Summary This position is located at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, Hines, IL (578) - a Level 1a Complexity VHA Facility. This position is aligned under the Office of the Director, Quality & Systems Improvement Section. The position is responsible for delivering Performance Improvement techniques to a broad array of program and services throughout the Medical Center. Responsibilities Major duties include, but are not limited to: Lead teams through project management process utilizing performance improvement disciplines, such as Lean Six Sigma and Lean VA. Retrieve and analyze data and conduct research to identify root cause of performance issues. Develop advanced statistical models including statistical process control charts, histograms, Pareto charts. Create process measurement Designs of Experiments that align to project goals and team developed solutions. Develop control plans, communication plans, risk management plans, through closeout of projects. Define project scopes and goals through collaborative process. Develop statistical, graphical, and narrative reports, and communicates studies to medical center executive leadership and management staff. Identify alternative systems and processes based on Lean, Systems Redesign, and Systems Engineering principles. Create data metrics and dashboards to monitor projects in progress or performance benchmarks of a project. Assess attaining program operational goals and objectives. Prepare studies for review of work teams, medical center committees, and executive leadership. Provide instruction on Lean, Lean Six Sigma, Systems Redesign or other improvement methodologies principles and tools through formal classroom instruction or small group mentoring. Lead teams through development of control strategies, to ensure project solutions are sustained after the project lifecycle. Perform other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 5:00pm (actual tour to be determined) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Systems Specialist (Systems Redesign Coordinator)/PDS0012A 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 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, 12/23/2024. 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-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. 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: Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): Positions in the Health System Specialist (0671) occupational series must meet one of the following requirements: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Possess an Undergraduate or Graduate degree with a major field of study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. Note: A copy of your transcript(s) must be provided with your application package. -OR- Specialized Experience: Possess 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. Note: Experience must be fully detailed on your resume. -OR- Inservice 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. Note: Documentation of your training program must be provided with your application package. -AND- Specialized Experience Requirements, Health System Specialist GS-12: In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirement, you must have one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the Federal Service, that is directly related to work of the position and has equipped you with tknowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform duties as a Health System Specialist. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Collaborate with teams and comprehensive knowledge of health care service administration, continuous quality improvement, data analysis, healthcare principles, theories, and practices such as Lean and Six Sigma, along with industrial and quality engineering principles and concepts; Collect, analyze, and present data for performance improvement studies and projects; Administrative expertise in medical center operations and oversight bodies; Determine specifics of projects or issues and set appropriate courses of action and priorities; Ability to investigate issues, analyze problems, and present both written and oral recommendations; Advanced communication and interpersonal relations skills, including ability to appropriately relate to internal and external customers. Preferred Experience: One (1) year of Systems Redesign experience and two (2) years proven process improvement experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Project Management Analytical Thinking Developing Others Organizational Performance Improvement Technical Competence 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 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 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 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.