Clarification from the agency

Open to current, permanent employees of VA Phoenix Healthcare System, Department of Veterans' Affairs. First consideration will go to employees within Phoenix VA's Pathology and Laboratory Management Service.

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30 Day Hiring Model

The Department of Veterans Affairs is implementing a streamlined 30-Day Hiring Model designed to accelerate hiring while maintaining the highest standards of merit-based selection. This improved process reduces traditional hiring timelines by integrating early coordination, faster assessments, and efficient pre-employment actions. Applicants can expect a more transparent, predictable, and efficient hiring journey from announcement to entry on duty.

What Applicants Can Expect

• Expedited Candidate Review Once the announcement closes, Human Resources will quickly review applications, issue certificates of eligible candidates the day after the announcement closes and refer applicants for hiring manager consideration.
• Quick Interviews & References

HR may arrange interviews and will request references within 3-5 days after being referred to the hiring manager.

• Streamlined Pre-Employment Requirements: Following a tentative offer, applicants should be prepared to complete required steps, such as fingerprinting and background check, credentialing, and medical examination within 3 days of the offer.
• Clear and Timely Communication: Applicants will receive clear communication at key milestones, including referral, tentative offer, and onboarding instructions.

After meeting pre-employment requirements, candidates will receive a final job offer and start date. Onboarding tasks may continue after starting, with HR ensuring timely completion for a smooth transition into VA service. If selected, applicants should be prepared to come onboard within 30 days of the announcement closing.

Duties may include, but are not limited to:

• Performs budget administration functions. Monitors, reviews, and checks requests for allotment of funds from approved operation budgets.
• Monitors and tracks obligations and expenditures for base/mission support functions throughout the execution phase of the annual operating budget.
• Identifies potential resource needs, facilitates acquisition of additional resources, and establishes criteria to evaluate effectiveness of additional resources.
• Manages the overall supply needs, services, material movement, and real property for the medical facility.
• Responsible for coordinating and facilitating the function of all services, clinical and administrative, which interface with the service.
• Plans, develops, and executes assigned clinical service administrative management program needs.
• Prepares reports to topics including but not limited to clinic utilization, clinic space utilization, access, equipment management, patient experience, and process improvement.
• Conducts studies, surveys, and interviews to gather information necessary to formulate policies, procedures, and strategies.
• Analyzes mission, management objectives and organizational goals, to determine current and projected personnel needs and potential placement issues.
• Provides advice and assistance to management in such areas as; recruitment initiatives to replace loss of skilled employees, recruitment and hire lag problems, mission or workload expansion, change or decrease, merit promotion requirements/procedures, requirements and procedures to determine employee placements and to effect a variety of placement actions such as reassignments, reduction-in-force, realignments, non-competitive promotions, and details.
• Maintains files and documents on all personnel actions, and coordinates actions with appropriate staff or supervisor.
• Participates in important administrative management planning and policy development affecting the organization.
• Serves in the capacity of Contracting Officer Representative (COR).
• Develops initial acquisition documents; writes and defends the requests for funds and conducts all aspects of the contracting process from beginning to end; including market research, statements of work (SOW).
• Maintains procurement and contracting records.
• Works with the Senior COR & appointed Contracting Officer, throughout the contract award process.
• Functions in the capacity of Agency Government Purchase Card (GPC) holder.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 0700 - 1530 MST
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Administrative Officer/PD13616A and PD13493A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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
• 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, 05/01/2026.


Grade Determination:

GS - 11 Requirement:

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Preparing meeting minutes, preparing for laboratory inspections, interpreting, developing or implementing administrative policies, defining administrative requirements. 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. Provides technical and administrative oversight to several clerical staff. Manages procurement, contracting, overall supply needs, services, material movement, and real property. Manages budget formulation and execution for a changing budget of administrative expenses involving different funding sources. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., if related. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels specified in the table, and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-11. (When crediting education that requires specific course work, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.)

GS - 12 Requirement:

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.


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 GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Performs budget administration functions. Monitors, reviews, and checks requests for allotment of funds
  from approved operation budgets. Prepares and maintains the annual budget plan for all service control points. Plans, develops, and executes assigned clinical service administrative management program needs. Conducts studies, surveys, and interviews to gather information necessary to formulate policies, procedures, and strategies.

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

• Attention to Detail
• Decision Making
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Teamwork

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 primarily sedentary and is usually accomplished while the incumbent is comfortably seated at a desk or table. Some physical demands such as standing, walking, bending and lifting (up to 40 pounds) is required. Physical exertions including stretching, reaching, and pulling or pushing carts occurs when assisting with inventories or activities involving retrieving items from shelves and cabinets.

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.

Your application, resume, C.V., and/or other supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume, as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

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.