The Program Specialist must be expertly skilled in the area of administrative management, allowing for him/her to participate in complex planning, implementation and coordination of program assessment within Clinical Practice and Professional Development (CPPD), as well as in developing operational efficiencies; reducing redundancy; and improving quality and services. This position in CPPD is responsible for obtaining and coordinating a variety of administrative, technical and fiscal services.

Duties

Plans and directs the administrative and technical aspects of personnel management. Develops long-term and short-term goals required to meet stated objectives. Develops policies and operating procedures. Meets the needs of customers while supporting VA mission. Communicates and treats customers (veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner. Provides customers with consistent information according to established policies and procedures. Reviews fund requests for adequacy, completeness, and conformance with procedural and technical requirements. Develops, formulates, and provides all essential data for the annual budget forecast for submission. Maintains budget control records and assures that funds are used in accordance with the operating budget. Utilizes process improvement techniques to improve service operations. Conducts detailed analyses of complex functions. Analyzes and measures effectiveness and productivity of technical programs. Involves the exercise of a high degree of judgment and autonomy in continually assessing progress toward program goals. Plans, monitors, evaluates, identifies needs, and resolves most conflicts within assigned projects. Must demonstrate the ability to establish priorities for completion when given simultaneous tasks. Interprets and applies policies in terms of established goals, objectives, and accepted practices. Represents the agency in developing, interpreting, and applying policies and procedures, and is consulted by colleagues on issues relating to the application of guidelines in the assigned area. Gathers information, identifies/analyzes issues, and develops recommendations to resolve substantive problems of effectiveness and efficiency of work operations in a program. Work Schedule: Full-Time / Monday-Friday / 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist- Office of Quality, Safety, and Value/PD06805O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): 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, 08/29/2023. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Analyzes and evaluates methods and techniques for the purpose of increasing organizational effectiveness, improving productivity, and solving operational problems. Administers budgetary and financial management process within a healthcare system. Interprets and administers regulations from various organizational levels within and outside VA systems. Inspects grammar, spelling, punctuation, and be able to edit documents to produce a final product which is grammatically and statistically correct. Develops interpersonal relationships with patients, employees, team leaders, managers, and other stakeholders. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M, if related (transcripts required). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Combination of specialized experience as described above, and graduate education as described above which totals at least one year. [To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one year by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.] You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementCustomer ServiceFinancial ManagementProblem SolvingProcess ControlStrategic Thinking 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. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts; or driving an automobile, etc. 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Palo Alto VA Medical Center 3801 Miranda Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94304 US
• Name: Desiree Carter
• Phone: 504-314-5492
• Email: [email protected]