Summary The Health Systems Specialist (HRO/SR Program Coordinator) serves as the facility coordinator for High Reliability Organization efforts and Systems Redesign program activities. The position integrates HRO culture transformation, Just Culture, patient safety, continuous process improvement, Lean/Six Sigma methodologies to advance Zero Harm principles and improve clinical and non-clinical operations across the Battle Creek VAMC. Responsibilities Duties associated with this position include, but are not limited to the following: Key responsibilities include: Coordinating the implementation and sustainment of HRO principles, Just Culture practices, and safety behavior expectations across all clinical and non-clinical areas of the medical center. Facilitating the deployment and spread of Crew Resource Management (CRM), Clinical Team Training (CTT), learning systems, and safety event analysis methodologies, ensuring these practices are embedded in workflows and decision-making. Leading efforts to ensure ongoing readiness for internal and external accreditation activities, including the Joint Commission, by evaluating system reliability, identifying risk, and preparing services for review. Developing, communicating, and aligning organizational policies and practices with patient safety, quality management, risk management, and Systems Redesign principles. Serve as the facility's subject matter expert, advising VISN and national HRO workgroups, and representing the organization in high-level discussions regarding HRO strategy and performance Leading Lean, Lean Six Sigma, and Systems Redesign projects from conception through sustainment, ensuring adherence to evidence-based improvement methodologies. Conducting detailed current-state assessments, root-cause analyses, solution development, pilot implementation, and control planning to ensure long-term project success. Utilizing a broad range of improvement tools including A3 problem solving, value stream mapping, process mapping, PICK charts, affinity diagrams, multi-voting, standard work creation, and mistake-proofing strategies. Identifying human-factors issues and system vulnerabilities that contribute to error prone environments; designing mitigation strategies that reduce process variation and enhance reliability. Ensuring project selection, prioritization, and alignment with facility, VIAN, and VHA priorities to maximize organizational impact and resource effectiveness. Designing, developing, and delivering high-quality training and educational programs for executives, service chiefs, supervisors, frontline staff, and interdisciplinary teams. Providing structured coaching and mentoring to project teams to ensure fidelity to improvement methodologies and sustainment of outcomes. Supporting change management strategies that engage stakeholders, reduce resistance, and reinforce the adoption of new practices, behaviors, and processes across the organization. Extracting, analyzing, and interpreting qualitative and quantitative data to assess performance, identify trends, and evaluate the impact of improvement initiatives. Producing high-quality visual and narrative reports including dashboards, Statistical Process Control (SPC) charts, histograms, Pareto charts, and other key performance artifacts used to guide leadership actions. Monitoring SAIL performance metrics, facility KPIs, and local indicators; tracking corrective actions; and ensuring that performance concerns are escalated appropriately. Providing data-driven recommendations that influence strategic planning, resource allocation, and organizational priorities. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday; 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/ 94126-A 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 required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. 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 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 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, 05/22/2026. 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. 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: INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. OR, Specialized Experience: (for positions above GS-5): 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. 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: Expert level knowledge of health care service administration, continuous quality improvement; data analysis; healthcare principles, and theories and practices. Knowledge of missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems in general and in the country at large. Expert knowledge of a wide qualitative and/or quantitative methods for the assessment and improvement of program effectiveness or the improvement of program effectiveness or the improvement of complex management processes and systems. Requires comprehensive knowledge of the range of administrative laws, policies, regulations, and precedents applicable to the administration of one or more important public programs. This includes knowledge of agency program goals and objectives, the sequence and timing of key program events and milestones, and methods of evaluating the worth of program accomplishments. Work requires knowledge of relationships with other programs and key administrative support functions within the employing agency or in other agencies. Ability to analyze problems and present both written and oral recommendations taking into full consideration the wide range of factors and requirements which affect the management of health care delivery system OR, PREFERRED EXPERIENCE: Working in a healthcare delivery system with direct responsibility for quality improvement, system redesign, healthcare administration, or patient safety. Applying Lean/Six Sigma, process improvement, or performance analytics tools. Coordinating or advising leadership on healthcare operations, compliance safety, or performance improvement. Conducting qualitative/quantitative analysis and preparing reports for decision making. Working with interdisciplinary teams to implement complex process changes. 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 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/.
