Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

Videos

Duties include but not limited to:

Incumbent will provide access related consultative services to multiple services in a fast-changing environment, rotating to urgent priorities as they occur. Works in collaboration with facility Service Lines, to review and develop guidance and policies that will facilitate standardized processes within the facility and applicable CBOCs, etc.

May be called upon to collaborate with staff from other facilities and to work on higher level project groups to review and make recommendations for facility and/or VISN level policies, procedures, systems, requirements, documents, and business or access analysis initiatives.

Reviews and evaluates assigned processes and procedures to determine areas of effectiveness, efficiency, and improvement for proposal through local GPM group and supervisor. Reports to supervisor and access leadership in the facility, as assigned; incorporates best practices to help improve patient access to care and that standards are met within assigned services.

Promotes established system-wide training plans to optimize local use. Supports the local clinic management system based on national requirements. Proposes improvements to supervisor regarding national training curriculum for onboarding and sustainment activities. Maintains knowledge of CPM training materials and supports fulfillment of action plans to meet CPM training requirements.

Evaluates and recommends changes for continuous process improvement utilizing LEAN, Six Sigma, and other improvement methodologies to meet and sustain ambulatory care goals and objectives. Incumbent utilizes advanced principles and strategies for clinic practice management to review and provide recommendations to Clinical Leads (CLs), including identifying strategies to reduce backlog. Monitors existing or emerging workflow issues; monitors consult management; offers and provides guidance to CLs and Administrative Leads (ALs) when required. Monitors Information Technology (IT) usage and issues and provide information or assistance to CLs as needed.

Collaborates with the Veterans Experience, clinic management, scheduling, and analytic groups as needed. Assists in the evaluation of outpatient care patient feedback for access and quality measures at the facility. Utilizes an analytics system for the collection and analysis of outpatient care patient feedback for access and quality measures. Raises concerns and establishes processes to track corrective actions on decreasing/low scores in Veterans/Staff experience data with respect to access.

Collects and analyzes/reports trended data sets; makes recommendations to assist in the allocation of resources. Assists clinic managers in identifying causal interrelationships between the various aspects of ambulatory care and its impact on clinical operations to achieve and sustain quality, safe, efficient, and effective ambulatory care. Participates in sustainment and continuous improvement plans with assigned team. Presents continuous improvement recommendations to supervisor. Analyzes and interprets complex data; researches and prepares comprehensive reports.

Makes recommendations to assigned services regarding allocation of resources, including potential use of community care options.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience in a healthcare administrative or practice management position, preferably within a large, integrated health system.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze clinical and administrative data to drive process improvement and optimize clinic operations.
• Experience with scheduling systems, patient flow coordination, and clinic access optimization.
• Proven ability in facilitating and supporting multidisciplinary teams, including providers, nursing, and administrative staff.
• Familiarity with electronic health record (EHR) systems, preferably VistA/CPRS or Cerner.
• Knowledge of performance improvement methods (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma) and experience leading or participating in improvement projects.
• Experience evaluating and interpreting performance metrics to support decision-making and strategic planning. - Demonstrated collaboration with access managers, service chiefs, clinicians, and other stakeholders to achieve organizational goals.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, customer service, and interpersonal skills, with a focus on the patient experience.
• Bachelor's degree in healthcare administration, business, or a related field (master's preferred).

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 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)

• 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/20/2026.

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-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.

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR).

An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can't be waived.

The Individual Occupational Requirement for the Health System Specialist position is:

• Education: Undergraduate or Graduate Education with a major study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. OR
• Experience: You must have 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.
• Special Provision for In-service Placement: 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.

• 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: 1. Demonstrated experience reviewing, interpreting, and providing input on regulations and policies to guide local practice management, ensuring alignment with organizational communication strategies and compliance requirements. 2. Proven ability to collect, analyze, and trend complex data sets to develop actionable recommendations that support informed decision-making, resource allocation, and operational efficiencies across clinical or administrative programs. 3. Skilled in evaluating processes and procedures to identify opportunities for increased effectiveness, efficiency, and quality; able to develop improvement proposals grounded in established management principles, LEAN/Six Sigma methodologies, and organizational goals. 4. Experienced in monitoring administrative and clinical program activities, measuring performance outcomes, and delivering substantive recommendations aimed at improving clinical product line performance, access management, and overall program effectiveness. 5. Adept at collaborating and communicating with multidisciplinary teams to integrate data analytics with continuous improvement strategies, developing standardized reporting tools, reducing backlogs, and sustaining long-term goals for ambulatory care and service delivery.

• Analytical Reasoning
• Organizational Awareness
• Computer Skills
• Strategic Thinking

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