Summary The primary purpose of this position is to provide support to health care management officials by analyzing, evaluating, advising on and/or coordinating health care delivery systems and operations. The position renders advice on operational policies and assures these policies are coordinated with, and in support of, field operations. The incumbent must assure that operational policies are coordinated with and in support of administrative functions in coordination with the supervisor. Responsibilities The major duties of the Health System Specialist include, but are not limited to the following: Renders advice on operational policies and assures these policies are coordinated with, and in support of, field operations Works closely with senior management officials and others in implementing and evaluating policies, plans, and internal operational systems Addresses specific problem areas and applies a high degree of analytical ability and specialized healthcare knowledge to the management of healthcare delivery systems Exercises broad latitude and provides senior expert level advice to senior personnel, and/or agency officials concerning complex, novel, and unusual healthcare issues Functions as the primary liaison to multiple staff offices and serves as the conduit for information flow and management of assignments between such office Conducts analytical studies on particular operational processes, issue topics, or related special projects Engages in study planning, statistical measurement, data analysis, and report preparation and development Develops position papers and decision documents representing the position of the organization on a variety of complex and sensitive issues Works in coordination with other internal reviewing services regarding complex audits and internal/external reviews of a national concern Contacts and engages frequently with staff at all levels to facilitate the work of the office related to a variety of operations-focused assignments and projects Manages and coordinates of all online communication tools such as assigned intranet websites, internal SharePoint website collection, and other related informational tools Briefs and advises senior management on agenda issues in preparation for activities and meetings and may represent the office at internal or external activities or meetings Work Schedule: 7:30am - 4:00pm, Monday to Friday Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Position Description Title/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD913570 Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some travel is required. No other Physical demands are required of this work. Requirements 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 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 dentification 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) 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 level. 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. Individual Occupational Requirement The 0671 series requires specific education or experience to be met in order to be appointed into a position of this series. Examples of the Individual Occupational Requirement Experiences as set by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for this occupation and grade level, GS-13, may include: Undergraduate and Graduate Education in a Major study of hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. OR Experience of 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 Group Occupational Standard In addition to the individual occupational requirement above, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-12 level) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization, as described below: Specialized Experience: Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but is not limited to: responsible for continuous quality improvement in a health care service administration; experience budgeting, planning, and administration; ability to apply health care management principles to complex problem-solving situations; use of advanced qualitative and quantitative techniques in order to perform thorough management analysis; ability to independently investigate complex issues, analyze problems; experience with presenting both written and oral recommendations, taking into full consideration the wide range of factors and requirements which affect the management of the healthcare delivery system. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Interpersonal Skills Listening Organizational Awareness Partnering Reasoning 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 sedentary. Some travel is required. No other special physical demands are required of this work. The work is typically performed in an office setting. Note: You must submit a copy of your most recent personnel action/SF50. Additionally, 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. 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: Assignments providing a knowledge of basic health system administration philosophies, practices, and procedures, and basic government administrative policies and requirements; Practical assignments providing an opportunity to apply health system administration skills and principles (as the individual progresses, work assignments must be characteristic of the grade level to which he or she is assigned); and Oversight by an experienced health system administrator with periodic evaluation of the individual's progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program. Preferred experience: At least two years experience in a Health System Specialist (HSS) Position supporting a facility or VISN Executive Leadership Team (ELT) member. 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/. Interchange Agreement: Applicants must be eligible under the VA Interchange Agreement, having served continuously for at least one year in the other merit system under this interchange agreement. For more information regarding the VA Interchange Agreement please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/competitive-hiring/. Education There is no educational substitution for the specialized experience required by the Group Occupational Standard for the GS-0671 series at this grade level. Transcripts must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education to satisfy the Individual Occupational Requirement standard for the GS-0671 series 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. 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. 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 well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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.
