Clarification from the agency

This is an INTERNAL job announcement, open to current, permanent LTC Charles S Kettles VA Medical Center and supporting CBOC employees ONLY. CTAP eligible applicants encouraged to apply.

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The incumbent's primary role is to enhance the Patient experiences through proactive approaches based on satisfaction and experience data, resolutions to common complaints, identification and correction of system issues impacting the experience and satisfaction, education of staff regarding efforts and strategies, and application of data to identify trends and patterns that negatively impact the experiences. Direct support is provided to the development, maintenance and operation of the Patient Experience model at the healthcare system level. They will be primarily responsible for bringing systems together to function seamlessly, promoting a culture that considers the needs of the Patients and staff, identifying opportunities to improve experiences, and prioritizing and designing action plans for leadership endorsement. The incumbent will respond to current Patient Experience affairs and proactively plan for a sustainable culture that is Patient centric.

The incumbent is responsible for maintaining clear communication at the local facility on Patient experience efforts, both to communicate relevant Patient experience information and lessons learned which have potential spread impact and to gain insight of opportunities for the local facility to improve or sustain positive practices.

• Lead, coordinate, and manage the continuous improvement of patient experience
• Work with senior executives to establish strong commitment and support for improving patient experience
• Educate managers and line employees in the philosophy and techniques of patient experience improvement
• Promote an organization-wide approach to patient-centeredness and engagement
• Engage the workforce to sustain patient experience initiatives
• Serve as a change agent and work closely with hospital leaders in identifying priority areas, developing goals, planning improvement, and measuring effectiveness
• Serve as the subject matter expert on established and evolving best practices related to patient engagement and patient experience
• Develop and articulate an organizational patient experience strategy
• Facilitate development of detailed work plans related to patient experience

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8am to 4:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Program Specialist/PD943270
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Required

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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 identification 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 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, 06/06/2026.

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. 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.

Applicants must be eligible under the VA Interchange Agreement, having served continuously for at least one year in the other merit system under this interchange agreement. For more information regarding the VA Interchange Agreement please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/competitive-hiring/.

All Title 38 Veterans Canteen Service (VCS) employees must have served in their Excepted Service position for at least 90 days in order to be eligible for a position within the Competitive Service.

Specialized Experience:

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.

Examplesof specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Lead, coordinate, and manage the continuous improvement of patient experience
• Work with senior executives to establish strong commitment and support for improving patient experience
• Educate managers and line employees in the philosophy and techniques of patient experience improvement
• Promote an organization-wide approach to patient-centeredness and engagement
• Engage the workforce to sustain patient experience initiatives
• Serve as a change agent and work closely with hospital leaders in identifying priority areas, developing goals, planning improvement, and measuring effectiveness
• Serve as the subject matter expert on established and evolving best practices related to patient engagement and patient experience
• Develop and articulate an organizational patient experience strategy
• Facilitate development of detailed work plans related to patient experience
• Collaborate with departments and units to operationalize the patient experience strategy
• Other duties as assigned.

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 regular and recurring work of this position is sedentary in nature and involves sitting at a desk, conferences, meetings, etc., and visits to facility work sites. Occasional use of automobile and public conveyances may be required. No special physical exertion is required.

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.

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.

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.