Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs - VA Northern California HealthCare System facility employees ONLY.

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Major duties include but are not limited to the following:

Patient Advocate (PA) Program Supervision and Other Supervision

• Demonstrates progressively responsible analytical and administrative supervisory skill and
  experience in the healthcare field. Serves as the primary VANCHCS patient service representative and supervises Patient Advocates.
• Establishes guidelines and performance expectations for Patient Advocate staff, which are
  clearly communicated through the format employee performance management system.
• Establishes professional networking with employees assigned collateral duties as patient
  advocates at all sites and collaborates with other VA facilities and non-VA agencies and
  organizations.
• Serves as the primary point of contact for written and telephonic Congressional office inquiries regarding patient care. Tracks
• Responsible for supervision of other positions as they are added to the Customer Service/Patient Advocate/Patient Centered Care Program.

Data Analysis and Reporting

• Performs assigned duties in the development and management of VANCHCS' response and
  tracking of patient customer inquiries, complaints and or compliments.
• Develops survey instruments and conducts statistical (quantitative) and qualitative analysis to
  determine the types and frequency of patient and customer complaints and inquiries. Highly
  skilled use of the Patient Advocate Tracking System (PATS) program and data is a regular part of assigned duties
• Tracks and trends data from other areas of the healthcare system and integrates the data with other performance information (VA Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients or SHEP & PATS, along with contracted outside vendor patient satisfaction data collection processes) to assess and improve the quality of care, service, patient and customer satisfaction, and the overall care delivery system.
• Benchmarks VANCHCS efforts against leaders in the healthcare industry and uses
  information to provide recommendations for opportunities for improvement.

Customer Service, Patient Advocate, & Patient Centered Care Programs Management

• Encourages and develops programs that allow all levels or staff to meet or exceed patient
  andior customer needs and expectations. Works with (advises and coaches) inpatient units,
  primary care and specialty clinics, community based outpatient clinics, administrative offices,
  and other VANCHCS departments to make decisions to sustain/improve customer service
  excellence and create an outstanding experience for Veterans and their family members/support.
• Assists the Customer Service Manager in ensuring that the VANCHCS Customer
  Service/Patient Advocate/Patient Centered Care programs are continuous, Veteran and family
  focused, data driven program and designed to accomplish the strategic goals of the organization.
• Assists the Customer Service Manager in ensuring that the VANCHCS Customer
  Service/Patient Centered Care programs and patient advocate activities conform to VHA
  Veterans Service Standards, Joint Commission (JC), National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), and other accrediting.
• Identifies the elements of clinical or administrative practices that contribute to, or create an
  atmosphere for patient dissatisfaction, and recommends changes that will reduce or eliminate
  justified complaints.

Training: Customer Service, Patient Advocacy, Patient Centered Care Programs

• Develops, coordinates, and conducts training related to Customer Service, Patient Advocacy,
  and Patient Centered Care for employees, volunteers and veterans. They will evaluate, assess and report on program effectiveness.

Work Schedule: Full-Time; Monday to Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: This is authorized for Ad-Hoc telework.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Systems Specialist - Customer Service Assistant Manager/PD9529-O
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
• You may be required to serve a probationary/trial period
• 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 dentification 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)

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/22/2025.

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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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 Requirements: Applicants must meet at least one of the requirements below:

• 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.

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-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Providing direct customer service in a healthcare setting; Resolving patient issues and addressing complaints; Collaborating with healthcare teams; Analyzing and evaluating data to ensure program goals are met; Making recommendations for changes to improve patient satisfaction; and Communicating with employees at all levels of an organization. Additionally, leading a team of Patient Advocates and having extensive knowledge of the Patient Advocate Tracking System (PATS-R) are also considered specialized experience.

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

• Compliance
• Decision Making
• Interpersonal Skills
• Listening
• Organizational Stewardship
• Problem Solving
• Veteran and Customer Focus

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: Includes walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items and occasionally assisting with a wheelchair, In some instances relationships with patients can become intense and the employee is constantly placed in a position of stress. This position demands emotional stability, as the
Custom Service Assistant Manager is deeply involved with many seriously ill, dying patients and their families and dealing with dissatisfied/angry patients and/or families. Work is primarily sedentary with regular travel required to visit various VANCHCS and non.VA sites. Climbing, bending and lining (moderate) are also required Work is in direct contact with patients and healthcare staff in a health care 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.

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.