Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

This announcement will close on 10/07/2026 . The first 50 applications received will receive first consideration. Applications that are submitted after the initial cut-off number has been reached will not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management."

Major Duties Include:

• Advise leadership and stakeholder groups on PATS capabilities, data governance, and emerging best practices for tracking and managing patient feedback.
• Prepare and deliver PATS guidance and documentation for end users.
• Analyze complex PATS data sets to identify operational trends, experience patterns, and actionable insights for system improvement.
• Manage administrative tasks associated with PATS operations, including quality assurance, compliance documentation, troubleshooting, and system reporting to ensure robust stewardship.
• Establish protocols for ongoing PATS data quality assurance and validation, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and reliability of information used in organizational decision-making.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
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 Title/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD032740
Physical Requirements: The work requires some physical exertion, such as long periods of standing; walking over rough, uneven, or rocky surfaces; recurring bending, crouching, stooping, stretching, reaching, or similar activities; or recurring lifting of moderately heavy items. The work may require specific, but common, physical characteristics and abilities, such as above average agility and dexterity.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required
• 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.

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.

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

Qualifications

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

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.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR): The 0671 Occupational series has an IOR that must be met:

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,

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 Inservice 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:

In addition to the IOR, candidates must also meet the following specialized experience for the grade level.

GS-13 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes:

• Lead Patient Advocate Tracking System (PATS) release cycles, upgrades, and maintenance activities to ensure continuous system functionality and alignment with organizational requirements.
• Develop strategies and protocols for effective user provisioning, access management, and data security within PATS.
• Monitor PATS performance metrics, user engagement, and system utilization to identify inefficiencies and inform organizational decision-making.
• Evaluate user feedback, technical issues, and process gaps within PATS to recommend enhancements and optimize workflow.
• Collaborate with IT specialists, vendors, and program offices to integrate and monitor PATS data with other enterprise applications and reporting platforms.
• Lead or contribute to special projects related to PATS enhancements, integration, and change management initiatives supporting organizational objectives
• Design and implement standardized reporting frameworks and dashboards within PATS to facilitate real-time monitoring and executive review of patient feedback and case resolution metrics.

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.

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. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.