Summary The Northeast Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC), although located at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, in the Chief of Staff Service is organizationally a part of the VA Central Office (VACO) Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (OMHSP). The VA treats more than 1.7 million Veterans with psychiatric and substance abuse problems every year, and these Veterans comprise more than 25% of all VA patients. Responsibilities Duties include, but may not be limited to the following Directs the personnel management program for NEPEC by performing or overseeing the full range of human resource requirements, including matters involving recruitment, promotions, awards, position classification, training, disciplinary actions, etc. Provides personnel management and administration for a mid-size Center (40 staff) with varied functions and activities with new and changing requirements. Shares oversight responsibility with the manager for performance appraisal and merit pay programs. Ensures that the office adheres to reporting requirements at all levels, including but not limited to management. Develops status reports or response materials for the manager for higher level attention, review or signature. Manages procurement and contracting for the organization. This may include preparing procurement requests, evaluating proposals for work, acting as a COTR for large national contracts held by NEPEC, and/or maintaining procurement and contracting records. Ensures prompt acquisition and maintenance of all NEPEC equipment and supplies. Serves as contact person for vendors and contractors to purchase new equipment and supplies or to solve problems. Serves as the liaison and focal point of all requests to and from the local medical center. Works with other services in the medical center to resolve issues between those services and NEPEC. Has a strong working knowledge of medical and psychiatric service delivery in VA as evidenced by work history, to assist divisions within NEPEC on the administrative tasks involved in program evaluation and implementation oversighting contracts and IPA's to support mental health program evaluation at NEPEC. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Ad-Hoc Telework may be authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Administrative Officer/PD022860 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized This position is not a Bargaining Unit position. May be required to attend conference at other facilities or other VA sites on occasion. Current Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and @type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is in the Competitive Service. Time-in-Grade Restriction: 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. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment. Veterans' preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees 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. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. You may be required to serve a probationary period. Subject to background/security investigation. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Must pass pre-employment physical examination. 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, 03/26/2026. 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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: GS-12 Grade Requirements Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Budgeting execution requires making comparisons of planned versus actual expenditures of all study budgets in the planning and ongoing phase. Developing budgets within VA regulations that will ensure the successful completion of the project. Formulating and executing a budgetary plan for NEPEC each fiscal year. Analyzing salary requirements and expenditures of personnel funds. Preparing budget summary reports for the Director, NEPEC and VACO at the end of each quarter and each fiscal year. participating with other staff members in evaluating program effectiveness and participates in identifying problems of concern to management and suggests approaches for dealing with various problems. Conducting space utilization, manpower utilization, and position management surveys to assist manager in preparing short and long-range plans for the Center. Serving as the liaison and focal point of all requests to and from the local medical center. Working with other services in the medical center to resolve issues between those services and NEPEC. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Decision Making Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Teamwork 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 includes walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items, and occasionally assisting with a wheelchair. In some instances, relationships with patients and caregivers can become intense and the incumbent is constantly exposed to high levels of stress and anxiety. This position demands emotional stability, as the incumbent is deeply involved with many challenging, seriously ill, and/or dying patients and their caregivers. 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. 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. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. 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.
