Summary The Program Specialist, GS-0301-09, position is located within Primary Care Service. This service falls under the auspices of the Office of the Chief of Staff at the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center (GVSMVAMC). Deploys with superior interpersonal skills, as this position requires, work with Veterans, numerous health care professional, other VA Staff, Congressional and Community stakeholders. Responsibilities Has overall responsibility for the resolution of patient problems, which arise, receives and listens to complaints and grievances from patients or from individuals on behalf of patients unresolved at the service level. Investigates complaints, initiates action/appeals or change to rectify the situation and reports corrective measures taken to parties involved, when warranted. Serves as the liaison for the patient/family, vendor, Veterans Board of Appeals, Congressional Liaisons, District Counsel, Veteran's Integrated Service Network (VISN) 16, the GVSMVAM, and Community Care Office and provides a channel through which the unit can respond to patients' needs and concerns. Communicates with the patient and his/her family and with clinical and administrative staff, Veteran's Affairs (VA), and private sector, to enhance responsiveness in meeting the health care needs of Veterans. Identifies the elements of the clinical or administrative practices that contribute to or create an atmosphere for patient/customer dissatisfaction and recommends changes that will reduce or eliminate complaints. Takes inquiries from Veterans, their family members, and/or representatives and uses research tools, assessment of data, and research modalities in order to get the data to support the response. Pays attention to detail and drills down the data for this research. Provides updates on progress of work completed and through recurring reports to the Community Care Service Chief, or designee. Participates in the establishment of administrative qualitative standards intended to improve programs, facilities and operations. Plans and carries out projects to improve the efficiency and productivity of organizations and employees in administrative support activities, identifies, analyzes, and makes recommendations to resolve conventional problems and situations. Identifies system inefficiencies and develops studies and or data collection techniques related to specific identified problems, coordinates with other staff to identify information needs and develops data collection methods and report formats to meet those needs. Organizes, completes, summarizes and analyzes the data collected and develops reports which reflect the scope of activities and identifies trends and opportunities for improvement. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility. Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD842810 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 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: The work is 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. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. The work is performed in a typical office setting with adequate light, heat, and ventilation 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, 05/01/2026. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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-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: Identifies, analyzes, and recommends solutions to problems, Using conflict resolution, de-escalation, and negotiation techniques. Facilitates the organization's programs, structures, and activities in an administrative setting. Gathers, analyzes, and evaluates in effort to advise and recommend to management officials an improvement process. Independently utilizes Microsoft Office to include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Providing direct patient advocacy services, conducting thorough review of patient issues, identifying trends, and recommending service improvements. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Successfully completed a Master's or equivalent, or 2 years of progressively higher level education leading to such a degree, or an LL.B or J.D.in a field related to this position that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Note: Transcripts are required. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond: Equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience (beyond the first graduate year or 18 semester hours) and specialized experience to meet the total experience requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. Note: Transcripts are required. 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. 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. 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/.
