Summary The purpose of this position is to develop an infrastructure for VHA advancement and implementation of High Reliability. The position is responsible for implementing and executing activities; supporting executive leadership in coordinating, planning, implementing, and monitoring activities to ensure effective leadership engagement in high reliability efforts; drive a culture of safety within the organization; and institute and sustain continuous process improvement efforts. Responsibilities Duties include, but are not limited to: Serving as the Program Manager supporting new programs/initiatives that align directly with the journey to high reliability, which puts Veterans at the center of all processes, innovations, improvements, and changes. Assisting the program office in providing policy and technical guidance to support continuous quality improvement and performance improvement throughout the organization. Developing technical guidance and standards for use within the program office for processes where no established criteria exist and where improvement is needed. Providing leadership, direction, and control of the implementation of HRO activities across the OBVAMC, including developing appropriate controls to assure standardization in use of evidence-based processes and guidance. Providing detailed reports to senior leadership on the schedule, measures, and key change management components. Working in partnership with the National Center for Quality and Patient Safety staff to include the QPS Patient Safety Section, Systems Redesign (Improvement) Coordinator, and Nursing/Physician leadership to ensure planning, coordinating, tracking, reporting, and communicating objectives to the various stakeholders both external and internal to VA. Conducting analytical studies on operational processes, issue topics, or related special projects. Monitoring budget expenditures and report all to VHA CO, the VISN Director, and the OBVAMC Director, to include upper management regularly on the state of the budget. Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD075890 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized 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 You may be required to serve a probationary/trial period Subject to background/security investigation Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation 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, 09/26/2025. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirements described below are fully qualified for the specified entry grade and must also meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements. 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 Specialized Experience: 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. OR 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. In addition to meeting the above Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) AND Time-In-Grade, applicants must also meet the experience and/or directly related education relevant to this position. 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: Coordinate data collection and analysis; Participate in the planning, development, and documentation of long and short-range planning goals and objectives; Determine training needs and provide training to staff; Utilize data to generate reports and responses to inquiries; Facilitate teams for improvement projects 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 three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M, if related (transcripts required) OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience (beyond the first two graduate years or 36 semester hours) and specialized experience to meet the total experience requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. Note: Transcripts are required. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Communications Planning and Evaluating 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: No special physical exertion is required other than walking in a large primary facility. The work is primarily performed while sitting though some work requires periods of standing. The regular and recurring work of the position involves sitting at a desk, conferences, meetings, etc., and occasional visits to activity work sites. Occasionally required to carry light objects, such as files, mail, laptops, supplies and papers. Will be required to move wheeled tables and chairs as needed for training or conferences. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. 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.
