The Program Specialist performs support functions for the Medical Center Director's Office and other Leadership Staff, of a Complexity Level I Veterans Affairs hospital. This position provides support functions for not only the main facility, but community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs).The incumbent must interact with a wide array of both internal and external sources to perform the necessary duties of this position.

Duties

Program Support The incumbent is critical to the direct support of senior executive leadership aligned directly under the Office of the Director. The incumbent possesses elevated analytical, critical thinking and systemic attributes which enables the incumbent to act as necessary with little to no supervision, instructions, or guidance's in the execution of assign duties. The Office of the Chief of Staff and the Associate Director of Patient Care Services are responsible for supporting and implementing, mandates, directives, and emergent programs for the Facility on behalf of the Office of the Director and required dedicated tenant application, tracking and management of work by an Administrative Officer through established processes. The practices and procedures utilized by administrative in subordinate offices are consistent with those of the Office of the Director. An example would be tracking overtime for the Nursing Service and Managing the Facilities 400 plus SOP's and Memorandums to ensure they are current, accurate or rescinded as appropriate. The incumbent prepares budget reports, mapping of overtime, tracking of OT and intermittent contracts for the Nursing Service in support of the Associate Director of Patient Care Services. The incumbent functions as the personal assistant to the facility Chief of Staff and Associate Director for Patient Care Service, who are Direct Reports to the Director of the Facility, and as such, relieves him/her of administrative details, solves office emergencies, and keeps the Leadership informed at all times of unique or unusual circumstances. The incumbent develops Agenda's and Minutes for the Executive Committee of Medical Services and the Executive Committee of Nursing Services. Ensures the accuracy and completeness of the content of the Minutes and Agendas. The incumbent manages assigned actions, monitors status, prioritizes activities, and provides comprehensive status updates to the Medical Center Director and other members of Leadership. An example would be Administrative actions received from the VISN. The incumbent identifies the stakeholders, advises them what is needed to complete the Action, prioritized tasks as they are received to ensure they are responded to as necessary, maintains an electronic tracker and advises Leadership on the status and when items are ready for review or submission. Mail, Correspondence, and Reports The incumbent processes incoming and outgoing materials such as correspondence, reports, memoranda, and other forms of written communication. Edits letters, composes letters and reports, reviews correspondence for accuracy and completeness, prepares public presentation outlines, and develops standard or form letters and replies to inquiries utilizing Word, Excel and Adobe. Independently composes correspondence, for review prior to the Director's review. These include, but are not limited to, complimentary letters, acceptance letters for social and business activities, congratulatory letters, and routine office reports. The incumbent gives special attention to higher-level correspondence such as Congressional, Senatorial, VACO, patient problems, etc. to see that it is properly handled and that the coordination of responses to these inquiries are handled in a timely manner. Public Contact Work The incumbent receives, schedules, refers, and contacts members of the staff, agency, and persons outside the agency ranging from other government agencies to the general public. Responds to administrative issues brought to the Chief of Staff and/or the Associate Director of Patient Care Service's by members of the staff or management officials outside the organization or outside the agency. Notifies the appropriate subordinate management officials of the need for further information or recommendation, and either independently prepares the response or follows up to ensure a timely response by others. Incumbent receives Director's telephone calls and visitors, and screens them to determine the nature of business, responds to inquiries of matters related to established policies, patient and/or employee complaints, or requests for information. Office Supplies & Equipment Obtains and monitors the use of services, supplies, or equipment for the office. Justifies and requests replacements for outdated equipment by identifying the outdated equipment, gathering relevant information on office equipment, or requesting office equipment for own work area. Incumbent is responsible for answering questions concerning policies and procedures related to support/office services. Ascertains the needs of subordinate offices and coordinates the purchase of equipment and services to meet the organization's needs. Performs other Duties as Assigned Work Schedule: Monday - Friday (8:00am - 4:30pm) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD23672O Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/06/2023. 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. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. Selective Placement Factor: Must have Healthcare experience. 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-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: knowledge of administrative concepts, principles, analytical and evaluative techniques, and practices to perform independent duties involving identification, research, and elimination of issues and problems; skill in adapting policies and procedures to emergency situations and establishing new procedures to meet new situations; knowledge to work with Word, Excel, VATAS, VISTa, PowerPoint, Adobe, etc. to complete letters, charts, presentations, reports, etc.. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent graduate degree or at least 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. . OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education and graduate level education as described above. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementAttention to DetailAuditingFlexibilityLeadership 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 may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items like papers or books. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. 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 Samuel S Stratton VA Medical Center - Albany 113 Holland Ave Albany, NY 12208 US
• Name: Victoria Anthony
• Email: [email protected]