Summary The Health System Specialist is assigned to the Medical Staff Office, which is under the Chief of Staff at a VA Medical Center (VAMC) and is responsible for providing administrative and technical direction and support to the Credentialing and Privileging (C&P) operations. The C&P Specialist is aligned to and supervised by the C&P Manager. Responsibilities The incumbent assists the C&P Manager/Analyst in developing short- and long-term goals necessary to accomplish the mission of the C&P program. Major duties include, but not limited to the following: Assists in identifying the resources necessary for accomplishing the mission and function of the credentials and privileging program. Serves as SME in the field of credentials and clinical privileging. Keeps leadership and appropriate administrative staff informed of program changes, new regulatory requirements, and policies and procedures pertaining to the C&P process. Assists C&P Manager/Analyst in drafting local credentialing processes and Medical Staff Bylaws in compliance with all applicable regulations. Receives and reviews correspondence and communications for the C&P function and determines which items require immediate attention and which are confidential in nature. Receives and reviews VetPro reports detecting problem areas requiring further investigation. Upon identification of a problem, researches reference materials, regulations, and standards to identify appropriate action necessary to correct the problem. Issues of a serious nature are elevated to the supervisor for guidance. Ensures accurate provider data is entered into and maintained in the VetPro computer program. Ensures current information is present on providers relative to state licensure, Drug Enforcement Organization (DEA) license, National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) Continuous Query (CQ) enrollments and renewals, Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), documentation of professional education, specialty medical training, certifications, adverse licensure or privileging actions, initial and renewal of privileges which may affect the status of privileges granted for medical practice. Informs C&P Manager/Analyst of trends identified, audit results and identified problems that may affect a provider's privilege status. Manages provider applications (initial and renewals) for LIPs C&P within the VAMC. Incumbent must have a broad knowledge of medical specialties and core privileges and is the technical advisor to clinical leadership for the development of department specific privileges and assures that complete documentation is available to support privileges granted to providers within their training and/or experience. Provides guidance and instruction to hospital staff in completing the required documentation of establishing privileges for LIPs. Upon receipt of individual credentials' files for review, incumbent ensures primary source verification to include, but not limited to, state licenses, DEA license, certifications, medical specialty training, and board certifications. Primary source verification includes, but may not be limited to, the American Medical Association, NPDB, state licensing agencies, specialty certification boards, universities, DoD and healthcare facilities. Assures application packages and other documents meet technical requirements per specialty of provider and assures application folder and database account (VetPro or other internal databases and spreadsheets) meet technical requirements. Communicates with LIPs to assure timely completion of applications and VetPro requirements. Provides oversight to application process; analyzes exceptions and deviations in expected application process; determines course of action and makes recommendations. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc only Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist (Credentialing and Privileging)/PD99876A 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 Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 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 or trial 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, 07/08/2026. 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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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. Individual Occupational Requirements: Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirements described below are fully qualified for the specified entry grade and must also meet the specialized experience requirements. INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS: Must possess an undergraduate or graduate level degree with a major study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. (Transcript must be provided) OR Must possess progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the healthcare 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. 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-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Broad and thorough knowledge of pertinent laws, regulations, policies and precedents, accreditation standards and guidelines such as The Joint Commission (TJC), which affect the use of program related support resources in the area of Credentialing and Privileging (C&P); VHA Handbooks, Directives, Memos, and Notices; VetPro Policies/Standard Operating Procedures; and local medical center policies related to the principles, practices and program goals of the C&P program. Comprehensive knowledge of VetPro policies, including but not limited to, VetPro Data Integrity, Facility level access control, mandatory annual VetPro security and confidentiality training, and mandatory annual privacy act training. Skill in applying analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to issues or studies concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of the C&P operations and toward the planning and accomplishment of a variety of routine and complex work assignments, such as advising leadership on documentation requirements for provider profiling and competence. Ability to communicate orally technical information to a diverse group of individuals with varying levels of understanding. 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 graduate degree, successfully completed two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, LL.B or J.D in a related field of the position to be filled (i.e., hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration). Education at the graduate level must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR, Combination: Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond the first year) and specialized experience as described above, to meet the total experience requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of this position (i.e. hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as course work in health care administration). This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Experience must be clearly indicated in your resume. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Communications Compliance Customer Service Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Quality Assurance Reading Comprehension Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Technical Competence 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: 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 This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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.
