Summary The Patient Experience Officer is responsible for developing, implementing, coordinating and evaluating a comprehensive Patient Centered Culture Program within the medical center and its outpatient clinics. The program is designed to ensure that quality health care services are provided promptly, courteously and with compassionate understanding of Veterans' needs and the needs of those responsible for their care within a patient centered culture. Responsibilities Duties include but are not limited to: Lead and act as a catalyst in promoting a patient centered culture. Lead and supervise Patient Advocate staff; set and adjust short and long-term priorities; plan work to be accomplished; assess staffing needs; ensure positions are appropriately manned to cover all program functions. Develop and communicate performance standards to staff; provide staff feedback on performance informally, on a regular basis; complete and communicate performance appraisals, measured against performance standards, at the end of the appraisal cycle. Provide advice, counsel, and instruction to staff on work and administrative matters. Identify developmental and training needs of staff; provide or arrange for needed development and training. Advocate to leadership and/or program officials for training resources. Hear and resolve issues and complaints from staff, refer grievances and more serious unresolved complaints to higher-level officials as needed. Effect minor disciplinary measures. Recommend more serious disciplinary actions to higher level supervisor. Interview and select candidates for vacancies, promotions, details and reassignments. Apply EEO and merit promotion principles and requirements to all personnel management actions and decisions to ensure that all personnel are treated in a manner that is free of discrimination. Develop actions for improving customer satisfaction based on review of the Patient Advocate, Tracking System, National Survey Results (SHEP), Community Survey results, Internal Survey results, and Focus Groups. Plans, accomplishes, and manages special projects to facilitate a better patient centered cultured program at all VISN 20 facilities. Tracks and interprets customer data to identify trends in problem areas and make recommendations regarding methods, practices, and procedures to address problem resolution. Design and conduct actions and initiatives incorporating measurable results to be used to address complex patient centered cultured issues. Work with senior leaders, employee and patient care leaders and educators to ensure a consistent and robust positive customer service culture is maintained at the VAMC. Work closely with specific groups of staff and/or departments to guide them and ensure alignment and progression of program objectives. Provide expert advice to Medical Center Leadership, Patient Representatives, Facility Committees, and Front-Line Staff in effective ways that improve customer satisfaction. Responsible for working with VA employees at all levels within the VAMC including VISN level. Incumbent works with key medical center staff in the timely identification and resolution of system problems that impede internal and external customer service. Communicate effectively and work with multiple work groups to facilitate the Patient Satisfaction Initiatives approved by the Medical Center Director. Design, implement, and facilitate training and educational programs for employees with the intent to facilitate improved communication. Provide coordination between VISN centered culture program manager and the VAMC program. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm Telework: This position may be authorized for telework on an as needed (ad hoc) basis, determined by the needs of the service. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual or remote position. Position Description/PD#: Patient Experience Officer/PD705940 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): 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 identification 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 06/15/2026. 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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 as described below: 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: Collect, analyze and trend data; Resolve problems or implement necessary actions and efforts within established policies and/or committee participation; Investigate and analyze adverse quality trends or conditions; Provide advise to medical center leadership, patient representatives, committee's and staff on effective ways to improve customer satisfaction. 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/. Preferred Experience includes: Minimum of 2 years of experience in healthcare setting Minimum of 2 years of supervisor experience Minimum of 2 years of customer service 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. 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/.
