Clarification from the agency

Open to current and permanent Federal Employees Only. .

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The Health System Specialist position serves the Facilities Management Office and other management officials by analyzing evaluating, advising, and/or coordinating healthcare delivery systems and-operations. He/she assists in the development and implementation of both long- and short-range plans for the Medical Center, giving special consideration to the Integration of internal administrative-and clinical policies, compliance with VACO guidelines, standards, and requirements of various regulatory and accreditation bodies; and the Impact of Medical Center activities on outside entities such as other hospitals and the community at large. Assists in, establishing an atmosphere conducive the accomplishment of the· basic mission of the .Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center located in Memphis, TN:

Other functions include, but are not limited to:

• The position is organizationally located in the Facilities Management Office and is directly accountable to the Chief of Engineering
  Service
• Ability to communicate with project managers, internal and external designers, reviewing agencies, facilities service personnel, and county and local government officials.
• Knowledge and ability to provide clinical and administrative data analysis and the development of business plans consistent with VHA, VISN, and medical center/system goals, strategies and objectives.
• Knowledge and skill in the application of analytical and evaluative methods in collecting, analyzing, planning, organizing, developing, and coordinating, integrating, and interpreting a wide variety of data and reporting results in a concise usable manner.
• Assist with the development of equipment requests relating to renovation and construction.
• Serves as a facility representative on the VISN and VHA Capital Assets and Strategic Planning Committees.
• Skilled in providing oversight of the strategic process and/or program planning for individual clinical or administrative services or programs.
• Knowledge of assessment tools for identifying current status, actual and potential problem areas, identifying and interpreting trends and significant factors, as well as knowledge of social factors, economics, and other conditions affecting performance of health care delivery systems, including population demographics (veterans and community), service utilization, finance and budget.
• Skill in both oral and written communication and the ability to provide clear, logical and concise explanation of information.

Work Schedule: Monday Through Friday 7:00 a.m.-3:00p.m, 7:30a.m-4:30p.m.m, 8:00a.m-4:30p.m., and 8:30-5:00p.m.
Telework: Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD50510-0 and PD50254-0
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level of GS-13 without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

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 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, 02/12/2026.

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.
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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Individual Occupational Requirement: Minimum Requirements for Series 0671 requires the applicant to have education or specialized experience:

Educational Requirements: 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:
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.

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 and/or education as described below:

Specialized Experience for GS-12: In addition to the IOR, 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:

• Conducting statistical analysis on data to identify patterns/trends and variances.
• Collecting and analyzing medical information for external abstractors.
• Developing operational protocols, procedures, and methods for assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of operating programs in meeting goals and objectives.
• Analyzing health service delivery gaps based on the needs of veteran population and application of the capital asset planning process.
• Examining policy issues and strategic planning with a long-term perspective.
• Determining objectives, setting priorities, and anticipating potential threats or opportunities.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-13: In addition to the IOR, 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. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as:

• Coordinates, implements, and oversees the ongoing implementation of national guidance and directives into Medical Center plans.
• Apply analytical and evaluative techniques to issues concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of health care system operations within the Medical Center.
• Completes qualitative and quantitative studies including financial reports and cost effectiveness analyses.
• Drafts comprehensive reports, studies, business plans, and presentations for the Medical Center's senior management.
• Establishes project goals and objectives and provides findings and recommendations to senior executives.

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

• Analytical Thinking
• Capital Planning and Investment Assessment
• Customer Service
• Planning and Evaluating
• Project Management
• 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 sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. This work is performed in an office setting although some slight physical effort may be required to conduct training events, give presentations, or to observe staff and trainees in their work environment, including inpatient clinical areas. The position will utilize a desk and computer and may need to navigate throughout the facility clinical areas. Stamina and concentration to meet crucial deadlines is 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/.
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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.