing, bending and carrying light or medium loads of papers, office files, supplies and equipment. Standing, moving and walking are also required when teaching or illustrating a procedure or process. In order to ensure that training is available to all employees, the incumbent is required to be available for weekend, evening and night shift duty. Fieldwork may involve traveling to meetings and sources of information.

Preferred Experience: Training Delivery; Instructional Design Principles; Program and Process Improvement; Data Analysis; Proven experience in curriculum development, organization, and instruction; Professional presentation and facilitation skills; Customer engagement and service expertise; Demonstrated mentoring and coaching abilities; Extensive working knowledge of the VA System (TMS, VistA, and related platforms).


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:

• Attention to Detail
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Reading Comprehension
• Self-Management
• Teamwork

Your 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. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

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)
• License
• Other (1)
• 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.

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.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.

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.

Next steps