Clarification from the agency

This position is open to current, permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration and CTAP applicants: 1st Area of Consideration : CTAP Eligible Applicants 2nd Area of Consideration: Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration

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• Ensures the effective operation of the NCPS Patient Safety Information and Reporting System, which is the enterprise business application system for a VHA-wide network of safety personnel utilized to facilitate documentation and analysis of adverse events reporting to Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and outcomes.
• Provides expert advice and technical assistance to managers and supervisors in a wide variety of areas. Resolves sensitive problems involving planning, management, communications, and control in relation to manpower and material resource utilization, objectives, and policies of the NCPS.
• Performs data analysis, data mining, reporting, and program evaluation in all areas of patient safety. Interprets findings resulting from studies that are independently developed. Completes analyses of data and identifies programmatically significant findings and trends.
• Conducts searches in safety event reporting database using approved NCPS search tools, e.g., Polyanalyst, JPSR, SPOT, PSAT, Recalls or VSSC.
• Independently communicates with staff of other national VHA program offices, VHA VISN and facility patient safety professionals and leadership, and other key officials within or outside of the VHA to define requirements, obtain information, negotiate for services, and to clarify issues.
• Advises on the allocation of resources to support program activities and ensures the efficient use of those resources.
• Organizes and leads change at NCPS to respond to national goals and objectives, and actively participates with NCPS's leadership team in the formulation and implementation of policies and procedures.
• Researches, designs, and assists in the preparation, presentation, and implementation of new methods, procedures, and projects, to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the program office. Participates in proactive strategic planning activities that may improve operation of NCPS program and projects.
• Prepares and delivers complex briefings, reports, program, and project updates for executive leadership. Produces analytic reports and studies for internal and external stakeholders, including VISN and field patient safety professionals, and oversight bodies.
• Reviews and interprets regulations, directives, and memoranda for currency and applicability to NCPS programmatic functions and advises leadership of potential impact. Monitors internal VHA and external sources for information that could potentially impact patient safety.
• Creates and effectively utilizes training material to improve VHA workforce ability to remove known harm. This will include appreciation for human factors that impact ability to deliver safe healthcare; the use of traditional tools of patient safety such as Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Healthcare Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (HFMEA); and the NCPS's processes used to ensure information is accurately received and effectively utilized at facilities.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: This position may be authorized for ad hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Ad hoc is defined as occasional, non-recurring telework.
Virtual: This position may be authorized for Virtual Work. Virtual Work eligibility is for current VA employees that are already subject to the return to the in-person work mandate in their current position.
Definition of Virtual Work: Employee works outside of original hiring duty station at a VA-owned or leased space.
Return to Office (RTO): RTO mandates are in effect and selectees will be required to report to in-person work unless they are approved for an exception or an exemption. Any approval for an RTO exception, exemption, or extension will happen after a tentative job offer, but before a final job offer.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Health System Specialist/PD338650
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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
• 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 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.

To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. This position requires the application, assessment, and questionnaire to be fully completed. The assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/05/2026.

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-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13. 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-13 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 data analysis, data mining, reporting, and program evaluation in all areas of patient safety. Interprets findings resulting from studies that are independently developed and completes analyses of data and identifies programmatically significant findings and trends.
• Independently communicates with staff of other national VHA program offices, VHA VISN and facility patient safety professionals and leadership, and other key officials within or outside of the VHA to define requirements, obtain information, negotiate for services, and to clarify issues.
• Prepares and delivers complex briefings, reports, program, and project updates for executive leadership.
• Produces analytic reports and studies for internal and external stakeholders, including VISN and field patient safety professionals, and oversight bodies.
• Performs patient safety analysis techniques such as Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and proactive risk assessment systems as applied to health care setting.

AND

The Individual Occupational Requirement: For the 0671 Occupational Series you must have

• Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration.

OR

• Specialized Experience: 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.

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, but occasionally involves walking, bending, climbing stairs. The work also involves coping with complex, persistent demands from a variety of sources that can be regarded as a high-pressure work situation.

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 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:

• Conflict Management
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Manages Resources
• Partnering
• Planning and Evaluating
• Communication - Effectively expresses information to multiple audiences through clear, convincing oral and written communications; demonstrates logical thinking when describing facts and concepts, and shapes communications to meet the needs of a specific audience; actively listens to others and demonstrates understanding of their comments and/or questions.
• Analysis and Problem Solving - Applies the process of discovery that involves the diagnosis of a problem or issue, identification and gathering of relevant information, formulation and evaluation of alternative solutions or courses of action, and selection or recommendation of the preferred solution or course of action.
• Planning and Evaluating - Determines objectives and strategies; coordinates with other parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors and evaluates the progress and outcomes of operational plans; anticipates potential threats or opportunities.

Supervisory Situational Judgment Test. Applicants will be required to complete a Supervisory Situational Judgment Test (SSJT) as part of the assessment process for this position. The SSJT evaluates judgment and decision-making skills that align with relevant competencies, organizational values, and best practices. Assessment results may be used as part of the evaluation, ranking and referral process. This is not a timed test, however, the assessment is expected to take approximately 45 minutes or less to complete. The assessment for this application does not include a cut score for a minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. However, you must answer each item in the assessment. 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.