Summary This position is located within the Finance Service of the Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System, and is responsible for highly specialized budgetary functions, data analysis, and related activities pertaining to Community Care program functions. Responsibilities Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: Reviews and checks the accuracy and adequacy of budget justification data submitted in support of budget estimates or requests for allotments. Performs activities of financial management as Budget Analyst for Community Care, including the development of data and long-term budget formulation. Gathers, compares, and correlates financial data concerning current and future programs and activities with projected costs of operations. Performs cost effectiveness studies using various fiscal service records and feeder reports. Makes strategic recommendations regarding make vs. buy decisions to ensure local VAMC is purchasing or providing care in a cost-effective manner. Develops and maintains daily a tracking mechanism to track all community care admissions in an online format that is accessible to individuals across the facility. Develops procedures and systems for establishing, operating, and assessing the effectiveness of administrative control operating programs and the accomplishment, evaluation, and monitoring of audits and inspections. Coordinates the VA Community Care budget and accounting information with Fiscal Service records, printouts, etc. to reconcile budget information and resolve questions in accordance with established procedures. Compiles records including current and past expenditures for the purpose of planning future budgets and preparing current estimates. Analyzes and evaluates on a quantitative basis, the effectiveness of the VA Community Care program or operations in meeting established goals and objectives. Creates and updates monthly and quarterly report for patients with appeals and forwards to the Director of Community Care. Completes overtime report for the Director of Community Care and FTEE report from Fiscal Service. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework only. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Budget Technician/PD119200 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: 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 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, 05/26/2026. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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. Preferred Experience: Strong budgeting and/or accounting experience as well as knowledge of Veterans Affairs (VA) computer systems and processes is preferred but not required. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Thorough knowledge of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reimbursement systems required in order to understand and apply VA Community Care payment methodologies; knowledge and understanding of the Relative Value Reimbursement System, Outpatient Prospective Payment System, Inpatient Prospective Payment System and Reasonable and Customary charges payment methodology; practical knowledge of a wide range of well-established and commonly applied budget management principles, concepts, and methodologies requiring the application of some judgment and analysis to provide budget management services or resolve problems associated with budget management systems and processes; knowledge of established budget management systems in weighing the impact of variables such as cost, existing policies and procedures, data processing requirements, and other issues that influence the course of action taken and ability to maintain budget control records; ability to search for and analyze information; trace sequences of budget management transactions to resolve questions; makes entries in fund control point systems; provide budget information, reports and services; and recommends actions to eliminate problems involved in delivering services to customers or in implementing policies; knowledge of system to manage FCP(s) and internal budgetary processes; knowledge of Medical Care Cost Fund (MCCF) billing, collections and accounts receivables practices in order to maximize revenue recapture through VA Community Care billing and cost containment of VA Community Care expenditures. Requires sufficient understanding of VA Community Care & Fiscal Service operations to enable necessary coordination and communication with them; skill in payment processing and vendorizing guidelines that are outlined in M-1 Part I, Chapter 18: the FBCS User Manual, VistA (or other software) Fee Basis User Manual and the Fee Basis Guidebook. 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 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/.
