Clarification from the agency

AREA OF CONSIDERATION: This announcement is open to current permanent VHA Employees. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred in the following order: 1) Current permanent Northern Arizona VA Health Care System employees; 2) Current permanent VHA employees;

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Major duties and responsibilities include, but not limited to:

• Manages and directs the administrative aspects of the Ambulatory Care program and provides effective management of functions in reception, scheduling, admissions, discharge, transfer, insurance examination, mental health behavior science appointments, prosthetic appliances, reimbursable insurance, and/or other related programs.
• Determines which major projects affecting functional activities assigned will be initiated, changed, or discontinued; analyzes productivity within each major program and adjusts available manpower; and maintains long-range plans in connection with the primary mission of the Medical Center and the relationship of operational activities.
• Assists with the establishment of goals, objectives, and short/long range plans related to scheduling duties.
• Provides staff support to the Office of the Chief, HAS, e.g., workload estimates, budget estimates, statistical reports, recommendations for staffing and organization, and reports on unusual situations.
• Maintains, and assures employees within Ambulatory Care maintain up-to date knowledge of policies and practices of the Privacy Act (PA), Freedom of Information Act (FIOA), Healthcare Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), and Automated Data Processing (ADP).
• Advises Clinical Service Chiefs in the high-level coordination of facility-wide management of clinic setup, encounter management/completion, medical documentation, scheduling, procedures, directives, and practices in daily operations.
• Assists HAS with addressing, completing and/or assigning complaints received from congressional representatives and White House correspondence.
• Performs administrative supervision over seven (7) Supervisory Medical Support Assistants, and plans and directs work, assigns tasks, evaluates work performed, advises employees, recommends selection of applicants to fill vacant positions, handles employee complaints, grievances, and minor disciplinary problems.
• Evaluates effectiveness of operations supervised in terms of monitoring production, mission accomplishment, quality and quantity standards, procedural policy, and regulatory compliance.
• Receives and processes requests for special informational studies, surveys, questionnaires, recurring and non-recurring reports, and is responsible for collection of data from all appropriate sources, review, and validation of the data collected, and preparation of a formal response to the requesting organization.
• Prepares and analyzes data, identifies trends and concerns of issues, and makes recommendations for improvement, and immediately addresses any discrepancies.
• Provides the Chief, HAS with workload statistics, advice on fund shortages and recommendations regarding funding or program adjustments, promotes cost consciousness, and identifies areas in which savings are possible.
• Assists the Director and Executive Leadership team in the development of administrative policies that ultimately affect the facility's health care delivery system.
• Organizes and participates in multidisciplinary task forces, committees, or work groups to facilitate implementation of electronic administrative programs that involve multiple services at multiple sites.
• Supports the EEO program and diversity events, as well as ensures that EEO, ADR and diversity training is provided to all employees in a timely manner as required.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30AM to 4:00PM
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Program Specialist/PD144530
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
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, 02/20/2026.

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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: ability to deal analytically and systematically with problems of organization, workflow, analysis of information requirements and planning; ability to communicate effectively with each to gather information, present recommendations, and coordinate outcomes; Exceptional oral and written communication skills for speaking in front of groups, writing policies, procedures, memoranda, and training materials; Demonstrate interpersonal skills in supervising disputes between service/specialties regarding the administrative data and negotiating solutions; Ability to deal with a variety of individuals with tact and diplomacy, and to present self in a professional manner; Computer knowledge of word processing (MS Word), spreadsheets (MS Excel), graphics (MS PowerPoint); Knowledge of the Veterans Health Information & Technology Architecture (VistA), CPRS and Veterans Scheduling Graphical User Interface (VS GUI) to access information in the Facility Computer System. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR a LL.B. or J.D., if related. This education demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of both experience and education as shown above. Applicants with Superior Academic Achievement on their Bachelor's Degree may use all graduate level education when combining education and experience to qualify for this position. NOTE: Both the Bachelor's and Graduate Degree Transcripts must be submitted with the application package. Otherwise, ONLY Graduate education in excess of the first full year may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9.

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

• Administration and Management
• Customer Service
• Database Management Systems
• Manages and Organizes Information

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: No unusual or special physical demands. Work is typical sedentary. Occasional travel will 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.