Summary The Battle Creek VA Medical Center is recruiting for a Supervisory Health Systems Specialist. The Health Systems Specialist will function under the Directors Office as the Executive Assistant to the Medical Center Director. Responsibilities The incumbent is responsible for a broad range of activities related to the institutional objectives of quality patient care, strategic alignment to VHA priorities and education. The nature of the numerous partnerships and affiliations, the large number of medical and allied health education programs makes the duties of administration, planning, and implementation complex. 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. The incumbent is expected to use initiative in organizing and accomplishing the responsibilities that have been delegated. The incumbent 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. This position exercises broad latitude and provides senior expert level advice to senior personnel, and/or agency officials concerning complex, novel, and unusual healthcare issues. Duties include but not limited to: The incumbent is delegated authority to make decisions and act on matters within the responsibility of the Office of the Director using broad policy guidance. For day-to-day operations, these decisions are binding and affect the management of the administrative affairs of the services that report to the Director. The incumbent will have a supervisory role for Director's Suite staff, e.g. secretary; others identified as "implementers" and will serve in a key role for driving organizational change and bringing about desired organizational improvement. The incumbent will have an oversight function for major follow-up items for entire organization. Incumbent will plan, organize, and coordinate significant meetings with internal and external stakeholders on a regular and recurring basis. Incumbent will serve as External Community Affairs role as a collateral duty in support of Director's efforts to Improve the Battle Creek VA Medical Center image in the community and build relationships with other organizations in the community. Reviews and evaluates proposed policy and procedure drafts submitted to the Director; returns inadequate policy proposals to the author with recommended change for rewrite or further coordination with other services. Serves as a liaison between the Medical Center and VISN 10 Network Office. This includes participation in activities related to support of the Network and in special task forces. Represents the Medical Center through meetings and contacts with the Network Office and Central Office planning staff. Provides advice to the services concerning budget formulation, reviews and evaluates annual budget proposals, and reviews requests for additional resources (space, equipment, and personnel) from the clinical services. Based on this evaluation, incumbent returns requests which are inadequate or not in compliance with VA or Medical Center policy. Participates in local, community and stakeholder activities and news media events. Incumbent is called upon to speak at various functions in the absence of the Director. In the absence of the ELT members, the incumbent may be required to assume duties typically performed by the ELT members for limited time. Is responsible for the performance of subordinate staff, and takes actions to reward, promote, or recognize staff as warranted by the evaluation of performance. Attends and actively participates in major top management conferences, including Director's morning report, Pentad/ELT and other medical center meetings/briefings. Participates in Director's Staff Meeting and serves on numerous other medical center committees. Responsible for the completion of special projects and additional tasks assigned by the Director. Responsible for budget preparation and management for the Director's office. Management of these budgets requires the exercise of good judgement, knowledge of medical services available, sensitivity of the frequent emergent or unusual needs of patients, awareness of innovations in medical technology, and the ability to use tact and diplomacy in denying requests. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: This position may be authorized for ADHOC telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Health Systems Specialist / 93631-S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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 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) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial 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 or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/17/2025. 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. 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-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Creative Thinking Decision Making Organizational Awareness Strategic Thinking 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 physical demands are required of this work. 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. 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 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. 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.
