Clarification from the agency

Please be advised this vacancy is opened to Current and Permanent Lexington VA Healthcare System employees and CBOCs that are aligned with Station # 596. If you are unsure of if your current duty station falls under the correct Station # to be considered for this position, you can verify your Station # by referring to Box 40 on your most recent SF-50. The first 3 alphanumeric values should read 596 in order to be considered for this position.

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This position functions independently in identifying and resolving management issues within the service line and actively participates in day-to-day policy making as well as in long-range planning and development of strategic plans, goals, and objectives. This requires an in-depth knowledge of VA regulations, applicable statutes, and overall health care and market trends. Duties require the ability to apply the specialized principles and practices of healthcare management in directing or supporting a health care system. The core duties of this position include but are not limited to:

• Function as the primary liaison to multiple staff offices and serves as the conduit for information flow and management of assignments between such offices.
• Monitor and manage incoming actions and requests from initial receipt to completion and closeout.
• Analyze the subject matter of incoming information for appropriate distribution to offices internal or external to the office.
• Receive and monitors completed actions or responses; analyzes responses for completeness and accuracy against known policies and procedures; and ensures action or inquiry is closed out with the inquirer or office.
• Conduct analytical studies on operational processes, issue topics, or related special projects.
• Develop position papers and decision documents representing the position of the organization on a variety of complex and sensitive issues such as the quality or timeliness of veteran care issues within the system or at times, issues of Congressional or media interest that have significant national impact e.g. quality and safety concerns or involve several functional areas.
• Works in coordination with other internal reviewing services regarding complex audits and internal/external reviews of a national concern; i. e, fiscal efficiencies and organizational structure that are reviewed by prominent parties such as the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) or the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
• Manages and coordinates of all online communication tools such as assigned intranet websites, internal Executive Leadership Team (ELT) ELT Member SharePoint website collection, and other related informational tools in consultation with communication specialists.
• Coordinates with the appropriate individuals or offices to develop proposals and supporting materials for presentation at conferences, meetings, hearings and other external activities and meetings.
• Briefs and advises senior management on agenda issues in preparation for activities and meetings and may represent the office at internal or external activities or meetings.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday; 7:30AM-4:00PM

Telework: ADHOC. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Health System Specialist- Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff/PD073680
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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
• 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, 04/13/2026.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12.

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.

Individual Occupational Requirements:

Education- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration.

OR,

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:

• Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems;
• Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and
• Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  • Working closely with senior management and others in researching, evaluating, interpreting, and implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), policies, and directives;
  • possessing experience with change management and/or lean performance improvement; providing training and giving presentations to groups; managing resources to include Fund Control Points;
  • developing, pulling, analyzing, graphing, and interpreting data;
  • possessing experience with recruitment/selection of VA staff and working knowledge of HR programs (HR Smart/MSS & e-performance);
  • composing executive correspondence;
  • and reviewing program effectiveness and communicating findings to Executive Leadership.

Preferred Experience:

1. Administrative experience in clinical service and/ or Chief of Staff Office
2. Experience with frequent interaction/collaboration with Physician/ Clinical Leaders
3. Familiar with HR procedures & all recruitment types ( ( Title 38, Hybrid-Title 38, and Title 5)
4. Budget/ Fiscal knowledge/ experience.

Permanent Employee Status: If you are unsure if you have permanent employee status to be considered for this position, you can verify your status by referring to Box 24 on your most recent SF-50. The box must have a 1 or 2 in order to be considered for this position.

Basis for Selection: Selections for positions will be based on the objective evaluation of the candidates' total qualifications for the position. "Qualifications" means the combination of experience, training, education, skills, knowledge, abilities, personal characteristics, and merit factors deemed to be pertinent to successful performance.

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

• Analytical Reasoning
• Communications
• Integrity/Honesty
• Problem Solving
• Self-Direction

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 majority of the work is performed in an office setting with adequate light, heat, and ventilation. Work is mostly sedentary; but requires some bending, walking, standing, lifting, and carrying of light items, such as reports to various areas of the Medical Center. Working at the computer for long periods of time and accessing information from the various computer systems is necessary. Typical office setting is subject to noise caused by multiple visits by staff, equipment, and telephone interruptions when performing various functions on a daily basis. The work requires no special physical demands.

???????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.