Clarification from the agency

Open to eligible CTAP candidates only.

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Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Serves as the Executive Assistant and the key staff advisor to the Office of the Patient Advocacy leadership team.
• Under broad and general supervision by the Senior Project Manager, the position has responsibility for assisting the Executive Director in all administrative management matters.
• Performs as a subject matter expert on the management analysis and evaluation of the Office of Patient Advocacy's mission, responsibilities, and functions, identifying alternatives to improve productivity or effectiveness and conserve resources, and providing managerial advice and assistance on overall requirements, policies and challenges.
• Coordinates, reviews, and comments on applicable regulatory and policy guidance.
• Receives assignments that are broad in scope, long term in nature and have significant VHA- wide impact.
• Initiates, directs, prioritizes, expedites, and integrates taskings and requirements into effective and efficient activities within the organization's support elements and staff.
• Will undertake special studies, direct projects, and carry out assigned missions of the very highest priority, many of which are of direct concern to VHA senior leaders.
• Evaluates proposals for systems and/or programs required to meet existing or anticipated operational problems, challenges, and changes in the strategic communication environment.
• In a liaison capacity with all major VHACO support service entities, assists by exercising administrative responsibilities in the form of coordinating, reviewing, and evaluating the effectiveness of administrative and operating policies, regulations, and procedures amongst the OPA leadership team.

Work Schedule: 08:00-04:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: This position may be authorized for ADHOC telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD836650
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
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 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)

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, 01/26/2026.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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 (IOR): The 0671 Occupational series has an IOR that must be met:

• 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 (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). 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. 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.

Specialized Experience: 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:

• Experience with advanced management and organizational principles, quantitative and qualitative methods, and evaluative techniques to manage, plan, coordinate and integrate current or proposed programs into developing strategic management planning to inform program office policy formulation.
• Experience planning, organizing, and directing multi-functional, multi-organizational team studies and skills to effectively negotiate acceptance and implementation of recommendations involving substantial resources and/or requiring extensive changes in established procedures or policies.
• Knowledge of VHA and VA programs and staff support services, their policies and practices, funding sources, fiscal management and automation policies and procedures, organizational structure, mission and functions to locate, interpret and analyze data and to recommend policy and procedures.
• Coordinates with the Senior Project Managers as necessary to perform research and conduct analysis to prepare artifacts with supporting justification to defend requirements.
• Applies a wide range of qualitative and quantitative analytical and evaluation methods and techniques to identify and advise on programs, initiatives, and problems involving major program office initiatives.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
Communication
Organizational Awareness
Planning and Evaluation
Customer Service
Analytical Reasoning

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 sedentary, but some light physical effort may be required.

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.