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Health System Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration

Summary

This position is located within the Program Evaluation and Resource Center (PERC) at the VA Medical Center in Menlo Park, CA. PERC conducts nationwide evaluations of VA treatment methods, services, and programs for mental health, substance use disorders (SUD), and suicide prevention, supports compliance with Congressional mandates, develops computational tools used by providers throughout VHA, and monitors them for quality, fairness, and availability.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
02/19/2026 to 02/25/2026
Salary
$133,060 to - $172,980 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Menlo Park, CA
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CARZ-12891779-26-AIH
Control number
858137600

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Duties

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***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

MAJOR DUTIES:

  • Provides project management leadership, strategic direction, and oversight for novel programs and major mental health initiatives that Office of Mental Health (OMH) and Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) are deploying across VHA.
  • Ensures that a standardized and effective approach to implementation is applied, using a project management framework, process improvement methodology, and change management standards, processes, and resources.
  • Functions as an advisor to PERC, OMH, and OSP leadership, providing valuable consultative services and problem-solving expertise related to project management.
  • Reviews projects to determine implementation strategies that are optimized for existing workflow and operations.
  • Develops and maintains detailed project schedules, tasks, milestone dates, and schedules to ensure proper sequencing of events and tracking of processes and costs throughout the life cycle of the project.
  • Establishes processes and systems to accurately monitor the status of assigned projects, track progress toward achieving agreed upon actions, and facilitate meeting program requirements in a timely manner.
  • Gathers data from mental health programs across VHA, combines data, and evaluates whether OMH or OSP leadership need to be briefed on findings.
  • Creates and maintains systems and databases designed to ensure that projects comply with administrative policies, procedures, and requirements.
  • Assists the mental health care programs at all 139 VHA health care systems with developing implementation activities using the frameworks established by national OMH or OSP guidance and policy.
  • Collaborates with OMH and OSP and other stakeholders throughout VHA to establish project objectives and improve the implementation of mental health programs, initiatives, and mandates.
  • Leads technical assistance and dissemination activities in support of major mental health initiatives, programs, and mandates.
  • Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Requirements

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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 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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT: One (1) full year of specialized experience as described below that is equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12) in the Federal service and that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position.

Specialized experience includes 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: (a) Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; (b) Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; (c) Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel and procurement.

In addition, at this level, the following experience is also required: Specialized experience leading and conducting complex health care systems program evaluations within large health care organizations, including independent analysis of large-scale patient and administrative datasets to assess quality, efficiency, and operational performance ; and experience applying advanced statistical and analytical problem-solving methods, informed by clinical knowledge, to identify systemic issues and implement data-driven improvements in health care delivery and operations.

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

  • Decision Making
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Project Management


IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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.

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; religious; 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.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required when visiting different sections of the health care system for meetings or fact-finding.

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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

Note: Per "Executive Order 14251: Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs", this position is no longer eligible for bargaining unit participation.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Your responses to the assessment questionnaire will be reviewed along with the information provided in your resume and supporting documentation to determine if you are qualified for the position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered and/or you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

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.

Candidates who apply under All U.S. Citizens announcements will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. Qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The categories are defined as follows:

  • Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
  • Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;
  • Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.
Application of Veterans' Preference: Category rating and selection procedures place those with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligible applicants that meet the eligibility and qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category (except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher).

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.

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