Summary The position is located at the Alaska VA Healthcare System, Anchorage Alaska, serving 36,000+ veterans residing throughout the 663,300-mile service area of Alaska. The incumbent will be part of a an administrative team supporting duties under Chief of Quality and Patient Safety while providing leadership and professional support to the quality management department and organization. Responsibilities Duties include but are not limited to: Analyze healthcare data to identify trends, opportunities for improvement, and support decision-making processes. Skills in Microsoft Excel, including the ability to create spreadsheets, utilize formulas and functions, and generate data visualizations for reporting purposes. Meets the needs of customers while supporting VA missions. Consistently communicates and treats customers (Veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner. Experience in developing professional presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint to effectively communicate data insights, project updates, and strategic recommendations to various stakeholders. Proven ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams, fostering a cooperative and productive work environment to achieve shared goals Knowledge of governance structure, agency policies, programs, and organizations to provide assistance in the development of various healthcare system needs. Demonstrated experience in managing healthcare projects, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with organizational objectives Collectively and individually, he/she works with employees in the service lines to educate staff of all levels and improve the policies affecting patient care, performance outcomes, and effective clinical operations. Identifies metrics performing below benchmarked standards or falling below the upper or lower control limits of statistically controlled models such as strategic analytics for improvement and learning. Responsible for educating supervisors and assisting them in various day-to-day operations revolving around data and the electronic healthcare record. Supports the Value Management Team as a subject matter expert in analyzing workflows and value data; investigates departmental nuances within the solution metrics and applies systems thinking and end-to-end methods to identify, evaluate and address workflow-related informatics patient safety issues. Knowledge and ability to apply definitive oral, written, and digital communication skills to teach and mentor others. The incumbent assists in the writing, development, and submission of implementation plans, processes, and policy documents that support the operation of programs within the VHA. Converts data into numerous formats using advanced statistical models including statistical process control charts, histograms, pareto charts, and many more. Strong ability to produce clear and concise documents, reports, and correspondence using Microsoft Word, ensuring accuracy and professionalism in all written communications. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4pm or Monday - Thursday/Friday 5-4-9 Position Description Title/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD504730 and PD504740 Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary with occasional periods of standing when teaching. Additionally it may require some walking, bending, crouching, stooping, or similar activities when visiting work sites, as well as some moderate lifting or carrying. 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. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. NOTE: Effective 9/29/2025 all submitted applications must contain resumes limited to two-pages in length and anything longer is prohibited. Only the first two-pages will be considered for qualification purposes for this announcement. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the 0671 occupational series. Education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. To qualify for this occupational series, applicants MUST have one of the following listed below: Education: Graduate education with a major field of study such as hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration (Transcript required). 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 In-service Placement: The 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 (Submit a copy of the individualized training plan with your application). 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); Oversight by an experienced health system administrator with periodic evaluation of the individual's progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-09: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 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 of the operations of Email, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and other MS Office or related software programs; skills in Microsoft Excel, including the ability to create spreadsheets, utilize formulas and functions, and generate data visualizations for reporting purposes; ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams; skilled in analyzing, extracting, interpreting, and evaluating metrics, trends and issues for data related to service operations. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent graduate degree, or, 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education related to a major study such as hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level you must have some specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level but less than one year, and have more than one year, but less than two years of graduate education GS-11: 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 of the operations of Email, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and other MS Office or related software programs; skills in Microsoft Excel, including the ability to create spreadsheets, utilize formulas and functions, and generate data visualizations for reporting purposes; ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams; skilled in analyzing, extracting, interpreting, and evaluating metrics, trends and issues for data related to service operations; skilled in applying analytical methods and techniques to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of programs; advise leadership with consistently updated reports on budget, workforce analysis and organizational principles and practices. 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 related to a major study such as hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration, or, LL.M., if related to knowledge, skills, and abilities of the position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level you must have some specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level but less than one year, and I have more than two years, but less than three years of graduate education. 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. You will be rated on the following competencies: Computer Skills Customer Service Organizational Awareness Quality Management Written Communication 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. 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. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. 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 an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
