Summary This position serves as the Administrative Officer (AO) for the Behavioral Health Service (BHS), functioning as the principal advisor to the BHS Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS) and Deputy ACOS on all administrative matters. The AO provides full-performance administrative management, supervisory oversight, and operational coordination for a large, multidisciplinary service that includes multiple clinical programs, outpatient clinics, and specialized behavioral health teams. Responsibilities Organizational and Administrative Support Plans studies, prepares program and organizational strategies for identifying opportunities to improve access and efficiency related to outpatient clinic operations and services provided by the Behavioral Health Service. The incumbent advises the ACOS, BHS, on quality business practices, healthcare delivery services, and support services, including presentation and analysis of data. Human Resources Management The AO manages the full lifecycle of administrative HR actions for all Behavioral Health positions, including both clinical and administrative staff. The AO develops, drafts, and revises position descriptions, functional statements, and organizational charts for all Behavioral Health positions, ensuring alignment with classification standards and service needs. The AO supports position reviews and collaborates with HR Classification, who holds authority for final series, grade, and title determinations. The AO prepares and submits recruitment packages, including PDs, functional statements, and justification memoranda. The AO initiates and manages recruitment actions in Manager Self Service (MSS). The AO prepares and routes SF-52s for all personnel actions for all Behavioral Health staff, including new hires, promotions, reassignments, awards, separations, and extensions. The AO approves SF-52s, awards, telework agreements, and timekeeping corrections for administrative staff, while preparing these actions for clinical staff with final approval by the ACOS. The AO coordinates onboarding for all Behavioral Health hires, ensuring completion of administrative onboarding requirements, mandatory training, system access, and workspace setup. Planning, Analysis, and Resource Management The AO provides comprehensive administrative planning and analytical support to service leadership. The AO conducts complex administrative analyses of service operations, including scheduling efficiency, no-show trends, administrative workload, physician productivity, cost for care in the community, person class assignments, staffing patterns, and resource utilization across multiple clinics and programs. The AO develops and maintains dashboards, tracking systems, and performance monitoring tools to support administrative decision-making, and prepares detailed administrative reports for leadership, including trend analyses, performance summaries, and recommendations for operational improvement. The AO has full responsibility for processing and validation of labor mapping. The AO serves as an approving official for administrative supplies, services, and equipment, ensuring appropriate use of funds and adherence to procurement regulations. The AO develops new contracts in a cooperative effort with facility finance and procurement departments. Monitors all existing contracts for compliance with the terms of the contracts. Duties continued in qualifications section Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Administrative Officer/PD013230 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 Duties continued Supervision The AO provides full administrative supervision to assigned staff, which includes a GS-0679-8 Supervisory Medical Support Assistant, GS-0303-7 Program Support Assistant, GS-0318-6 Secretary, or other administrative personnel. Supervision is administrative only and does not include technical supervision of Hybrid Title 38 clinical functions. The incumbent plans work to be accomplished by subordinates, sets and adjusts short-term priorities, and prepares schedules. Assigns work to subordinate employees based on organization priorities and consideration of difficulty and requirements of assignments such that the experience, training, and abilities of staff effectively utilized to meet organization and customer needs. The AO balances workload and provides advice, guidance, and direction on a wide range of administrative issues. The AO structures assignments to create effective and economical positions. Advises and provides counsel to employees regarding policies, procedures, VA directives, and directives from management. Accepts, amends, or rejects work presented by subordinates. The AO selects or recommends selection of candidates for vacancies, promotions, details, and reassignments within the administrative section. Develops, modifies, and/or interprets performance standards for subordinates. Explains performance expectations to employees and provides regular feedback on strengths and areas for improvement. Holds employees responsible for satisfactory completion of work assignments. Appraises subordinate employee performance, ensuring consistency and equity in rating techniques. Recommends awards when appropriate and approves within-grade increases. Hears and resolves employee complaints and refers serious, unresolved complaints to higher level management. Initiates action to correct performance or conduct problems. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/07/2026. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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-07 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 administrative principles, methods, and practices applicable to healthcare operations, including budgeting, human resources management, procurement, workflow design, and organizational analysis, knowledge of VA administrative systems, regulations, and reporting requirements in order to ensure compliance, maintain operational readiness, and support the administrative needs of a large, multidisciplinary Behavioral Health Service, applying qualitative and quantitative analytical methods to evaluate administrative processes, identify inefficiencies, interpret data, and recommend improvements, understand organizational structures, missions, and administrative processes to support strategic planning, resource allocation, and service-wide coordination, and knowledge of accreditation requirements, and manage multiple administrative programs simultaneously, balancing competing priorities and resource constraints. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent graduate degree or two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). 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. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). 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: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application. 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. 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/.
