Clarification from the agency

Open to Current permanent employees of the Veterans Administration including permanent Veterans Benefits Administration, National Cemeteries, Veterans Canteen Service employees, current permanent full-time Hybrid Title 38 and permanent full-time Title 38 employees. This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.

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The Veteran Experience Officer creates a Customer Relations unit modeled around a Patient Centered Care philosophy. This office would be responsible for developing, implementing, coordinating, and evaluating a comprehensive Experience Program for approximately 52,000 patients throughout the Health Care System. The incumbent will stay on top of current National Patient Centered Care trends and Best Practices, and work in collaboration within VISN 1 in the refinement, implementation, and adaptation of VISN Customer Service initiatives. He/She will oversee training for Veterans as well as the Veteran Orientation program. The incumbent will work with senior leaders, employee and patient care leaders and educators in ensuring that a consistent and robust positive customer service culture is maintained at the VA Maine HCS.

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Expected to provide leadership at the executive level and has the full responsibility for the comprehensive monitoring of the planning, coordination, and implementation of patient-centered care, patient experience, and employee experience activities, committees and councils and other programs across the health care system.
• Responsible for supervising administration of the Recreation Therapy Program, Patient Advocate's Office, Voluntary Service, the Fisher House, and Veteran lodging program.
• Must have extensive knowledge in health care administration and demonstrate advanced skills and ability to direct complex administrative management systems.
• Provides leadership with authoritative and objectively based information for making decisions on the programmatic aspects of the patient centered care and the patient experience and creates an organizational operations and management structure.
• Responsible for working closely with specific groups of staff and/or teams that are affiliated with the Veteran Experience Officer. Management functions include supervision of staff and departments assigned and overseeing the general assessment, consultation, and education of staff reporting to this position.
• Responsible for promoting a patient and family focus within the VAMEHCS by educating, mentoring, consulting, and collaborating with a cross-section of departments and staff.
• Represent the Medical Center Director and participates in public speaking engagements, meetings, and public relations events and directs the media relations for the programs administered. Incumbent establishes and maintains good relations with various civic and professional groups, service organizations, accrediting agencies, volunteer worker groups, news media, and the community at large, as well as individual contacts with patients, visitors, and individuals in the community.
• Evaluates performance of employees under immediate supervision and initiates appropriate action to reward, guide, counsel, instruct, etc.
• Oversees and monitors an effective implementation of facility assessments and uses these assessments to effect changes across the HCS to achieve goals related to the Veteran Experience and Customer Service.
• Keeping aware of available resources (personnel, space, equipment, and money) and establishing priorities for distributing these resources based on programmatic needs.

Work Schedule: Full Time; 07:30 AM - 04:00 PM; Monday - Friday
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Health System Specialist/PD402-04016-0
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Notification:

• This position is in the Competitive Service.
• This position is not a Bargaining Unit position.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's.
• Selectee required to serve one year supervisory/managerial probationary period.
• Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.

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 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)
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Selectee must have a safe driving record.
• Selectee must have a valid unrestricted driving license.

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, 01/12/2026.

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-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 REQUIREMENT: Positions in the occupational series 0671 MUST MEET ONE of the following bullet points:

• Possess an Undergraduate or Graduate degree with a major field of study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)

OR;

• Possess 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;

• 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 and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience GS-12: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: 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. NOTE: The specialized experience must be well-documented on your resume.

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

• Leadership
• Organizational Awareness
• 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: The work is primarily in an office setting. Routine complex problem solving, walking, standing, and presenting are needed to effectively execute the responsibilities of this position

Work Environment: Work is typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate-controlled office. May require occasional travel

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.