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Health System Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System

Summary

The Incumbent serves as the Senior Health System Specialist (HSS) for the Office of the Deputy Director for a 2 Campus and 7 CBOCs healthcare system located in Montgomery, and Tuskegee. The Office of the Deputy Director has oversight of Engineering/Facilities Management, Healthcare Technology Management, Finance, Supply Chain Management, Environmental Management, Facility Planning and Employee Engagement and executive liaison for local and VISN HR, OIT and Information Security.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/09/2026 to 04/15/2026
Salary
$106,437 - $138,370 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Montgomery, AL
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
50% or less - This is a dual campus facility. Weekly travel is required between CAVHCS campuses located in Montgomery and Tuskegee, Alabama. Occasional travel to CAVHCS Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Alabama and Georgia will be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CBTB-12924810-26-BC
Control number
864307600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is open to current, permanent VHA employees only. An SF-50 should be submitted with your application for verification.

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Duties

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The HSS assists their respective Executive Leadership member in planning, organizing, directly evaluating, advising and coordinating administrative activities.

  • Responsibilities include improvement of productivity, management controls, and short and long-range planning.
  • Advises top management on matters impacted by programmatic and systematic changes.
  • Advises on a formulations policies and procedures, adapting existing policies and procedures and/or formulating new policies and procedures.
  • Makes appropriate recommendations to top management based on data analysis and findings of projects assigned.
  • HSS has significant authority to request services performed internally and externally for the accomplishment of the assignments and duties under the incumbent's areas of responsibility
  • Participates and represents their respective Executive Leadership member on Medical Center committees and workgroups and in meetings that support the hospital mission.
  • Manages development of minutes and necessary follow-up on actions.
  • Meets customer's needs while supporting the VA missions. Consistently communicates and treats customers (veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner.
  • Serves as a medical center liaison on behalf of their respective Executive Leadership member when needed.
  • Plans and/or accomplishes special projects for major office or program issues of broad impact.
  • Analyzes management techniques processes and styles for improving organizational effectiveness.
  • Provides position management advice and recommendations to agency mangers including providing advice on the distribution of workload among positions and organizations, and the skills mix, or categories of employees needed to do the work.
  • Assist and ensure hiring actions are being expedited through Human Resources Management for Services under their respective Executive Leadership Member
  • Develops both long and short-range policies and plans for the organization by coordinating the medical administration needs of the medical center as assigned.
  • Manages Councils, Committees, Symposia, Conferences. Plans and/or supports committees, boards, symposia, or conferences.
  • Prepares written documents and correspondence to ensure they are current and effectively communicates its intended purpose on behalf of the their respective Executive Leadership member and for the facility.
  • Performs other assigned duties as required.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm. Work schedule subject to change based on agency needs.
Telework: Not authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD10196A
Relocation Incentives: Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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 required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
  • 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, 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, 04/15/2026.

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 grade level. 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 Requirement - Basic Requirement: Specialized Experience: You must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience that equipped you with the competencies/particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position successfully that is equivalent to the next lower grade in the Federal service. 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.
OR

Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
  • Specialized Experience GS-13: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assists the Pentad in planning, organizing, directly evaluating, advising and coordinating, administrative activities; Represents the Pentad on Medical Center committees and workgroups and in meetings that support the hospital mission; Plans and/or accomplishes special projects and manages special projects for major office or program issues of broad impact; Conducts appropriate studies related to the development of planning initiatives determining the methodology and gathering data that is factual, historical and statistical to meet study objectives.
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.

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
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • 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.

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?

Agency contact information

Brian Cross
Email
Brian.Cross3@va.gov
Address
Central Alabama VA Medical Center-Montgomery
215 Perry Hill Road
Montgomery, AL 36109
US

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