Clarification from the agency

This is open to all Current, permanent employees in the Department of Veteran Affairs employees in the Veteran Healthcare Administration. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Work Schedule: 0730-1600 Monday - Friday
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Functional Statement #: 41168-F

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency: Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 38 U.S.C. 7407(d).
• Experience and Education:
  • (1) Experience. One year of experience in a health care field, such as but not limited to nursing, medical assistant, or health technician. OR
  • (2) Education. Two years above high school with a minimum of six semester hours directly related to a health care field or associate's degree in a health care related degree. OR
  • (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. Examples are listed below:
    • (a) Six months of experience in the health care field; and one year above high school; or
    • (b) Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, medical service specialists, or ophthalmology technicians given by the U.S. Armed Forces; or
    • (c) Six months of experience in the health care field and completion of an independent study course in Ophthalmic Medical Assisting.
• Certification: All applicants must be certified as a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) with the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO). The COA certification is JCAHPO's entry-level certification examination for a Health Technician (Ophthalmology).

Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. programs.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations: GS-11
(a) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-10 grade level.
(b) Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. The Program Coordinator is generally found in Complexity Level 1 (High Complexity) facilities, or in facilities of lesser complexity levels where large ophthalmology services are found. Has full responsibility for managing the day to day activities of the clinic and may supervise all phases of a facility specialty program. These duties include but are not limited to promoting health education for patients and staff; patient care coordination; referral and consults, oversight of surgery scheduling and coordination; preceptor and mentorship of personnel; quality improvement activities; patient advocate; polytrauma liaison for all ophthalmology issues, and participation in and coordination of approved research projects. Responsible for the overall technical and administrative oversight for operations within their program area to include coordination with multidisciplinary team members, as well as liaison with other sections that support ophthalmology care, such as Nursing Service, Telephone Care, Sterile Processing Service, Pharmacy, and Infection Control. Typically these duties include assigning and evaluating the work of subordinate staff; resolving problems which may interfere with patient examination or treatment; providing Health Technician (Ophthalmology) services in more complex and nonstandard cases; evaluating new products and equipment and making recommendations concerning developments which would improve operations; participating as an instructor in the facility's clinical training program; making final decisions on selections based on recommendations from subordinate supervisors or leads. At this level, assignments include intrafacility, interfacility and interagency coordination of care, triage and coordination of urgent ophthalmic patients, program evaluation and analysis, budgetary issues and planning. Assures orientation and competency assessment of assigned staff and maintains interdepartmental relations with other services to accomplish medical center goals. Plans and develops policies, procedures and goals, interprets, implements and educates staff on applicable VHA directives, handbooks, or other policies. Has overall responsibility for planning, assessing, and evaluating programs to ensure proper coordination between care delivered by the program and overall delivery of healthcare within the facility, or coordination of non-VA care as appropriate.
(c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA). In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: 1. Ability to perform the full range of supervisory duties, which includes responsibility for assignment of work to be performed; competency assessments; performance evaluations; selection of staff; and recommendation of awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary actions; 2. Ability to analyze clinically appropriate data and make recommendations to optimize quality, efficiency, performance, and productivity within service; 3. Advanced understanding of interdisciplinary issues and VA organizational structure to serve as liaison between eye care and other programs that would affect coordination of care, healthcare access, program evaluation, assessment and planning for future needs; and 4. Demonstrated leadership and managerial skills in interpersonal relations and conflict resolution to deal with employees, team leaders, providers and managers.



Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-11.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

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.

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.

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.