Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees and CTAP eligible applicants.

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Duties may include, but are not limited to:

The incumbent supports the work of the Quality and Patient Safety (QPS) team with a focus on Patient Safety and High Reliability Organization (HRO). The incumbent works closely with designated program managers in support of daily office and program operations.

The incumbent will be responsible to help build and implement patient safety systems and promote the culture of safety within VA facilities and for VA patients in all healthcare settings. The NCPS policies are found in the VHA National Patient Safety Improvement Handbook (directive), national patient safety training materials and computer systems, and applicable regulations of The Joint Commission (TJC) Direct support is provided to the development, maintenance, and operation of the VHA's patient safety program at the facility level. This includes working with all levels of staff within the facility.

Performs duties directly contributing to the planning, organizing, developing, and evaluating the patient safety and HRO programs. These duties require the ability to apply the specialized principles and practices of health care management in leading the patient safety/HRO program.

Performs activities such as Safety Assessment Code (SAC) classification; Provides Root Cause Analysis (RCA); "just in time" training.; Identifies RCA Team members; Supports RCA Teams, e.g., RCA Advisor; Ensures that RCAs are complete, that all technical requirements are met, and all implementation requirements are accurately identified; Proficient in the use of Situation, Problem, Outcome, and Timely (SPOT), VHA's National Patient Safety software application.; Supports aggregate review process; Functions in the role of advisor; Follows-up on RCA Actions/Outcome Measures; Resident expert on confidentiality rules as they apply to the patient safety process; Supports HRO steering committee functions; Reviews HRO leader round data for monitoring and tracking.

Performs patient safety/HRO programmatic functions including:

• Acts as liaison on patient safety issues.
• Promotes the HRO mission by serving as an HRO expert.
• Serves as an expert on the VHA Patient Safety Improvement Handbook.
• Serves as member of various medical center committees, as appropriate to the position, e.g., Safety/Environment of Care, HRO Steering, etc.
• Conducts periodic environmental patient safety inspections regarding safety concerns or incidents, which may include interviewing staff. Collaborates with Biomedical Occupational Safety, Infection Control, etc.
• Promotes patient safety and HRO successes and activities, e.g., town meetings, awards.
• Disseminates Patient Safety Reporting System (PSRS) program information.
• Provides new employee patient safety orientation and training.
• Participates in facility patient safety/HRO training program.
• Conducts and participates in Proactive Risk Assessment (PRA) and Healthcare Failure Mode Effects Analysis (HFMEA) evaluations. Serves as a resource for patient safety issues with NCPS, Patient Safety Alerts/Advisories, including tracking system actions.

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, 02/27/2026.

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. specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level in the Federal service that has equipped me with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this Health System Specialist position. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as 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: (1) Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; (2) Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and (3) Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. At this level, applicants would have obtained this experience working within a health care setting; working directly with healthcare professionals and other administrators to solve problems in support of the delivery of patient care and education/training; experience running an administrative component of a health care onboarding process; and analyzes and synthesizes data from diverse data systems to improve business processes.. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, Or LL.M in the related field of the position to be filled (i.e., hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration). The education portion must include courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Education must have been obtained in an accredited college, or university. NOTE: Transcripts 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's degree and specialized experience as described above to meet total experience requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of this position (i.e., hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration). NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Experience must be clearly indicated in your resume.

• Administration and Management
• Interpersonal Skills
• Leadership
• Quality Assurance
• Technical Competence

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.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.