Summary The Greater Los Angeles (GLA) VA Health Care Systems Health Administration Service is recruiting for two (2) Program Applications Specialist. The incumbent serves as the integrator that coordinates the business process and software functions. This position provides continuous business oversight for a variety of software programs integral to the overall administration, operations of the business and effects programmatic changes at the facility level. Responsibilities Duties include but are not limited to: Coordinates ongoing data collection and performs analysis to determine optimalorganizational performance. Uses available data to determine current performance and develops and implements local performance measures as needed to assess current status and determine areas targeted for improved effectiveness and efficiencies of Business Office practices. Develops initiatives which will enable the facility to provide quality health care to its population while operating in a more effective and efficient manner. The incumbent performs a continuing evaluation and analysis to assess program effectiveness and to identify areas requiring management attention. Incumbent designs and develops dissemination and training materials, local standard operating procedure (SOP) manuals, develops and utilizes monitoring tools, and provides for the implementation of Business Office programs through on-site education and training. Identifies system inefficiencies and develops studies or data collection techniques relatedto specific identified problems. Coordinates with other staff to identify information needs and develops data collection methods and report formats to meet those needs. The Program Application specialist organizes, compiles, summarizes, and analyzes the data collected and develops reports which reflect the scope of activities and identifies trends and opportunities for improvement. Incumbent researches problems that impact the quality and efficiency of Business Office operations. Follows through to insure program requirements are met and planned actions have been initiated and are effective. The incumbent recommends and implements amendment of business office programs where necessary. The incumbent is responsible for the coordination, planning, implementation, and training for service and facility staff in business and functional areas for various information technology. The incumbent serves as the functional "expert" for matters relating to the Patient Information Management System (PIMS) core package. The incumbent provides training and troubleshooting for clinical and administrative staff in business processes and associated supporting software. The incumbent plans initiatives for hardware and software needs for the service. The incumbent is responsible for the preparation and implementation of the business contingency plans for system failure specifically addressing manual system backup plans addressing how day to day business will be conducted for long and short-term outages. Knowledge of the uses of database management systems and software to control the organization, storage, retrieval, security, and integrity of data. Identifies and analyzes problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position Position Description/PD#: Program Applications Specialist/PD13272A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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 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 may 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, 09/18/2026. 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 at the GS-09 grade level based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: (In addition to meeting time and Grade), 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: prepare reports, performance improvement, data processing, VISTA, software programs, program operational decisions, VA policies, VA directives, PI, MS software, business metadata. (must be in resume) OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have. Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond 1 full year of graduate level. 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. 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. 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/.
