Clarification from the agency

This position is open to current, permanent employees of the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center.

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Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm Monday - Friday
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Assistant/PD09968A

Major Duties include but not limited too:

• Program Assistant for CWY and Northern Clinics is responsible for running all reports and duties described for the specified area. program Assistant for LCCHC and Southern Clinics is responsible for running all reports and duties described for the specified area. Initiates and populates reports for HAS and distributes to all HAS staff as well as the facility Access Coordinator for analysis and/or action.
• Employee is responsible for auditing the Incomplete Encounter Error Management as well as the Encounter Action Required programs and assures that HAS is in compliance with requirements of getting those actions completed in a timely manner and in accordance with national closeout deadlines.
• Involved in an extremely complex blend of computing technology, medical information, and communication skills in a rapidly changing environment.
• Helps maintain the work of the data analysts and all statistical clerk duties. Review requests for accuracy for submission to DSS for the identifiers and count/non-count clinic assignments for clinic profiles and approve or rejects, then provides the requesting service necessary input to ensure corrected selections for approval and assignment using the Health Administration Service Administrative Management (HASAM) database.
• Conduct bi-weekly VistA audits of active clinics to review for DSS non-conforming clinics and DSS identifiers validity.
• Conduct a monthly review of all respective clinics using the VISTA "Clinic Utilization Statistical Summary", and "Clinic Availability" reports to identify low utilization, consistently unused appointment slots, and appointment scheduling availability. Coordinates the collection of data concerning patient care activities, makes computations as required and reports monthly, quarterly and/or annually to management.
• Consult with the Supervisory Program Analyst, the Program Applications Specialists or DSS for guidance as required concerning clinic profile management and DSS identifiers, count/non-count status, billing, encounter forms, and the National Standard compliance.

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, 03/13/2026.

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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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.

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Experience using basic statistical methods and formulas to calculate ratios, percentages, means, medians, frequency distributions, etc. and to present a variety of statistical data in tabular or report format.
• Experience with clinic profiles, including setup, cancellations and modifications, etc.
• Ability to analyze and interpret complex data and to recognize errors and deviations from the norm. Including database, spreadsheets and survey data.
• Extensive knowledge and Experience with programs and functions of the hospital, the types of patients treated in each ward or clinic, basic eligibility criteria, and regulations governing admissions, discharges, transfers, deaths, and authorized and unauthorized absence in order to analyze data, recognize discrepancies, and present data in a form that is useful to management.
• Extensive experience in using VistA and PC software programs, (such as Excel and Access) in order to compile and extract data and to create reports.

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

• Audit Reporting
• Communication
• Customer Service
• Database Administration
• Database Management Systems
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Operations Support
• Planning and Evaluating
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Systems Thinking
• Teamwork

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 mostly sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of items such as papers and books. Concentration and sustained performance under prolonged stress is required because of the time factors involved in completion of work assignments within deadlines.

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.