Clarification from the agency

The position is open to current, permanent employees of Veterans Health Administration (VHA), All other Federal employees, VEOA, & CTAP eligible applicants.

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

• Provides guidance while communicating complex information to the Executive leadership, facility staff and outside stakeholders.
• Involves interaction with all levels of Medical Center personnel on a day-to- day basis along with other federal and non-federal agencies.
• formulates policy, ensures compliance with federal and state laws and conducts thorough research of federal implementation regulations
• Participates and represents the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) members on Medical Center committees and workgroups and in meetings that support the hospital mission.
• Responsibilities include the safeguarding of Government information while supporting accountability and transparency initiatives.
• Solely responsible for all aspects of the Privacy/FOIA Program to include Strategic and Risk analysis, planning, program outreach, coordinating training, developing metrics and ensuring that federally mandated information governance and accountability measures are in place.
• Carries out a variety of special assignments as required by these committees, work groups, and the needs of top management and the facility.
• Diverse issues and frequently have short deadlines.
• Frequently interprets regulations and policies on his/her own initiative, applies new methods to resolve complex and/or intricate, controversial, or unprecedented issues and problems, and resolves most conflicts that arise.
• Will assess gaps in policy, measure the knowledge of individual staff and facilitate improvements against the ever-changing policies, regulations and statutes that impact the privacy and FOIA programs.
• Involves implementing unique policies and procedures to manage agency information, helping and services to the public and VA staff members.
• Requires researching, interpreting and applying laws, regulations, policies and guidance for access and disclosure of VA agency records and information.

Work Schedule: 8:00AM- 4:30PM
Telework: Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Government Information Specialist/PD99538S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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, 02/27/2026.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
Involves interaction with all levels of Medical Center personnel on a day-to- day basis along with other federal and non-federal agencies. Work consists of projects and studies which require analysis of interrelated issues of effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity of substantive mission-oriented programs. Participates and represents the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) members on Medical Center committees and workgroups and in meetings that support the hospital mission. Carries out a variety of special assignments as required by these committees, work groups, and the needs of top management and the facility. Will need to be diverse issues and frequently have short deadlines. Frequently interprets regulations and policies on his/her own initiative, applies new methods to resolve complex and/or intricate, controversial, or unprecedented issues and problems, and resolves most conflicts that arise. Will assess gaps in policy, measure the knowledge of individual staff and facilitate improvements against the ever-changing policies, regulations and statutes that impact the privacy and FOIA programs. Individualized detailed reports are routinely compiled and shared to substantiate compliance with all the national, state and local applicable statutes. Teach and trains employees on general data protection procedures and detailed service specific practices for daily operations. Uses technology to provide required privacy/FOIA training and supplemental education to both clinical and administrative staff based on a detailed risk-based gap analysis conducted by the officer. Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, GS level (if a federal position), duties, month & year starting and ending dates AND hours worked per week.

OR,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a master level education. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Experience must be clearly indicated in your resume..

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

• Compliance
• Interpersonal Skills
• Knowledge Management
• Technical Credibility

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 includes walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items, and occasionally assisting with a wheelchair. In some instances, relationships with patients and caregivers can become intense and the incumbent is constantly exposed to high levels of stress and anxiety. This position demands emotional stability, as the incumbent is deeply involved with many challenging, seriously ill, and/or dying patients and their caregivers.

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.