The incumbent in this position serves as Patient Advocate Program Manager within the Patient Experience Office at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS).

Duties

The primary purpose of this position is to serve as the Patient Advocate Program Manager. The incumbent directs VAPAHCS' Patient Advocate Program at all locations, including its three inpatient divisions and seven community-based outpatient clinics. The Patient Advocate Program, part of the Patient Experience section within the Office of the Associate Director, supports VAPAHCS' guiding principle of providing exceptional Veteran and family-centered care. Collectively, the mission of the Patient Experience Office is to support VAPAHCS' commitment to honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional, personalized care that improves their health and wellbeing. The Patient Advocate Program Manager has responsibility over operational and administrative functions of the Patient Advocate Program. Incumbent is responsible for the initiation, implementation, oversight, and evaluation of all program activities and initiatives centered on patient advocacy; service recover; and fostering a cultural transformation in accordance with VHA models of patient centered care. Major duties and responsibilities include, but not limited to: Supervises staff in the performance of their duties, which includes advice and consultation, customer service and support, education and outreach, and program coordination and analysis. Provides oversight and management of the Patient Advocate Program and coordinates with other key staff and various committees and programs to ensure that all initiatives and efforts are integrated into VAPAHCS' strategic plan and is sustained over time through the use of the Service Improvement Model (SIM). Coordinates and accomplishes special projects using his/her expertise and all available resources. Provides frontline management of complex and complicated patient and family situations. Manages patient advocacy and service recovery educational and employee developmental activities. Provides training on the use of the Patient Advocacy Tracking System-Replacement (PATS-R) system to Facility Patient Advocates, Facility Organizational Specialists, Service Level Advocates, and Services Level users. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. 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#: Supervisory Program Specialist (Patient Advocacy Program Manager)/PD01856O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/09/2023. 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 as described below: Specialized Experience: 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: working directly with health care teams and management as a patient advocate to facilitate resolution to problems; ensuring patient advocacy goals, policy and requirements are met; collecting, analyzing, and evaluating relevant data; identifying existing or potential problem areas and suggesting solutions or alternatives; serving as a liaison between a medical facility, patients, and staff to ensure Patient Rights and Responsibilities, advocacy, and services are available. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Critical ThinkingLead or SuperviseOral CommunicationVeteran and Customer Focus 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 primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Contacts

• Address Palo Alto VA Medical Center 3801 Miranda Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94304 US
• Name: Veronica Alvarado
• Phone: (415) 960-5758
• Email: [email protected]