Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to current permanent Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center Employees including satellites, VA Agency Employees, Other Federal Employees, and U.S. Citizens. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional

Major Duties Include:

• Develop program assessment protocols for evaluation and improvement.
• Routinely prepares program status briefs and reports.
• Maintain facility, VISN, and national standards of satisfaction, quality, and performance.
• Work closely with VHRC executive sponsor, cross-functional teams, and key stakeholders to plan and develop scope, deliverables, required resources, work plan, budget, and timing for new initiatives.
• Manage program and staff for optimal return-on-investment and coordinate and delegate cross-project initiatives.
• Identify key requirements needed from cross-functional teams.
• Accountable for planning and delivering established strategic goals/objectives.
• Work with other program managers to identify risks and opportunities across multiple service lines within facility, VISN, and enterprise.
• Analyze, evaluate, and overcome program risks.
• Collaborates with medical center and education services, in planning and developing workshops and training.
• Creates and modifies work schedules to meet anticipated and anticipates changes in the workload.
• Oversees attendance and reviewing and approving leave requests of direct reports while ensuring adequate staff is available to perform all needed telehealth duties.
• Works with the Facility Telehealth Coordinator to develop assignments for team members in order to facilitate all operations of the facility's telehealth program.
• Distributes and balances workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflow and/or job specialization and required rotations.
• Ensures that instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines and quality have been met.
• Ensures new employees (local and at the CBOC sites) receive on-the-job training to and are adequately instructed in specific tasks and job techniques, ensuring that written instructions and reference materials are made available for use by team members in the accomplishment of tasks or projects.
• Identifies and recommends ways of eliminating, combining, simplifying procedures and processes of the telehealth program. Supporting efforts to effect necessary change.
• Independently reviews quality and performance data (e.g., patient satisfaction surveys, image quality, performance metrics, clinic wait times) for telehealth programs effectiveness and satisfaction and developing process improvements as required.
• Provides standardized developed competency-based training for telehealth technology, facilitating interactive simulations for clinical staff participating in Telehealth programs.
• Gathers, compiles and analyzes data and statistics to develop integrated reports designed to assess impact, demand and utilization of telehealth services for submission to facility and Veteran Integrated Service Network (VISN) leadership.
• Ensures that standardized developed competency-based training in accordance with established Telehealth program policies and directives are provided to all telehealth staff and telehealth providers. This may include either functioning as a telehealth preceptor or assigning this responsibility to a subordinate whose role will be to conduct a review to ensure technologies and systems are functioning prior to training, and trainees have completed prerequisites; observing and validating skills for initial certification and on-going performance evaluation.
• Providing established remedial training as needed and reporting to supervisor regarding ongoing performance. Maintain knowledge of current standard practices.
• Serves as a backup and performs duties as a Tele-Retinal Imager.
• Supports designated, complex telehealth programs that require advanced technical skillsets

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday: 8:00am to 4:30pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility.
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 580-02048-F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination
• Must be able to independently operate Government Vehicle.
• Must provide clean driving record report from the DMV during the pre-employment process.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency. A candidate will not be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English.
• Experience and Education:
  • (1) Experience. One year of experience in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical assistant (or technician) or health technician. OR
  • (2) Education. Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. OR
  • (3) Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Examples are listed below:
    • (a) Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as, biological science, surgical technician courses, nursing assistant or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field; or
    • (b) Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, or medical service specialists given by the U.S. Armed Forces.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Supervisory Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) GS - 09:

• Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • Ability to perform the full range of supervisory duties which includes responsibility for assignment of work to be performed, performance evaluations, selection of qualified staff, and recommendations of awards, advancements, and when appropriate disciplinary actions.
  • Ability to plan, organize, and coordinate clinical workflow and set short and long-term goals for the program.
  • Ability to work independently, to set priorities, delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze organizational problems, and develop and implement effective solutions to optimize quality, efficiency, performance, and productivity within the service.
  • Ability to develop policy, manage equipment requests, and provide workload analysis.
  • Knowledge of all Connected Care programs and operations

Preferred Experience: Knowledge of all Connected Care programs and operations.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-09.

Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation, see Duties section for essential job duties of the position. May require standing, lifting, carrying, sitting, stooping, bending, pulling, and pushing. May be required to wear personal protective equipment and undergo annual TB screening or testing as conditions of employment. Must be able to operate government owned vehicle.

Work Environment: Work is performed in an office/clinic setting with minimal risks that requires normal safety precautions; the area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the work environment requires someone with the ability to handle several tasks at once in sometimes stressful situations

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 MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for 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; 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.

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.

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.