Incumbent serves as the primary contact for administrative and clinical issues for the Environmental Health Program within Enrollment and Eligibility at Sheridan VA Medical Center. Responsible for performing significant administrative, analytical, technical functions, tasks, and special projects for health care registries (PACT Act and COMPACT Act) e.g., Agent Orange, Gulf War/Operation Iraqi Freedom, and others. Career ladder developmental GS-07 position with full performance level GS-09.

Duties

Major duties include, but are not limited to: Coordinates interviewing veterans and determining eligibility for special health care registries within the PACT Act and COMPACT Act (e.g. Agent Orange, Gulf War/Operation Iraqi Freedom, Depleted Uranium (DU), Ionizing Radiation, Prisoners of War (POW). Coordinates with clinical staff by verification of scheduling registry consultations recommended by the Environmental Health Clinician. Coordinates and verifies the schedule, and other environmental examinations (e.g. Agent Orange, Gulf War/Operation Iraqi Freedom, Depleted Uranium (DU), Ionizing Radiation, and Prisoners of War (POW)). Refers veterans to Environmental Health Service. Collects both demographic and medical data for medical records and data entry into the Environmental Agents Service database. Composes and mails follow-up letters to veterans regarding their medical evaluations within the required time frame. Participates in quarterly telephone conferences. Reviews, monitors, and maintains assigned registry programs system. Independently identifies discrepancies. Provides quality assurance of registry worksheets prior to submission to the Environmental Agents Service (EAS) database. Gives status updates of appointments pending scheduling. Maintains health care registries data and prepares presentations for briefings. Establishes and maintains veterans' health records to include registry examination data. Maintains daily contacts (face-to-face, e-mail, correspondence) with veterans, family members, public officials, and others to explain VA policies and procedures regarding PACT and COMPACT Acts. Resolves veteran and family member complaints or concerns by recommending appropriate courses of action. Disseminates Environmental Health Program information to veterans and others via newsletters, information bulletins, web sites, and displays. Performs analytical and evaluative work in support of the Environmental Health Program and Environmental Health Coordinator at Sheridan VA facility. Proactively offers recommendations and suggestions to improve program functions to accommodate veterans. At the direction of the Environmental Health Clinicians and Enrollment and Eligibility Coordinator, collects and prepares written reports and summaries of activities or findings. Performs a variety of special tasks or projects in support of the Environmental Health Program, COMPACT Act, PACT Act, and other programs as appropriate. Assists on issues related to long-range planning. Recommends and participates in developing strategies for implementing operational procedures for the Environmental Health program and Enrollment and Eligibility Department within Sheridan VAMC. Performs other related duties as assigned. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: 7:30am to 4:00pm, Monday thru Friday Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist (Environmental Health)/PD141000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved 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, 10/05/2023. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-07 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: assisting on basic issues related to health program planning and on the development of strategies for implementing health program operational procedures within a medical center; coordinating with administrative, clinical staff, and leadership and assisting with interoffice meetings and communications related to programs; recommending appropriate action or escalating to the appropriate individual for resolution of veterans' and family members' complaints or concerns; interviewing veterans and determining eligibility for special healthcare registries and assisting in recommending suggestions to improve program function for veterans; explaining non-complex purposes of the registry program and examination process; collecting and preparing written reports and summaries of activities or findings as directed by program leadership; assisting with data and information compilation necessary for effective health program analysis; developing in performing analytical and evaluative work in support of health program within a medical facility; under supervision, performing special assignments in a time sensitive manner requiring compiling data or information specific to the program; collecting demographic and medical data for medical records and data entry into a computer database. NOTE: 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 on their resume. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement (S.A.A.). NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Only education beyond a bachelor's degree may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-07 level. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required. Preferred Experience: previous work experience with clerical tasks, scheduling, clinic management, and interpersonal communication. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to DetailCustomer ServiceDecision MakingInterpersonal SkillsTechnical 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 walking, standing, or sitting within the assigned clinic areas. Some bending, climbing of stairs and lifting of medical records or forms/supplies is required. The quantity and variety of clinical staff contacts require that the incumbent be able to respond to multiple complex issues and establish priority as the situation demands. Travel between other VA facilities 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

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.

For complete information on Superior Academic Achievement requirements, please refer to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Operating Manual.

Superior Academic Achievement is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership.
1. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.
2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.)-- Applicants must have a grade-point average of:
3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or
3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field during the final 2 years of curriculum.
3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies.

Contacts

• Address Sheridan VA Medical Center 1898 Fort Road Sheridan, WY 82801 US
• Name: Cassandra Nehring
• Phone: 303-399-8020
• Email: [email protected]