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Health System Specialist - Project Manager

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration

Summary

Serves as the Health System Specialist responsible for providing administrative oversight, operational coordination, and evaluation of assigned Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) within the Eastern Kansas Health Care System. The incumbent evaluates clinic operations, access to care, resource utilization, workflow efficiency, organizational performance, operational initiatives and develops recommendations to improve organizational effectiveness and support executive decision.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$90,968 - $118,261 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CBSS-13051158-26-SN
Control number
882864900

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Duties

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This position is for the Junction City, KS as their duty location.

  • Provides comprehensive operational oversight and coordination for Junction City, Iola, and Lawrence VA Clinics, ensuring efficient day-to-day functioning and continuous improvement of clinical and administrative operations.
  • Evaluates outpatient service delivery models and develops recommendations to improve access, efficiency, and patient experience within assigned clinics and market areas.
  • Supports the delivery of high-quality, accessible, cost-effective health care services by coordinating resources, workflow processes, access initiatives, and support functions across multiple clinical disciplines to promote efficient clinic operations, timely access to care, and effective utilization of available resources.
  • . Leads and supports advanced analytical studies to evaluate clinical workload trends, patient flow, scheduling practices, and capacity management across assigned clinics.
  • Uses data-driven methodologies to identify inefficiencies, forecast demand, and recommend organizational improvements.
  • Optimizes provider and care team scheduling by assessing clinic grid utilization, supply demand alignment, face to face and virtual visit distributions, staffing acuity, and clinical productivity indicators.
  • Evaluates the impact of Community Care referrals on internal capacity, access to care, patient wait times, and care continuity.
  • Collaborates with clinical leaders to rebalance services between VA-delivered care, virtual modalities, and purchased care when appropriate.
  • Leads efforts to improve patient workflows by partnering with Primary Care, Mental Health, Specialty Care, and Nursing leadership to evaluate room utilization, care team composition, visit modality mix, appointment cycle times, and bottlenecks impacting throughput.
  • Develop operational solutions such as standardized workflows, enhanced scheduling procedures, process redesign, escalation pathways, and care coordination practices to enhance access and patient experience. Identifies and implements improvements to optimize clinic management processes and access strategies.
  • Standardizes, implements, and sustains key operational and business processes, including scheduling practices, to support efficient clinic operations and enhance the Veteran experience
  • Incorporates remote healthcare considerations, including telehealth demand, virtual care readiness, space requirements for telehealth operations, and staffing support, to ensure seamless integration of virtual modalities into clinic operations.
  • Conducts analyses of telehealth utilization patterns, no show rates, broadband limitations, and patient adoption trends to support operational decision-making and service delivery planning.
  • Administers management reporting systems and dashboards to support data informed decision making related to organizational performance, staffing models, access metrics, quality indicators, and workload distribution.
  • Develops and coordinates quality assurance and performance improvement activities ensuring compliance with accrediting and regulatory bodies (e.g., Joint Commission, OIG, CARF).
  • The HSS measures and assesses clinical business activities with an emphasis on improving clinical product line performance.
  • The HSS is responsible for regularly presenting key management indicators to the Executive Staff.
  • Integrates administrative services-including Finance, HR, Acquisition, Facilities, Environmental of Care, and Health Administration Service-in support of clinic goals and market objectives.
  • Resolves complex operational, personnel, and cross service issues that impact patient care, staff performance, and organizational effectiveness.
  • Provides leadership during change management initiatives, operational disruptions, and emergent contingencies that affect clinic operations.
  • The incumbent collaborates closely with key clinical leadership officials as an impartial facilitator in addressing disagreements related to scheduling practices, workload distribution, resource prioritization, and workflow redesign. Employs conflict resolution strategies, mediation techniques, and interest-based problem solving to ensure concerns are addressed objectively, respectfully, and in alignment with EKHCS policies and organizational values.
Work Schedule: 7:30 AM - 4:00PM or 8:00AM - 4:30PM, Monday through Friday
Telework: Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist - Project Manager/PD105350
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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 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, 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, 09/04/2026.

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.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

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. To qualify for the GS 0671 occupational series, applicants MUST possess one of the following:

(for positions above GS-5): 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.

In addition to the individual occupational requirement, you must meet the specialized experience for the position as well:GS-12

  • 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.
    • Demonstrated mastery in applying analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to issues or studies concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of agency and program operations.
    • Expert knowledge of pertinent laws, regulations, policies and precedents, major issues, program goals and objectives, work processes, and administrative operations which affect the administration of GBO program and committee functions.
    • Mastery of VHA organization structure and operations to support VHA-wide assessments to improve the VHA system for health care.
    • Expert knowledge of missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems in general and in the country at large.
    • Excellent interpersonal skills to facilitate and coordinate vast needs for communications and information, between and among the stakeholders, including the Department, VHACO, VISNs, facilities and non-VA groups.
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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

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:

  • 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.

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?

The VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System (VAEKHCS) serves the health care needs of Veterans across 20,000 square miles and 39 counties in eastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri. By employing nearly 2,000 full-time employees, VAEKHCS cares for over 40,000 Veterans each year. VAEKHCS is committed to building an environment that values and supports the communities we serve, and provides access to care for all. At VAEKHCS, Veteran and Employee Whole Health is our goal, and High Reliability is how we get there together.

Whole Health Approach To Clinical Care -YouTube

Introducing Whole Health - YouTube

Agency contact information

Sonja Nixon
Phone
310-346-4082
Email
Sonja.Nixon@va.gov
Address
VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System
2200 SW Gage Blvd
Topeka, KS 66622
US

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https://vacareers.va.gov/

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