Clarification from the agency

This position is open to current, permanent employees of the Richmond Veterans Health Administration only.

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Duties Include:

• Manages administrative and human resource issues as assigned, coordinate personnel actions, performance standards, and manages aspects of the performance appraisal system within the Service.
• Serves as an advisor to supervisors within the service on personnel and administrative matters using knowledge of federal and agency policy, laws, and regulations.
• Responsible for coordinating routine review of position descriptions within Surgery Service and advising supervisors of review and update requirements.
• Composes ads for recruitment purposes and for US Department of Labor regulations requirements to obtain the Immigration Visa; and send to Human Resources personnel to publish in national medical and technical journals, newspapers, and VAMC's nationwide. Ads identify eligibility requirements such as licensing, certification, education and general requirements of the position.
• Plans all visits by physicians being-considered for positions in the Surgical Service, to include logistical matters (accommodations, transportation, financial reimbursement, etc), and together with the Section Chief, drafts interview schedules and then coordinates final schedule by personally contacting all persons on the agenda and arranging their participation in the interview process.
• Primary approving official for Surgical Service's Cost Distribution Report, and an approving official for Surgical Service Control Points; and responsible to the Chief, Surgical Service and the Administrative Officer for the financial status of the Service.
• Coordinates all service level budgets planning and projecting with the Chief, Surgical Service, Administrative Officer, and the various Section Chiefs of Surgery Service.
• Approves all purchase card reconciliations; monitor the purchases to ensure they are within putaecard guidelines and policy. Incumbent is responsible for monthly purchase card audits and reports.
• Serves as Surgical Service's Technical Representative on contracts within the Service.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: Ad-Hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD03178A
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, 03/18/2026.

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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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 s described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: coordinating recruitment activities, preparing recruitment advertisements, scheduling interviews, assisting with credentialing or personal documentation, advising supervisors on personnel or administrative policies, and monitoring budgets. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have master's or equivalent graduate degree or2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or
  LL.B. or J.D., if related. 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 .

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

• Administration and Management
• Attention to Detail
• Budget Administration
• Compliance
• Contracting/Procurement
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Quality Assurance
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• 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 requires sitting, standing and frequent walking throughout the medical center. The position requires a considerable amount of reading and writing.

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.