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Program Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Southern Veterans Affairs Health Care System

Summary

The Program Specialist position is located at the Southern Arizona VA Medical Center (VAMC) in the Quality, Safety, Value Service (QSVS). The primary purpose of the position is to direct and perform all administrative functions that include administration, human resources management, budget and finance, management and program analysis, office support services, document control, logistics, and a variety of related administrative matters in support of service and medical facility.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/17/2026 to 03/24/2026
Salary
$62,893 to - $81,765 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Tucson, AZ
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
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
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CBSX-12903237-26-ELG
Control number
861498500

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Duties

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Duties include, but are not limited to:

  • Oversees a variety of administrative programs, including the distribution and dissemination of incoming mail, internal controls, records management, publication and forms management.
  • Directs administrative support services to ensure that inquires, correspondence, and actions for the area of responsibility are addressed appropriately.
  • Reviews and evaluates completed staff actions (memos, reports, studies, fact sheets, information papers) for overall quality of the document, appropriate levels of coordination, consistency, logic, soundness of recommendations, and compliance with policy. Contacts the originating office to make recommend changes, etc. before documents are forwarded to higher levels. Articulates the reasons for changes to Service Chief and senior staff to facilitate timely and accurate revision.
  • Advises management officials, supervisors, and employees on the interpretation and application of a variety of human resources policies, practices, and procedures including staffing, classification, employee relations, benefits, and related areas.
  • Ensures that performance ratings are submitted in a timely manner in accordance with regulatory guidelines. Performs budget execution functions to ensure that expenditures are consistent with budget formulation plans as the fiscal year progresses.
  • Manages the overall supply needs, services, material movement, and real property for the service. Provides administrative planning and oversight for a variety of special and continuing programs as assigned.
  • Exercises human resources responsibility by initiating requests for recruitment, interviewing and selecting employees, complying with EEO objectives; planning and assigning work, and maintaining accurate and current position descriptions.
  • Communicates information to management for effective evaluation of program operations and milestones. Collects data and analyzes extracts, summarizes, and identifies significant trends and issues. Forecasts and estimates program requirements and prepare programmatic reports, justifications, charts, statistical and narrative data, etc. for Chief, Quality, Safety, Value Service presentations and briefings.
  • Provides oversight of the budgeting and financial management for the Service by exercises responsibility for budget formulation, justification, presentation, and executing in collaboration with the Fiscal Department, financial management and financial reporting and provides advice to the Chief, Quality, Safety, Value Service on budgetary and finance issues.
  • Coordinates and participates in facility-wide Survey Readiness program. Contributes to the management of Accreditation Manager Program. Assists with the designing of facility custom tracers used to determine facility readiness and creates reports as needed.
  • Assists with coordination of quality assurance activities for assigned program(s), which include preparation for quarterly, semi-annual, annual, and/or unannounced audits/surveys.
  • Assists and supports the Action Plan Management tracking system for follow-up on all internal and external site surveys. Enters survey results to monitor progress on action plans.
  • Plans special projects and creates new reports to ensure adequate monitoring of the quality improvement process. Interprets and analyzes data or other information.


Work Schedule: Monday Through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD13188O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
  • Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/24/2026.

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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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-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: Direct and perform all administrative functions that include administration, human resources management, budget and finance, management and program analysis, office support services, document control, logistics, and a variety of related administrative matters in support of service and medical facility. OR,
  • Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate level education leading to such a degree or LL.B or J.D., if related. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. OR,
  • Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and more than one year of graduate level education in a subject area related to the position to be filled.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Administration and Management
  • Financial Management
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Quality Management


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 sedentary. It occasionally requires carrying of light objects such as files, books, and papers; some walking, standing and bending. No special physical qualifications are required.

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


A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

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

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

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.

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.

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.

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