This Health System Specialist position is in the Quality Management Services at the VA Boston Healthcare Systems, located at the Jamaica Plains location. This position is a full-time, Day Shift, 40 hours per week. The incumbent is under the direct supervision of the Associate Director, Quality Management.

Duties

The incumbent provides leadership and direction for innovative system improvement methods that are driven by and closely linked to VHA/VISN strategic goals. The incumbent works in partnership with VISN and Medical Center Senior Leaders to create, plan, promote, and implement initiatives and interventions that are aligned with organizational goals and to provide change management and improvement support for the organizational transformation of a large, geographically diverse public health care system. This individual is charged with deploying Lean Six Sigma as a tool to conduct studies and organizational analysis of diverse functions and work processes at multiple medical centers and provides management and leadership consultative guidance to effect improvements in mission effectiveness, resource utilization and cost savings as a component of the Organizational Performance throughout VISN 1 and within each Medical Center. The Lean Six Sigma Specialists supports the VISN at least 50% of time, with the remaining time devoted to work at the medical center that supports the VISN 1 performance improvement and strategic initiatives. Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: GS11 & GS 12 Duties Responsibilities: Lead and coordinate quality and Lean Six Sigma efforts throughout VISN Medical Centers to align organizational strategy and operations at all levels of the organization. The incumbent will provide guidance and consulting services to VISN Medical Centers' leadership teams, supervisors, and staff and will apply highly developed systems awareness and knowledge of organizational strategic direction and project deployment techniques to align local efforts with organizational priorities. The incumbent will work to 1 gain cooperation of team members and other individuals involved with improvement efforts at the local and regional levels. The incumbent will develop, deploy, evaluate, and integrate training materials or other tools to assist senior leaders, managers, and staff for successful and effective improvement planning and deployment. The incumbent is responsible for conducting studies to address complex problems in healthcare quality, safety, effectiveness, and efficiency. The incumbent will develop data gathering strategies and gather necessary process information. The incumbent will use the data gathered during the analytical phase of studies to create optimized systems. The incumbent will develop statistical, graphical, and narrative reports justifying work unit reorganization or position reorganization to improve systems effectiveness and efficiency. T he incumbent will work with teams to implement solutions and test effectiveness to validate their work. Lead complex and far-reaching system improvement initiatives using systems redesign and improvement principles. The incumbent's work will support VISN 1 in its organizational transformation initiatives that lead to system improvements and promote a culture of continuous improvement. The incumbent will also serve as a team leader and/or member in planning, organizing, and deploying those system improvement initiatives that are aligned with VISN, VHA, and VA strategic goals and priorities. The incumbent will demonstrate creativity and flexibility in the integration of quality improvement work and strategic deployment. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday, Days, Full time- Hours to be discussed upon selection. Compressed/Flexible: May be Authorized. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Telework: Telework Ad-Hoc work can be performed on an as needed basis anywhere other than a VA facility or using VA-leased space (example: home). Position Description/PD#: 523-01010-A Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required NOTIFICATIONS: This position is in the Competitive Service. This position is a AFGE Bargaining Unit position. May be required to attend conference at other facilities or other VA sites on occasion. 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. 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. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/13/2023. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: To qualify for the GS-671-11 based on specialized experience: You must have one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-09 level or equivalent for this position. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. At the GS-11 full performance level, the incumbent demonstrates: In-depth knowledge of health care service administration, continuous quality improvement; data analysis; healthcare principles, theories and practices; budgeting, planning, administration, and labor/union relationships, or other key administrative support functions; sufficient to analyze and evaluate broad and difficult problems, apply extensive qualitative and/or quantitative methods for program improvement, make recommendations for complicated solutions; and the related ability to apply health care management principles to complex problem-solving situations. Ability to independently investigate complex issues, analyze problems, and present both written and oral recommendations taking into full consideration the wide range of factors and requirements which affect the management of the healthcare delivery system. Knowledge of pertinent laws, regulations, policies and precedents to determine their impact on the staffing and workforce. Knowledge of the major issues, program goals and objectives, work processes, and administrative operations of the organization. Interpersonal skills in presenting staffing recommendations and negotiating solutions to disputed recommendations. The incumbent is required to have comprehensive knowledge of the specialized principles and practices of health care administration, particularly relative to the field of health care planning and workforce development. Ability to apply extensive knowledge and skills in hospital administration principles, theories, and practices to inquiries and studies where the boundaries are broad and difficult. In this capacity, applies knowledge of advanced management principles with demonstrated applications to healthcare operations. The incumbent must be able to adjust to change in order to effectively coordinate and interact with complex organizational relationships. Strong human relations and interpersonal skills and the ability to maintain a multi-functional balance are essential. GS-671-11 based on education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. OR GS-671-11 based on combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-11. When crediting education that requires specific course work, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used. Specialized Experience GS-12: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade at the GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization as defined. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assisting clinic managers in forecasting the impact of staff changes and developing countermeasures to mitigate the effect of staff shortages on access to care. Making recommendations to managers regarding allocation of resources, including potential use of community care options. Monitoring, and making recommendations to adjust plans to effectively and cost-efficiently accomplish the mission within budgetary constraints. Performing cost analysis and cost effectiveness studies to determine make/buy decisions to address gaps You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementAnalysis and Problem SolvingBusiness Process ReengineeringComputer SkillsEducation and Training 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 incumbent works with individuals at all levels within the organization and must work multiple projects simultaneously. The ability to handle conflicting priorities and tight time frames is required. Training and educational programs require a sustained level of positive energy and management of group dynamics. 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 VA Boston Healthcare System 940 Belmont Street Brockton, MA 02301 US
• Name: Karina Santos
• Phone: 401-752-6750
• Email: [email protected]