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Health System Specialist (Systems Redesign)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
San Diego VA Healthcare System

Summary

The purpose of this position is to implement a Performance Improvement program at the Health Care System level. The position is responsible for delivering Performance Improvement techniques to a broad array of program and services throughout the Medical Center, including Lean, Six Sigma, Coaching, Project Management, and Training. Additional functions involve advising leadership in the formulation of planning complex facility wide Strategic Plans and projects in support of Strategic Planning.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/03/2026 to 04/13/2026
Salary
$102,246 - $132,923 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
San Diego, CA
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
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-12929558-26-KL
Control number
863911400

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

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Duties

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Duties include, but are not limited to:

  • Participates in and facilitates transformative quality, safety, effectiveness, and efficiency improvement efforts.
  • Acts as the project lead for healthcare and operational improvement projects.
  • Facilitates, coaches, and trains audiences at all levels of the organizations throughout the lifecycle of a performance improvement project.
  • Organizes, directs, controls and coordinates group activities in a timely and effective manner.
  • Analyze data and conduct background research on issues.
  • Pulls, isolates and manipulates data to identify root causes of a performance issue.
  • Develops statistical models to measure success of performance improvement actions.
  • Converts data into numerous formats using advanced statistical models including statistical process control charts, histograms, Pareto charts, and many more.
  • Defines a project scope and goals through a collaborative process with subject matter experts and leadership at the facility, service line or program, or unit level.
  • Leads a team of subject matter experts through the project management process.
  • Delivers classroom instruction.
  • Develops written and verbal teaching materials.
  • Leads project teams through designed brainstorming sessions to develop solutions towards a specific deliverable or goal during a project.
  • Develops processes by consulting with subject matter experts in order to develop standard work.
  • Conducts experiments and collects data to identify if the developed solutions are effective.
  • Develops control plans, communication plans, and risk management plans through closeout of the project.
  • Provides consultation to executive, service line, and program leadership by leveraging VA data analytics resources.
  • Identifies metrics performing below benchmarked standards or falling below the upper or lower control limits.
  • Plans and conducts studies directed at reducing errors.
  • Identifies systems design problems that contribute to human errors.
  • Identifies alternative systems and processes.
  • Collects baseline information, identifies limitations in current systems, and discovers potential improvements.
  • Develops statistical, graphical, and narrative reports, and communicates these studies to others.
  • Develops local data metrics and dashboards to monitor projects in progress or performance benchmarks.
  • Identifies projects critical to improving quality outcomes and maximize return on investment of utilized resources.
  • Assesses (in terms of degrees) the success or failure in attaining program operational goals/objectives.
  • Incorporates recommendations for the resolution of problems.
  • Prepares complete and fully documented studies for review of others.
  • Evaluates the quality of care and the efficiency of care processes.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: Not Approved
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist (Systems Redesign)/PDS0012A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • Physical Requirements: The work requires some physical exertion, such as periods of standing when teaching; some walking, bending, crouching, stooping, stretching, or similar activities when visiting work sites; and some moderate lifting and carrying. At other times the work is sedentary, requiring the use of a computer.
  • 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 may be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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 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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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.

The Occupational Series 0671 includes an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR). Candidates may not hold a position in this series without meeting one of the IOR requirements established by OPM:

  • Undergraduate or graduate education in a major field of study hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. OR,
  • Specialized experience in 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. OR,
  • Successful completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program, it included a formal individualized training plan. Such a training program must have been conducted in an operating health care system and included: Assignments providing a knowledge of basic health system administration philosophies, practices, and procedures, and basic government administrative policies and requirements; Practical assignments providing an opportunity to apply health system administration skills and principles (as the individual progresses, work assignments must be characteristic of the grade level to which he or she is assigned); and oversight by an experienced health system administrator with periodic evaluation of the individual's progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program.
In addition, you must also meet the specialized experience as described below:
  • Specialized Experience: For the GS-12 Health System Specialist (Systems Redesign), you must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of a Health System Specialist (Systems Redesign). Qualifying specialized experience includes, but is not limited to: Analyzing data and conducting background research on issues; pulling, isolating and manipulating data to identify root causes of a performance issue; developing statistical models to measure success of performance improvement actions; developing written and verbal teaching materials; providing consultation to executive, service line, and program leadership by leveraging VA data analytics resources. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week.
Preferred Experience: Trained/certified as a Lean or Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Experience in leading System Redesign, Lean, or Lean Six Sigma teams throughout the lifecycle of a performance improvement project. Experience in delivering classroom instruction on System Redesign, Lean, or Lean Six Sigma.

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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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.

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

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced 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/.

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

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.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

Agency contact information

Kayleigh Lundh
Phone
602-757-1832
Email
Kayleigh.Lundh@va.gov
Address
San Diego VA Medical Center
3350 La Jolla Village Drive
San Diego, CA 92161
US

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