Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System employees only

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As a Health Systems Specialist, responsible for directing, leading and guiding the service lines or services in any projects that may involve management support. Duties include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Develop policies and plans for the organization;
• Provide active and well informed administrative participation in planning for the delivery of health care;
• Develop, evaluate, and modify organizational structure and systems to achieve program goals;
• Participate in the analysis and interpretation of workload and other data used in resource planning;
• Direct service lines/ services throughout the hospital through the medical center planning activities;
• Conduct and direct special studies and analyses of complex problems relating to manpower requirements, space and equipment utilization, organizational alignment and other areas;
• Participate in the formulation and implementation of policies necessary to support the administrative functions of the medical center;
• Support in his/her role as the one of the senior leaders responsible for the identification of root causes and corrective actions for deficiencies identified by external organizations;
• Participate in the implementation of VISN 1 special emphasis programs which crosses administrative and clinical boundaries and affects all levels of the organization;
• Assist in any projects assigned;
• Make recommendations to senior leaders in all aspects of operations within the hospital; and
• Assist senior leaders in various areas related to construction, contracting, space utilization, and move coordination.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized
Telework: Ad Hoc may be authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD00507-0 and PD00418-0
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/10/2025.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9 grade level. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 grade level. 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: 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

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.

AND

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

Grade Requirement:

Specialized Experience GS-11: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Working independently with personnel at the facility, CBOCs, etc., to implement local, national and VISN standards, and reports or addresses administrative process/system issues and other areas of concern. Ensuring record management guidelines are adhered to in the clinic setting. Providing recommendations on facility improvements including construction, renovation, space utilization and purchase of equipment, as assigned. Advising departments associated with the allocation of fiscal, personnel, equipment, and space resources. Serving on internal and external facility planning committees, as assigned.
OR,
Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based upon education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., if related. The degree must be in a field that will equip the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position being filled. (Transcripts must be provided)
OR,
Combination of Education and Specialized Experience: Possess combinations of the defined education and experience to qualify for a GS-11 level. First determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-11. (When crediting education that requires specific course work, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.) (Transcripts must be provided)

Specialized Experience GS-12: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade at the GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization as defined. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assisting clinic managers in forecasting the impact of staff changes and developing countermeasures to mitigate the effect of staff shortages on access to care. Making recommendations to managers regarding allocation of resources, including potential use of community care options. Monitoring, and making recommendations to adjust plans to effectively and cost-efficiently accomplish the mission within budgetary constraints. Performing cost analysis and cost effectiveness studies to determine make/buy decisions to address gaps

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

• Project Management
• Analytical Thinking
• Strategic Thinking

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 primarily sedentary but may involve some walking, standing, bending, and carrying small items such as books and papers.

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.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

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.

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.