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Program Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This developmental position, located in the Specialty Care Service, Alexandria VA Health Care System, Alexandria, LA. The primary purpose of this position is to provide administrative and programmatic assistance to the Specialty Care Service.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/26/2022 to 05/16/2022
Salary
$44,740 to - $58,158 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Alexandria, LA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
9
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CBST-11474899-22-RPM
Control number
651121300

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Duties

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  • The Program Specialist uses analytical evaluative techniques to address productivity performance issues at the individual physician, sub-specialty, and service level. Assignments typically involve first extracting/obtaining data from established databases ex: the VA Central Office Managerial Cost Accounting (MCA), the VHA Support Service Center (VSSC), Encounter Activity Report (EAR), Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VISTA) and Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) and the employee then applies quantitative and qualitative analytical analysis, such as interpreting and identifying solutions to root causes of productivity shortfalls; isolating problems, coordinating with responsible parties and compiling actionable solutions; preparing work measurement studies; productivity charting; and, flowcharting of work processes. The employee is responsible for analyzing data to determine inefficiencies in current and established practices, form corrective action plans, and prepare draft policies for senior management consideration and implementation. The employee prepares reports of program status and accomplishments for the overall productivity of the service.
  • Monitor outpatient clinic grids for availability and assure timely clinic closure as approved by the Specialty Care Chief and/or Administrative Officer. He/she will modify grids to meet the provider and patient needs as needed. He/she will monitor and track consults for each subspecialty to assure timely response, appropriate scheduling and clinical completion within prescribed timeframes, and work with providers of those subspecialties to establish processes to ensure all metrics are met.
  • Assist the Administrative Officer with monitoring and tracking delinquent consults and encounters, including review and action on reports received from other service employees involved in this process (e.g. ADPACs). He/she uses VISTA and CPRS to access, enter, retrieve, and edit information in the medical center's computer systems. Incumbent will serve as the Specialty Care Service representative on committees structured around outpatient and clinic administration-related Performance measures and will report activities of the subspecialty clinics to the Service Chief, AO and other top management of the medical center as requested. Incumbent will be expected to monitor and compile reports on clinic workload, wait times and compliance with performance measures. He/she will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the Medical Center I Service mission, vision and values.
  • Generating a variety of reports, including, but not limited to, consult tracking, days in wait, clinic utilization and capacity. The employee creates templates for report generation based on unique specifications; (reports are not standardized), and generates reports on a daily, monthly or quarterly basis as requested. Incumbent is responsible for the thorough evaluation of reports and presenting initial findings. He/she identifies trends, studies productivity levels, determines staff to work ratios, etc. Recommendations for modification of practices and/or corrective actions are forwarded to the AO or Service Chief for consideration. Incumbent ensures the accuracy of data; significant administrative decisions may be based on data/recommendations provided.
  • Maintain contact with clinical personnel and other staff to resolve delays and misinterpretations in all productivity management processes.
  • Collaborates with the Specialty Care section chiefs to develop strategies to improve processes in order to meet established access measures and goals. Identifies gaps in data reporting and input and makes recommendations for implementation. Serves as Quality Assurance (QA) Specialist with the responsibility of data collection relating to the quality of documentation and achievement of performance goals established within Specialty Care, Performance Improvement, the facility, VISN, and national programs. Provides data to each section chief individually. Prepares documented reports of findings to the Administrative Officer and Chief of Specialty Care. Collaborates with Performance Improvement, HIMS and VERA Coordinator to expedite corrective actions.
Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: Mon-Fri 07:30AM TO 4:00 PM
Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized
Telework: Not Authorized
Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD06090O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

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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, 05/16/2022.

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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  • Skilled in communicating orally and in writing as it relates to identifying gaps in data input and reporting, staff utilization, quality improvement, clinical assessment data.
  • Skilled in analyzing situations to determine what decisions can be made by her/him or if advice of a higher authority is needed.
  • Communicate professionally with managers and other employees to identify areas of weakness and/or source of deficiency
. OR,
  • Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 1 full year of graduate-level education at an accredited college or university. (Note: 1 year of full-time graduate education is defined as 18 semester hours, unless otherwise defined by the college or university). 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 creditable specialized experience and education that is equivalent to the 1 year of specialized experience required. Combination of specialized experience as described above and graduate education as described above which totals at least one year. To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one year by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Acquisition Strategy
  • Organizational Awareness
  • Quality Assurance


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: There are no special physical demands involved in performing the work of the position. Work is primary sedentary and may have slight physical effort.

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

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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/.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

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.

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.

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