Clarification from the agency

Current federal employees serving under career or career-conditional competitive service appointments, former federal employees with reinstatement eligibility, persons eligible for non-competitive appointment under special appointment authorities, persons eligible under the Interchange Agreements; 30% or more disabled Veterans; and Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) eligible candidates.

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The position performs duties related to the compliance and integrity of business functions associated with monitoring, auditing, and data analysis processes that are an integral part of an effective Corporate Compliance and Privacy Program. As a vital member of the Corporate Compliance Section the individual will be primarily responsible for conducting analysis and quality assurance of facility administrative and regulatory oversight. Occasional travel to other facilities or Outpatient Clinics. Position reports to the Chief Corporate Integrity & Compliance Service (CICS) under the Deputy Director. Position will collaborate, communicate, and consult with the (Privacy/FOIA Officers, Records & Information Officer, Research Compliance Officers, and Research Privacy) on a daily basis. Position will assist in CICS Team work, CICS Team collaboration, and CICS Team coverage.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Assurance of compliance with and implementation of regulatory requirements of Veterans Affairs oversight bodies including Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Research Oversight, National Archives and Records Administration, Privacy Compliance Assurance, local administration, VISN, and other oversight bodies as determined by appropriate authorities and national directives.
• Works with the Chief Corporate Compliance Officer and the Privacy/ FOIA Officer while creating/updating hospital policies, standard work, and documenting and reporting findings to appropriate personnel.
• Curates, analyzes, compiles, consolidates, reviews and edits information relevant to compliance oversight activities and continuous readiness, review, and remediation.
• Interprets and presents data gained from various federal and non- federal sources.
• Analyzes and tracks a variety of compliance oversight document sources daily/weekly/monthly, including but not limited to authorization forms, consent forms, functional category forms, VA Police reports, training completion reports, etc.
• Communicates with a wide variety of professionals and departments either written or orally using extensive understanding of applicable policy as it relates to compliance and regulatory oversight.
• Acts as a consultant for the Compliance Chief and other Compliance disciplines within VASFHCS in matters of procedures related to compliance, privacy, and records management continuous readiness, review, and remediation.
• Monitors auditing, monitoring, review, and training activities of the Compliance Section, including sources of data, processes obtaining data, serves as a resource for other department staff, participates in data curation as needed according to the guidelines of oversight regulations.
• Assists in the development and implementation of quality control activities and improvement measures, performance projects and special studies to enhance facility compliance to regulation requirements of VA and VHA Directives and Handbooks.
• Develops and implements an in-depth training program for the Corporate Compliance Section to ensure staff are properly educated and accountable for readiness, review, and remediation activities and data integrity.
• Jointly works with the Integrity & Compliance Committee, and members of the Corporate Compliance Section to identify future risk mitigation activities, enterprise risk and mitigation plans.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist (Privacy & Research Compliance)/PD03093O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not 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
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/04/2024.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Knowledge and skill in applying analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to issues or studies concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of Corporate Integrity & Compliance program operations carried out by administrative or professional personnel.
• Knowledge of pertinent laws, regulations, policies, and precedents that apply to regulatory oversight within the VASFHCS, to include but not limited to Privacy Act, Freedom of Information Act, Records Management policy, Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Research Oversight, National Archives and Records Administration, etc., which affect the use of program and related support resources (people, money, or equipment) around Compliance.
• Knowledge of the major issues, program goals and objectives, work processes, and administrative operations of the organization at the VA, VHA, VISN, facility, and Corporate Integrity & Compliance Service team level.
• Knowledge of daily operations and protocols of a research environment.
• Ability to perform complex analytical studies and interpretation of results to coordinate the evaluation of programs/research project and to recommend improvements.

OR,

Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. (NOTE: A transcript or course listing must be submitted if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Applications submitted without this information will not be considered.).

OR,

Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a Master's degree.

Preferred Experience: Experience as a Compliance Specialist, Privacy/FOIA and Research within VHA/VA is preferred and will be utilized as a quality ranking factor depending on the number of years of experience and responsibility as a Program Specialist. Experience in conducting Fact Finding investigations within VHA/VA is preferred and will be utilized as a quality ranking factor depending on the number of years of experience and responsibility as a program specialist.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Accountability
• Compliance
• Compliance Inspection
• Critical Thinking
• Knowledge Management
• Organizational Awareness
• Risk Management

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 and Work environment: The work is primarily sedentary, although some physical effort may be required when conducting environmental rounds. This involves occasional walking, standing, and bending. There may also be episodes of moderate lifting or prolonged periods of standing and bending in searching various files. Work is typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate-controlled office. May require occasional travel to all VASFHCS sites of care.

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.