Summary This is a management position located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health care Network (VISN 6), Charles George VA Medical Center. The incumbent administers and monitors the medical center's Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) program and is responsible for analytical studies resulting in the identification of information needed to manage critical aspects of field operations. Responsibilities Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: The incumbent is responsible for establishing and maintaining a facility-wide comprehensive VERA oversight program. The incumbent develops a management information system that ensures the capture of costs, workload, and data that impact the VERA funding of the medical center and the VISN. Responsible for conducting analytical studies resulting in the identification and use of information needed to manage operations which generate up to 90% of the medical center's budget. This requires in-depth knowledge of VHA operations, national databases, and analytical techniques; the ability to analyze and synthesize data; the ability to produce reports and effectively display/communicate key information in a variety of formats; and the ability to effectively develop, manage, monitor, and report progress on the activities that impact the organization's VERA optimization and revenue growth goals, including those goals established by the VISN. Incumbent serves as the technical advisor to medical center leadership and provides guidance and education in the implementation, management and evaluation of VERA programs and recommends and monitors the implementation of program standards and criteria. Keeps facility staff informed of program/policy changes, developments or proposals impacting this medical center, especially those that impact Veterans to ensure they are accurately classified in the VERA model. The incumbent establishes and directly implements a facility-wide proactive audit system that captures VERA data and provides the resulting information for organizational leaders to evaluate resource utilization and VERA performance for the medical center. Conducts audits of services as requested and approved by the medical center leadership to evaluate administrative and clinical services and medical documentation to determine the status and impact to the VERA program. Identifies discrepancies and collaborates with service staff, including clinical leadership, to define and correct coding errors. Provides written reports on findings along with recommendations for improving program activities, plus a written periodic (e.g., monthly, quarterly, etc.) VERA program status review. Exercises initiative and collaborate effectively with complex and competing activities. The incumbent is responsible for designing and developing databases, producing multiple VERA-related reports, translating statistics to reflect actionable data for decision-making purposes and providing an accessible link for awareness purposes to a wide variety of staff. The incumbent conducts continuous evaluation/analysis and provides recommendations on improving clinical documentation deficiencies. The effectiveness of programs ensures the accurate categorization of patients within the VERA classification system to maximize appropriate funding under the VERA model. Reports are tested and updated in accordance with the established schedule and assigned requests. The incumbent develops databases that support benchmarking of data including financial data, patient populations and workload. Incumbent is responsible for the design and development of all reports and databases translating data into meaningful management information which is made available to a wide variety of stakeholders. Reviews activities in the medical record coding system in accordance with the actual services rendered for verification and accuracy purposes. Identifies discrepancies and collaborates with service staff to educate and provide continuous instructions that define coding errors. The incumbent develops and implements training, policy, and processes to facilitate the best methods in capturing VERA opportunities for the facility. Plans, develops and conducts formal and informal training programs, conferences, etc., relevant to revenue enhancement processes, workload/cost reporting, and data validation/certification. Provides individual consultation and training to medical center staff, including physicians, mid-level providers, medical residents, allied healthcare providers, and managers, to facilitate specific clinical documentation improvement strategies that may impact VERA optimization. The incumbent develops training materials and user-friendly tools to assist managers in utilizing data and reports that are produced. The incumbent ensures comprehensive documentation regarding all data produced. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: (Adhoc) - as determined by the agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Analyst - VERA Coordinator/PD041510 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: A pre-placement physical examination is not required. 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, 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, 03/03/2026. 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-9. 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-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Coordinating the collection and prioritizing of critical Information; developing and processing administrative documents, researching and developing resource material, inputting and extracting data for analytical studies in relation to plans, policies and standard procedures; demonstrating knowledge of healthcare systems; and developing and conducting intra/inter-agency briefings and presentations using Microsoft office products. 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 leading to such a degree or a LL.M., if related. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-11. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Systems Thinking: Performs analysis that focuses on the way that a system's constituent parts interrelate and how systems work over time and within the @context of larger systems; considers the whole system and recognizes links between everything from the complex network of global to departmental priorities. Health Informatics: Knowledge of health informatics, i.e. design, configuration and management of health information and clinical support systems; health data collection, storage, extraction, manipulation, reporting and communications. Self-Direction: Demonstrates belief in own abilities and ideas; is self-motivated and results-oriented; recognizes own strengths and weaknesses; seeks feedback from others and opportunities for self-learning and development. Audit Reporting: Knowledge of the principles, practices, and techniques used to report audit findings (criteria, condition, cause, effect, and recommendation). Physical Requirements and Work Environment: The work is mostly sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items like papers or books. 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 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. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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 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/.
