Summary The Health System Specialist for Surgical Service serves as the coordinator, advisor, analyst, and planner for the delivery of health care services within Surgical Service. The position requires administrative awareness and clinical expertise to facilitate interaction with all departments in the facility as well as between the VA facility and community facilities for the delivery of patient care. Responsibilities A Relocation Incentive may be authorized for a Highly Qualified Individual. Duties include but not limited to: Provides counsel to the Medical Center Director and Chief of Staff on proposed solutions that would enhance quality patient care and resource utilization in Surgical Service. Assists in special analytical studies designed to resolve critical programmatic, organizational, or functional problems throughout the Medical Center, and in the resolution of interdepartmental problems, complaints, and grievances, by applying important communication, motivational, and leadership skills with respect to advising, instructing, and consulting with problem elements. Assists in the evaluation of the overall planning activities of the Medical Center in relation to policies, plans and objectives established by VACO and VISN 17, using management reporting systems to obtain information upon which evaluations and planning decisions can be based. Maintain and improve systems of delivering health care by developing better programs and policies, improving utilization of resources, designing and overseeing needed changes and being a catalyst for the many clinical programs in Surgical Service. Responsible for developing a program of equipment purchasing with the goal of replacing equipment in a scheduled manner. Incumbent evaluates new technology for application to Surgical Service needs, this includes the complex equipment utilized in the Operating Room. Assist all subsection supervisors in the writing and submission of position descriptions. Incumbent will work closely with Human Resources Management Service for classification, filling vacant positions, employee grievances and employee relations. Responsible for reconciliation and administering all Electronic Inventory Listing accounts for Surgical Service and for prompt reporting of excess equipment to Acquisition & Material Management Service. Formulate and submit a budget plan each fiscal year, providing advice and assistance to the Chief as to funds available and how to maximize actual dollar allocations. He/she is responsible for allocating funds to the correct control fund points and communicating this information to the Budget Analyst. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. or 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist - Relocation Incentive/PD07634-O Relocation Incentives: Maybe 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 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2024. 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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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 Requirement (IOR). An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series. The Individual Occupational Requirement for the Health System Specialist position is: Education: Undergraduate or Graduate Education 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. OR Experience: You must have 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 such as budget, personnel, and procurement. Special Provision for In-service Placement: Successful completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program may be substituted for qualifying experience, provided it included a formal individualized training plan. Such a training program must have been conducted in an operating health care system and included: Assignments providing a knowledge of basic health system administration philosophies, practices, and procedures, and basic government administrative policies and requirements; Practical assignments providing an opportunity to apply health system administration skills and principles (as the individual progresses, work assignments must be characteristic of the grade level to which he or she is assigned); and Oversight by an experienced health system administrator with periodic evaluation of the individual's progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program. In addition to the Individual Occupation Requirements listed above, you must also have: You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: assist in analytical studies designed to resolve critical organizational or functional problems throughout a Medical Center; recommend improvement for the effectiveness and efficiency of work operations; assist in the development of policies and programs to improve and maintain healthcare delivery; work with Human Resource management for personnel support; create quantitative and qualitative reports, budget statements, and similar reports as required. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communication Analytical Reasoning Writing Clerical Customer service Preferred Experience: 2 Years experience as Health System Specialist or Administrative Officer is highly desirable. Experience with contracts is highly desirable Experience with budgets is highly desirable Experience with VA datasets (SPARQ, etc.) is highly desirable Experience with Patient Experience is desirable 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: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds. 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. Education may only be used to determine if the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) is met. 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/. NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. 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.