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Program Specialist - Asheville

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration

Summary

The Asheville VA Healthcare System is seeking (1) highly skilled/experienced Program Specialist to serve within Surgical Service. Demonstrates leadership, experience/ingenious approaches to management of complex patient care. Accountable for the management of patient care, human, fiscal/material resources, & the total environment of the unit. Responsible to ensure that the highest possible quality of care is achieved & a safe therapeutic environment.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
05/18/2026 to 05/27/2026
Salary
$61,722 - $80,243 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Asheville, NC
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
9
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
Yes
Announcement number
CBTA-12933512-26-JB
Control number
869726800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is only open to current permanent Asheville VA Medical Center facility employees. Current Asheville VA Medical Center employees must submit a SF-50 as proof of current employment.

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Duties

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The Duties and Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

  • Responsibility for development, organization, management and application of information systems for the clinical and administrative activities of Surgical Service.
  • Clearly understand the array of informational and data systems available through local and national sources which include; Vista mainframe system with its files and programs, File Man, Decision-Support System (DSS), Clinical Patient Record System (CPRS), Patient Treatment File (PTF), VISN Support Services Center (VSSC), Ambulatory Care Record Program (ACRP Ad Hock Report) including the encounter forms, CPT Coding Systems, ICD-9 Coding System, ICD-10, Medicare Pricing Structure, Clinical Practice Guidelines.
  • Utilize the clinical, demographic and administrative information systems to develop patient demographics, stratified provider productivity models, hospital or inpatient statistical data analyses, outpatient operational data-bases, cost-based practice and programmatic information, individual provider practice patterns and section specific patterns, clinical operational models, and comparative models with private sector as well as national VA models of risk assessment.
  • Develop and implement a management information system (MIS) specific to the clinical information needs of Surgical Service to include the outpatient clinic areas, inpatient areas, and the operating room.
  • Maintain and also re-engineer the system to meet the changing needs for relevant information.
  • Understand the clinical programs, clinical practice models, medical center and VA operational systems, and resource utilization and/or cost accounting systems in order to create information streams incorporating aggregate cost analysis against current operational models or options.
  • Manage all workload capture systems assuring all visits, procedures, consultations and other forms of workload are completed in the appropriate timeframes to include encounter forms, consultations, visits, and Ambulatory Care Data Capture systems.
  • Develop workload descriptive assessments with trend data or forecasting information to analyze workload and resource levels to meet current and the future demand.
  • Aggregate data sets using appropriate statistical analyses of current clinical operations and clinical practice patterns.
  • Expected to aggregate and analyze provider-specific clinical practice information to assess such activities as clinic utilization, case-mix analysis, patient referral patterns, consultation utilization patterns, and productivity models based on case mix complexities and IPEC data.
  • Develop and analyze operation room utilization by the Service and each section which includes but is not limited to First Case Delays, Lag Time, Block Time Utilization, Cancellations, Staffing, Tracking any trends.
  • Integrate individual provider data into meaningful group or sub-set information analyses such as, but not limited to, hospital admissions patterns, length of stay, bed days of care Surgical Intensive Care Unit case-mix review, Operating Room Utilization, and Clinic Profiles.
  • Skill in applying analytical and evaluative techniques to the identification, consideration, and resolution f issues or problems of a procedural or factual nature in order to assist managers in understanding a complex care system and creating the basis for data-driven decision-making to improve the efficiency of the Surgical Service processes and procedures.
  • Ability to apply qualitative and quantitative analytical techniques such as work measurement, productivity charting, and flowcharting of work process n order to compile reports to be used in understanding clinical practice systems and applications.
  • Understanding and knowledge of the data streams and file systems of Vista and understand their operation and organization within the system in order to access and tap important data and information bases. Must be knowledgeable in all he major current and future information based streams used within the VA as practice-models, productivity models, patient demographic systems, and workload reports for instructing staff in all aspects of software used.
  • Performs other duties as assigned.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Travel Requirements: No
Telework: This position is not telework eligible.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist - Asheville/PD042700

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, 05/27/2026.

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 G-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 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. Project Activation, Workload Analysis and Evaluation, Space Management, Facility Planning, Consultative Data Analysis, and Training and Program Administration.
Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. Adequate vision to use a computer, read printed material and charts as required. Must be able to hear normal voices and able to speak to an audience effectively. The incumbent will be subject to stressful situations due to short timeframes for completion of assignments and potential conflicts.

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

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.

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

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:

  • Administration and Management
  • Attention to Detail
  • Change Management
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Health Informatics
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Organizational Performance Analysis
  • Quality Management
  • Reading Comprehension
  • 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

Jazmine Bonilla
Email
Jazmine.Bonilla@va.gov
Address
Charles George VA Medical Center
1100 Tunnel Road
Asheville, NC 28805
US

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