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Government Information Specialist

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

Summary

This position serves as the Privacy and Freedom of Information Act Officer (FOIA) at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center. The Privacy/FOIA Officer position reports directly to the Medical Center Director. The facility Compliance Officer is responsible for day-to-day administrative activities such as time and attendance management.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
08/17/2022 to 09/07/2022
Salary
$97,490 to - $126,742 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
Palo Alto, CA
2 vacancies
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
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CBSW-11606885-22-BNR
Control number
672040100

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Duties

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The Privacy/FOIA Officer contributes to the fulfillment of the VA mission and vision by planning, designing, implementing and maintaining appropriate and effective program, policies and procedures in a VHA facility. The incumbent fulfills the role of liaison with the facility staff by ensuring that information received is disseminated to the appropriate areas, that employees adhere to mandates from regulatory agencies, and that monitoring is conducted to ensure VA policies and procedures are being followed. In addition the Privacy/FOIA Officer promotes an awareness of privacy principles consistent with the mission, vision and values of the organization and those required by federal law. Duties for the position include but are not limited to:

  • Implement, manage and evaluate the Privacy and Freedom of Information Act programs in the facility by distributing information, preparing facility-specific guidance, reviewing facility processes and products for compliance with program requirements, and assessing the facility privacy posture through periodic evaluation of the facility's collection, use, storage and maintenance of sensitive personal information.
  • Advise management and staff on Title 38 United States Code (U.S.C.) Sections 5701, 5702, 5705 and 7332, PA, FOIA and, where appropriate, HIPAA requirements, policies, and procedures and ensure that facility managers and staff understand and fulfill their responsibilities.
  • Develop facility-specific privacy and FOIA training materials, as needed, and provide training within the facility to staff and programs, as required.
  • Process complaints and investigate allegations of illegal or improper activities related to the handling or release of privacy protected information.
  • Investigate data breaches and recommend appropriate remediation.
  • Prepare responses to inquiries including those from Congressional Offices, Human Resources, and, where appropriate, Office for Civil Rights.
  • In VA health care facilities, investigate Office of Civil Rights requests related to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy complaints in conjunction with the Veterans Health Administration (YHA) Privacy Office.
  • Initiate and conduct internal compliance reviews, assessments and audits within the facility.
  • Conduct privacy assessments at facilities by going on Administrative rounds on a regular basis.
  • Ensure the completion of Privacy Impact Assessment for the facilities local systems.
  • Review and approve all Memorandums of Understanding, Data Use Agreements and/or Data Transfer Agreements where such documents are required for the sharing of VA privacy protected data between the facility and another party, such as another Federal agency.
  • Ensure the appropriate utilization of the Release of Information (ROT) Records Management software by the facility ROT Department and other areas making disclosures of patient health information.
  • Manage the information privacy process for a major research program.
  • Review all research protocols for procedures to protect the subjects, collection process, use, transfer, storage, and disposal of protected personal and health information and to ensure all privacy requirements have been met.
  • Participate on the facility Research and Development (R&D) Committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB) that review research project proposals for compliance with privacy requirements.
  • Ensure research databases are established and maintained in accordance with the Systems of Records Notice and VA policies.
  • Ensure any Business Associate requiring access to protected health information has an appropriately executed Business Associate Agreement as required by the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
  • Respond to FOIA requests and maintain records; coordinate records review and redaction by organizations responsible for the records being requested.
  • Review and respond to appeals of denials of FOIA requests.
  • Compile the facility's Annual FOIA report.
  • Participate as Privacy/FOIA representative on facility and regional committees, teams, and work groups with information security and privacy related functions and responsibilities.
  • Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Government Information Specialist/PD99843S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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, 09/07/2022.

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-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 as described below:

  • 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: experience as a Privacy/FOIA officer working independently with little supervision, formulating policy, ensures compliance with federal and state laws and conducting thorough research of implementing regulations and policies and procedures to manage agency/organization information; providing assistance and services to the general public, staff members and communicated information to the Executive leadership, facility staff and outside stakeholders.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Communication
  • Information Assurance
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Manages and Organizes Information
  • Organizational Stewardship
  • Technical Competence
  • Writing


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. There will be episodes of moderate lifting or prolonged periods of standing and bending in searching various files. There is lifting and carrying of such items as record boxes and bulky files. The work involves considerable walking, standing and bending conducting rounds, auditing and providing training to both on-site and off-site personnel. There is also occasional lifting and carrying of such items as boxes and files, weighing up to 30 lbs.

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

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.

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.

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a VA job announcement includes language requiring applicants to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Executive Order 14043, that requirement does not currently apply to this Job Announcement. VA may request information regarding your vaccination status, if selected, for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.



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.

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.

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