This Government Information Specialist (Privacy Officer) position is located in the Office of the Director at VA Boston Healthcare Systems at the Jamaica Plain, MA campus. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

Duties

This position serves as the Privacy and Freedom of Information Act Officer in the VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) with a large and complex research program. The Privacy/FOIA Officer position reports directly to a member of the facility Triad (i.e ., Medical Center Director, Chief of Staff, or Associate/ Assistant Medical Center Director). The Privacy/FOIA Officer contributes to the fulfillment of the VA mission and vision by planning, designing, implementing and maintaining appropriate and effective program, policies and procedures in VABHS. The incumbent fulfills the role of liaison with the facility staff by ensuring that information received is disseminated to the appropriate areas, that employees adhere to mandates from regulatory agencies, and that monitoring is conducted to ensure VA policies and procedures are being followed. In addition the Privacy/FOIA Officer promotes an awareness of privacy principles consistent with the mission, vision and values of the organization and those required by federal law. Major duties include, but are not limited to: Reviewing and responding to appeals of denials of FOIA requests. Developing facility privacy and FOIA policies and procedures in compliance with Department and Administration privacy policies and ensure appropriate implementation within Medical Center. Developing facility-specific privacy and FOIA training materials, as needed, and provide training within the VABHS to staff and programs, as required. Processing complaints and investigating allegations of illegal or improper activities related to the handling or release of privacy protected information. Investigating data breaches and recommending appropriate remediation. Preparing responses to inquiries including those from Congressional Offices, Human Resources, and, where appropriate, Office for Civil Rights. Monitoring compliance with program requirements. Initiating and conducting internal compliance reviews, assessments and audits within the VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS). Ensuring the Privacy Act systems of records maintained at the facility are retained in accordance with system of records notice. Ensure all VABHS developed forms including paper, electronic and web-based that collect personal information, contain the appropriate Privacy Act statements. Review and approve all Memorandums of Understanding, Data Use Agreements and/or Data Transfer Agreements where such documents are required for the sharing of VA privacy protected data between the VABHS and another party, such as another Federal agency. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday-Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm 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#: Government Information Specialist/PD002800 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required This position is not a Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is in the Competitive Service. Time-in-Grade Restriction: 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. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/06/2023. 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. (This is separate from your experience and is mandated by statutory and regulatory requirements.) For a 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: experience as a Privacy/FOIA officer working independently with little supervision, formulating policy, ensures compliance with federal and state laws and conducting 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationsExternal AwarenessManages and Organizes InformationSecurity 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. 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 lbs. 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 VA Boston Healthcare System 940 Belmont Street Brockton, MA 02301 US
• Name: Robert Spinney
• Phone: 7748264814
• Email: [email protected]