Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

Videos

The Health System Specialist - Associate Director Innovations, reports directly to the Deputy Director of Special Projects, who reports directly to the Senior Consultant for Operations of the Suicide Prevention Program (SPP) and is responsible for overseeing the entire workstream of Suicide Prevention Program Innovations.

Major Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Incorporating standard work processes, knowledge management, and reporting systems to locate and analyze data and prepare reports for substantive programs.
• Responsible for the advancement of the translation of new suicide prevention clinical research into practice across the VA system.
• Ensuring national rollout of initiatives are in alignment with implementation science principles and include interface with a wide range of clinical and administrative offices within VHA
• Utilizes quality management principles for large mental health programs and links training with quality management efforts.
• Reviewing all Issue Briefs from facilities to identify methods to support facilities in areas for follow-up to strengthen suicide prevention efforts locally.
• Drafting of technical assistance responses to new legislation pertaining to suicide prevention and assisting leadership with the preparation of congressional responses and for all congressional hearings related to suicide prevention.
• Ensuring monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting of SP clinical initiatives and associated metrics (including adherence to nationally mandated suicide prevention education training requirements), in alignment with the GAO green book standards, provides oversight to related suicide prevention efforts, and coordinates with other offices, as necessary, to monitor remediation efforts if/when education adherence deficiencies are identified.
• Studying reports containing findings and recommendations of major significance to top management, and often serve as the basis for new administrative systems, legislation, regulations, or programs.
• Reviewing OIG/GAO reports pertaining to suicide prevention and assists the Senior Consultant for Operations with development of required national responses to these oversight bodies.
• Reviewing new Joint Commission and CARF standards and any reported findings nationally related to suicide prevention to assess for any needed changes in national policies/guidelines.
• Assisting the Senior Consultant of Operations with complex reviews of effectiveness, efficiency and productivity of suicide prevention office efforts and develops detailed plans, goals, and objectives for the long-range implementation and administration of the program, which has wide ranging impact on other VA and national level programming.
• Developing fiscal year plans that meet the objectives of current and proposed programs.
• Developing performance and program goals and plans to meet these goals including identifying new program lines and evolving service delivery models to be consistent with provision of the most up-to-date, evidence-informed crisis intervention services.
• Developing administrative regulations or guidelines for program operations or new criteria for measuring program accomplishments.
• Interpreting and synthesizes data and reports to apply this knowledge to program development and/or to be able to report performance to Suicide Prevention leadership.
• Directing an ongoing process assessment/quality improvement program to identify and implement continuous improvements to service.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of the programs and ways to resolve problems or cope with issues which directly affect the accomplishment of the principal program goals and objectives.
• Examining and re-engineers' operations and procedures, formulating policy, and developing and implementing new strategies and procedures, as necessary, in response to data.

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. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Physical Requirements: The work is basically sedentary. There is some light lifting of small objects (such as books, papers, files, and binders). There may be light bending, reaching, walking, and standing. No special physical demands.
• 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.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Required Documents" below for details.
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/20/2024.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

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 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 REQUIREMENT (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can't be waived. The education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained.

To qualify for the GS-0671-14 occupational series, applicants MUST possess one of the following:

Undergraduate and Graduate Education. 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. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)

OR

Specialized Experience or Special Provision for Inservice Placement.

Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5).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.

• Management ability to delegate authority, evaluate and oversee people and programs, recognize and adapt to changing priorities; and
• Knowledge of the interrelationships and interdependencies among various medical and administrative services and programs.

• 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.

• Experience in practicing analytical and evaluative methods related to suicide prevention and applying appropriate program evaluation and measurement techniques to assess compliance with established rules and regulations;
• Utilizing management and organizational principles, as well as planning, programming, and budgeting regulations, guidelines, and processes; experience gathering, assembling, and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, conducting analyses, devising recommended solutions, and compiling the entire process into briefings, papers, or reports;
• Presenting oral presentations to diverse audiences, including the press and the public, to explain programs, functions, and activities;
• Experience developing administrative regulations and guidelines for program operations, including new criteria for measuring program achievements;
• Reviewing the latest standards from the Joint Commission and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), along with any reported findings related to suicide prevention, to identify necessary changes in national policies and guidelines; and
• Experience drafting technical assistance responses to new legislation pertaining to suicide prevention and assisting leadership with the preparation of congressional responses and for all congressional hearings related to suicide prevention.

• Compliance
• Organizational Awareness
• Planning and Evaluating
• Strategic Thinking

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:


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.