Summary This Health Systems Specialist (Facility Systems Redesign) position is in the Quality and Patient Safety service of the Providence VA Medical Center, located in Providence, RI. This is full time position, at 40 hours a week. Responsibilities The primary purpose of this position is to implement a Performance Improvement program for the VA Providence Health Care System. The position is responsible for delivering Performance Improvement techniques to a broad array of program and services throughout all locations of the Medical Center, including Lean, Six Sigma, Coaching, Project Management, and Training. Additional functions of the position involve advising leadership in the formulation of planning complex facility wide Strategic Plans and facility wide projects in the execution phase of supporting of Strategic Planning and HRO. Major duties include but are not limited to: Joins a team of subject matter experts, front line staff, and leadership through a rigorous and defined project management process utilizing multiple tools from Lean Six Sigma, Lean VA system, and other performance improvement disciplines to further define the current state of the process. Leads project teams through designed brainstorming sessions to develop solutions towards a specific deliverable or goal during a project. Participates in and facilitates transformative quality, safety, effectiveness, and efficiency improvement efforts. Acts as a project lead for healthcare and operational improvement projects impacting patient care delivery systems and functions throughout the medical center. Facilitates, coaches, and trains audiences at all levels of the organization throughout the lifecycle of a performance improvement project. Conducts experiments and collects data to identify if the developed solutions are effective. Develops control plans, communication plans, risk management plans, and through closeout of the project. Provides consultation to executive, service line, and program leadership by leveraging VA data analytics and resources. Converts data into numerous formats using advanced statistical models including statistical process control charts, histograms, paretto charts, and many more. Conducts extensive work in analyzing data and conducting background research on the issue. Pulls, isolates, and manipulates data to identify root causes of a performance issue. Develops statistical models to measure success of performance improvement actions. Defines a project scope and goals through a collaborative process with subject matter experts and leadership at the facility, service line or program, or unit level. Identifies various solution approaches and, when necessary, further leads them through prioritizing exercises with tools, like affinity diagrams, pick lean six sigma charts, and multi-voting. Delivers classroom instruction about Lean, Lean Six Sigma, Systems Redesign, or other improvement methodologies, tools and techniques to all levels of the organization. Delivers training materials and curriculum consisting of advanced practices of project management, statistics, coaching, facilitation and leadership. Ensures sustainability and spread of efforts directed at improving quality, safety, effectiveness, and efficiency using management engineering. Supports other elements of the organization and performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full Time, 7:30am - 4:00pm, Monday - Friday Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist (Facility Systems Redesign)/PDS0012-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment. Current VA employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and @type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is not a Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's. This position is subject to review and possible re-classification in accordance with government wide Office of Personnel Management (OPM) standards. Reviews could result in a change to lower grade. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. 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, 07/31/2026. 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 12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 11. 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. You must qualify based on your experience as described below: GS-12 Grade Requirements: To qualify for the GS-12, 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 that is outlined in the vacancy announcement. Experience must include: Progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care 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. Preferred Experience: Six Sigma Certification strongly encouraged green belt certification at a minimum, black belt certification highly preferred. proctored examination, and completion of validated improvement projects. Leading multiple, simultaneous improvement projects in a healthcare environment. Training or coaching experience for Belt training or system redesign methodologies and tools. Experience facilitating workgroups or workshops. Familiarity with VA System Redesign or HRO methodologies. Proficiency with analytics tools {Minitab, Excel, Power Bl, VA data platforms, etc. Physical Requirements: The work requires some physical exertion, such as periods of standing when teaching; some walking, bending, crouching, stooping, stretching, or similar activities when visiting work sites; and some moderate lifting and carrying. At other times the work is sedentary, requiring the use of a computer. 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/.
