Summary This position is located in the Office of the Assistant Medical Center Director under the Veterans Experience Officer at the Mountain Home VA Health Care System. Responsibilities The incumbent is the primary point of contact for Congressional inquiries and all other formal and informal inquiries related to Veteran patients from higher authority. The incumbent is responsible for the responsible efficient management of both routine and urgent communication regarding a wide variety of issues, often health care-related concerns.Major duties include, but are not limited to the following: Recommends alternate courses of action in resolving problems Troubleshoots and resolves issues where deficiencies affect the organization's mission. Performs assessments of strategic mission support and alerts management of systemic problems. Develops ongoing strategic analyses across numerous activities and recommends solutions for improvements Reviews, interprets, and applies processes when making recommendations to corrective measures Makes final review and recommendations on regulatory compliance and accuracy of congressional inquiries and management processes Provides detailed data analysis. Determines underlying causes of deficiencies to identify problem reporting areas. Conducts special surveys as necessary. Prepares detailed reports by conducting cost analysis. Develops automated tools to support research, simulation, and analysis. Prepares a variety of correspondence, reports, information papers, and fact sheets for Executive Leadership used in staying abreast of congressional activities and actions. Provides authoritative, direct assistance to Executive Leadership during the various stages of the legislation process. Analyzes information gathered and formulates final reply in preparation for approval signature. Provides expert advice to the Executive Leadership Team and guidance in handling complex and unusual tasks. Promotes discussion and compromise among staff offices and ensures that all parties are in agreement with proposed responses to inquiries and when documents are released. Ensures that the Privacy and Freedom of Information Acts are compiled with before releasing information to Congress so that privacy rights are protected. Performs cost containment strategies, ensuring the effectiveness, quality, and economy of operations. Participates in the development of education and training documentation. Researches and analyzes sensitive cases involving finance, legal, and medical issues and programs that require extensive coordination. Provides advice and guidance to functional experts on how to best articulate the official position. Facilitates resolution of all conflicts /non-occurrences through discussions, meetings, and conferences with principals and subject matter experts. Prepares analytical reports monthly, quarterly, and annually to brief the Executive Leadership Team regarding inquiries by category. Ensures that replies avoid unfavorable reaction by the public, Members of Congress, their staff, their constituents, and the media. Consolidates and synthesizes all relevant information into a final response. Reviews work in progress and prepares reports/briefings as required. Evaluates information developed in the staffing process and determines applicability to the case at hand. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30 am-4:00 pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Congressional Liaison Representative/PD000000 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 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 by the closing date of this announcement, 07/06/2026. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of Congressional Liaison programs and principles; Knowledge of regulations, policies and standards as it relates to official correspondence; Preparing correspondence, briefs, project papers, and reports; Organizing and delivering briefs to managers; Responding to inquiries by obtaining input from services and reviewing electronic health records; Skilled in variety of desktop publishing and other software to prepare reports and briefs; Able to communicate orally and in writing to prepare and deliver training and briefs; Knowledge of mission, organization, programs, strategic planning and requirements of health care organizations in general and the VA system in particular. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. 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 the second year of graduate level education when combined, is equivalent to 100% of the qualification requirement. 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. 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/.
