Clarification from the agency

This position is open to CTAP/ ICTAP applicants and current, permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VHA) ONLY.

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Analysis and Evaluation

• Conducts complex analytical studies on clinical and administrative operational processes (equipment usage, SOPs, MCP compliance, etc).
• Emerging issue topics and special projects within the Chief of Staff's chain of command often span multiple services and require collaboration with departmental or program offices such as Quality and Patient Safety, Finance, and Facilities Management.
• Proactively investigates root causes, engages stakeholders, and develops actionable solutions such as a breakdown in interdisciplinary coordination or a recurring patient complaint trend.
• Analyzes relevant data (e.g., FTEE utilization, overtime trends, and space allocation) to develop actionable recommendations. Identifies and reconciles errors regarding incomplete or inconsistent data and potential results and conclusions. Keeps abreast of budget and forecast needs based on regional market trends.
• These may include proposing a realignment of staff, advocating for additional FTEE, or initiating a capital improvement project to expand clinical space requests for budgetary and capital resources within the Chief of Staff chain of command, and making recommendations. Assists in prioritizing resource allocations throughout the healthcare system in conjunction with other Director's Office Staff.
• Assist the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) in assessing needs in a realistic fashion, documenting them effectively, and presenting them to a diverse audience of internal and external stakeholders.
• Leads and participates in taskforce or research groups to analyze problem areas and recommend adjustments to improve existing policy or procedures to achieve desired results.
• Leads planning sessions with Specialty Care, Primary Care, and Mental Health to align clinical operations with VISN-wide access goals or national initiatives such as the High Reliability Organization (HRO) framework.
• Provides guidance and advice on program specific matters such as handling legislative issues, the development and implementation of policy or program initiatives, protocol issues, and other important correspondence or VISN/VACO related matters.
• Reviews policies and procedures within the Chief of Staff Service Lines, in conformance with the overall philosophy of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), related to all aspects of healthcare programs.
• Serves as a Contracting Officer's Representative, with direct and indirect responsibility for contracts. Interfaces with contractors, contracting staff and staff within the facility utilizing services under contracts (e.g., companion care contract).

Budgeting

• Supports the Chief of Staff by preparing justifications for high-impact budget proposals, such as funding for new infrastructure or expansion of Service Lines and Programs, aligning these initiatives with VISN and national VHA strategic goals
• .Reviews Chief of Staff budget initiatives, subsequent justifications and defenses for the clinical or administrative service/program to the Chief of Staff as needed. Such proposals are often on the forefront of Quality, Safety, Innovation, and Technology and may involve expansive strategic initiatives due to expensive capital outlays for equipment and facility space.
• Maintains an awareness of available resources and makes recommendations to health care system management regarding needs, distribution or redistribution of these resources. Comply with all directives and special requirements in preparing annual and cyclic budget documents.
• Consolidates submissions received from subordinate units.
• Monitors annual execution, making necessary adjustments in execution or by reallocating resources.
• Provides advice on all aspects of the assigned budget area.
• Develop operational strategies designed to achieve maximum reimbursement by identifying resource-related problems and outlining specific measures to be conducted among clinical and administrative services.
• Performs other directly related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: Ad-Hoc only
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD501970
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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, 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, 05/12/2026.

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-9 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.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR).

An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the GS 0671 occupational series. Education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. To qualify for this occupational series, applicants must have one of the following listed below:


INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT: Positions in the occupational series 0671 MUST MEET one of the following:
Possess an Undergraduate or Graduate degree with a major field of study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)

OR;

Possess 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;

Successful completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program may be substituted for qualifying experience, provided 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 to meeting both the IOR and Time-In-grade, you must meet the experience as described below:

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education 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 responsible analytical or administrative, budgetary, or clinical 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,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M. if related. Degree must be relevant to the position to be filled.

OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 2 years of graduate level education may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-11. The education and experience must be directly related to the work of the position to be filled.

You will be rated 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

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.

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.