Clarification from the agency

This announcement is only open to current, permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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The Associate Director shares with the Executive Leadership Team a level of responsibility for the direction and management of the healthcare system and is directly responsible for all facilities operations. The incumbent has direct line authority and leadership responsibility for all administrative operation support services. The incumbent participates on a day-to-day basis in top level executive discussions, decisions, policy making and actions of all administrative functions and indirectly of all clinical matters impacting patient care.

The Associate Director is responsible for taking an active leadership role in coordinating and developing customer and stakeholder support and resourcing to meet objectives of the healthcare system. Develops collaborative partnerships with stakeholders and makes program execution decisions that affect or determine long range courses of action of critical importance. The incumbents managerial duties and responsibilities involve final decisions which have a direct and substantial effect on the health care organization and programs related to facility operations. These include, but are not limited to decisions affecting the nature, scope, quality of, and emphases on, the facility's patient care programs and activities.

Duties include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Sharing with the Executive Leadership Team a level of responsibility for the direction and management of the Medical Center and is directly responsible for all facilities operations.
• A direct line authority and leadership responsibility for all administrative operation support services.
• May serve as the Acting Medical Center Director in the absence of the Director.
• Taking an active leadership role in coordinating and developing customer and stakeholder support and resourcing to meet Medical Center objectives.
• Determining operational services and programs goals and objectives, develop short-and long-range plans for achieving them in conjunction with the overall plans of the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) and consistent with the strategic planning process.
• Directing a comprehensive evaluation of operational services goals and objectives and makes necessary adjustments to improve delivery of patient care services.
• Establishing local policy in such areas impacting facility operations as program emphasis and operating guidelines.
• Administering and ensuring compliance with a system designed for the development and communication of program policies and procedures in accordance with new or existing rules and regulations.
• Administering a management reporting system which provides appropriate data for decision making for facility operations, impacting organizational improvements.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

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)

• 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/05/2026.

Proficiency in spoken and written English.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade at any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-15 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-14. 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.You may qualify based on your experience and/or education s described below:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-14 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, administrative, 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. 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.

OR,

• Education: There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond .

1. The position requires knowledge of standardized rules, procedures, and operations or requirements to perform and coordinate a wide variety of interrelated work supporting one or more specialty or program areas sufficient to research and resolve recurring error problems, issues, or questions, as well as to plan, coordinate, develop facts and/or resolve support problems in one or more specialties. Knowledge of the full range of position management principles, concepts, practices, and techniques sufficient to advise managers; and provide management with insight in establishing organizational structures that are efficient, cost effective, support desired grade levels, and facilitate career development.

1. Knowledge of the substantive functions of VHA Central Office customers. Positions typically include a requirement for skill in conducting recurring types of interviews to develop facts, analyzing readily understood technical subjects or kinds of work, and composing narrative reports or letters explaining routine and non-routine technical actions.

1. Ability to research, decide and determine the best approach when resolving complex problems/issues when precedence has not been set. Knowledge of and ability to extract and record data from various automated systems. Ability to enter data, complete forms, detect errors and omissions, and identify required information on all types of documents.

1. Proficiency in personal computers is required to prepare documents with complicated formatting, e.g., headers and footers; and to extract, revise, or sort information from files, records, or databases. Uses online resources to obtain information over the internet as needed.

• Administration and Management
• Decision Making
• Financial Management
• Human Capital Management
• Organizational Awareness

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.

NOTE: A formal pay-setting process will be used to determine your salary. The salary may be at any point in the range listed for this vacancy.

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.

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.