This position is located at the Bath VA Medical Center in Bath, NY.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-12. At the GS-11 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-12. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds. The Government Information Specialist - Privacy/Freedom of Information Act Officer has oversight for the data governance program and initiatives in the VHA Medical Center or Healthcare System and its supporting catchment area. The position makes unique facility-level determinations about disclosures, issuance of denials, redactions, access, use and dissemination of federal agency records. The position formulates policy, ensures compliance with federal and state laws and conducts thorough research of federal implementing regulations. The major duties include but are not limited to: Implements unique policies and procedures to manage agency information, providing assistance and services to the general public and an organization, agency or facility staff members; Supports developing a local level strategy for data governance, which includes leading from the executive office and creating a unique program that includes diverse processes and specific policies which are independent of other facilities; Monitors and covers all aspects of the collection, use, dissemination, disclosure and destruction of information within an organization, agency or facility; Develops and integrates policy-based processes, roles and controls that influences how data is created, collected, used, stored and destroyed throughout the organization; Adjudicates complex privacy and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) decisions that affect employees, customers and commercial businesses in the absence of supervision; Performs in-depth legal research that pertains to both federal and state statutes to render expertise, provide solutions and facilitate corrective action; Safeguards information while supporting accountability and transparency initiatives; Analyzes all of the interrelated issues that affect the privacy/FOIA program and plans and conducts monitoring activities which measure the overall level of operational compliance by the facility; Teaches and trains employees on general data protection procedures and detailed service specific practices for daily operations and uses technology to provide required privacy/FOIA training and supplemental education; Performs assessment of privacy-related risks associated with business activities that involve processing of personal and sensitive data; Investigates non-compliance of privacy related issues at all levels of an organization, agency or facility and outside of these entities when information is involved; Strengthens and sustains the operational life cycle of the privacy/FOIA program by developing a communication strategy that fosters awareness for both internal and external partners to improve compliance, provide training and engage the public; Ensures that organization, agency or facility correspondence for data governance is transparent, timely, accurate and complete in response to requests for information from the general-public, Congressional representatives, law enforcement, courts and commercial business; Creates a communications process and tools that are flexible, customizable and interactive to address unique compliance challenges and educational/training needs; and, Performs all other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Recruitment Incentive: May be authorized for highly qualified candidates Relocation Incentive: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must meet one of the following: Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Government Information Specialist - Privacy/Freedom of Information Act Officer at a development level, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is performing duties similar to that of a GS-12 grade level but of a more limited scope and with less independence such as performing Privacy/FOIA work ensuring policy is followed, ensuring compliance with federal and state laws; implementing regulations and policies and procedures to manage agency/organization information; providing assistance and services to the general public, staff members and communicate information to leadership, facility staff and outside stakeholders. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. ~OR~ Education: Successful completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related, from an accredited college or university. Such education must be directly related to the work of the Government Information Specialist - Privacy/Freedom of Information Act Officer position and demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ Combination: Equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which may be used to meet total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include graduate courses directly related to the work of the Government Information Specialist - Privacy/Freedom of Information Act Officer position and demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work and must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level, you must meet the following: Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11) in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Government Information Specialist - Privacy/Freedom of Information Act Officer, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience includes: experience as a Privacy/FOIA officer working independently with little supervision, formulating policy, ensuring compliance with federal and state laws and conducts thorough research of implementing regulations and policies and procedures to manage agency/organization information; providing assistance and services to the general public, staff members and communicated information to the executive leadership, facility staff and outside stakeholders. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: MANAGES AND ORGANIZES INFORMATION SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS EXTERNAL AWARENESS IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. There will be episodes of moderate lifting or prolonged periods of standing and bending in searching various files. There is lifting and carrying of such items as record boxes and bulky files. The work involves considerable walking, standing and bending conducting rounds, auditing and providing training to both on-site and off-site personnel. There is also occasional lifting and carrying of such items as boxes and files, weighing up to 30 pounds. The work may be performed in an office setting with adequate light, heat, air conditioning and ventilation. Traveling off-station to VA outpatient clinics, contracted community-based clinics, business associate offices and between campuses to provide training and attend/conduct meetings is necessary. 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

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

There is no educational substitution at the GS-12 grade level.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Bath VA Medical Center 76 Veterans Avenue Bath, NY 14810 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]