The Program Specialist for Surgical Care Services provides administrative assistance to the Chief, Surgical Care Service and Service staff. The Program Specialist performs duties and special functions program. in planning, organizing, guiding, and controlling the assigned clinical and administrative.

Duties

Major duties include but are not limited to: The ability to successfully perform duties such as developing material, managing events/calendar and coordinating administrative responses. Skill in adapting policies and procedures to emergency situations and establishing new procedures to meet new situations. Knowledge of the office automation systems including all types of Microsoft software products, Vista, Computerized Patient Record Systems (CPRS), Power BI, VATAS, Excel, and other programs necessary to smoothly run the service's office. Must have the ability to gather and manipulate data from various Websites, to include documents, presentations, etc. Ability to manipulate computer programs by editing documents. Performs work involving the collection, compilation and/or tracking of data and statistical information in support of the service at the Western Colorado Veterans Health Care System. Assists in the planning, review and reporting of data/statistical results of program/project duties. Assists with protocols for incoming data, organizes computerized data sets and retrieves computerized data. Assists with basic analysis of the data and generates a variety of reports. Reviews documents, reports and/or applications for omissions and inconsistencies and ensures data entry is complete and accurate. Serves as the primary resource for administrative staff in the absence of the Administrative Officer for the service. Uses own initiative to be resourceful and innovative in answering and solving questions and problems not covered in manuals. Develops the need for and maintains an awareness of available resources and makes recommendations to Medical Center management. Assists with the reviews of fund requests for adequacy, completeness and conformance with procedure and technical requirements. Prepares minutes for a multitude of committees and work groups, coordinating information, preparing addenda, and gathering material to be discussed. Follow-up independently on any required actions as a result of any Service meetings. Dictation/transcription taken in the office of the service Chief, and at meetings is often confidential and frequently includes medical terminology. Is responsible for preparation of many reports and assists in preparation of reports. Maintains automated system of program-specific data to track suspense items such as provider workload, progress reports, FPPE /OPPE, mandatory trainings and compliance strategies. Assists with the preparation of the quarterly management briefing under the direction of the Chief of service. The briefing must be of quality and caliber to present at executive level briefings. Arranges coverage for all meetings, conferences, and responsibilities during absence of the Chief. Decides which correspondence and requests must be referred to the Acting Chief for immediate response and initiates and signs necessary correspondence during the absence of the Chief. Ensures adequate Staff coverage and funding for the service General knowledge of common office practices and procedures, and the application of these techniques to maintain a smooth workflow. Understanding of organization policies and procedures and personnel rules and regulations sufficient to assign and review work, and to provide administrative guidance to other employees. Ability to work independently and/or with minimal direction on daily operations and special projects assigned by the Chief or by the Supervisory Administrative Officer to the Chief (Supervisor) while meeting required deadlines. The incumbent, as coordinator/administrative subject matter expert, is responsible for reviewing incoming Tasks, assigning the action/responsibility; ensuring responses received are reviewed and accurate, and timely submission to the VISN or appropriate individual(s); often within a very short turnaround time. Incumbent is responsible for program oversight, tracking, trending, and analysis, identifying opportunities for improvement either within the overall process, or within individual Clinical Services. Acts as primary and secondary timekeeper to the Chief of service. Incumbent needs to able to step into any timekeeper role for those that may be absent. Retains detailed records while minimizing and correcting exceptions. 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: 8:00am-4:30pm, Monday-Friday Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD142930 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/15/2023. 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. 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. 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: The incumbent has extensive knowledge for the administrative organization and operation of the health care system, the ability to recommend changes in administrative policies, the ability to foresee administrative problems and devise and install procedures and practices that affect subordinate organizations, experience in making independent decisions in areas of administrative policy and procedures, skill in communicating effectively, both orally and in writing with a wide range of people with varying degrees of understanding, knowledge developing service views so as to be able to successfully perform duties such as developing material, managing events/calendars and coordinating administrative responses, the ability of apply common office practices and procedures in order to maintain a smooth workflow, extensive knowledge of hospital services to solve problems or inquire into correct procedures to assure the service runs smoothly, possesses the ability to maintain secure information that is relayed and learned with full understanding of FOIA and Privacy policies, maintenance of confidentiality of patient/or employee information, knowledge of the office automation systems including all types of Microsoft software products, Excel, and other programs necessary to smoothly run the service, knowledge of the regulations of timekeeping, an understanding of organization policies and procedures and personnel rules and regulations sufficient to assign and review work, and to provide administrative guidance to other employees when needed, skill in adapting policies and procedures to emergency situations and establishing new procedures to meet new situations. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must possess 1 full year of graduate level education orsuperior academic achievement. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond. GS-09: 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: The incumbent has extensive knowledge for the administrative organization and operation of the health care system, the ability to recommend changes in administrative policies, the ability to foresee administrative problems and devise and install procedures and practices that affect subordinate organizations, experience in making independent decisions in areas of administrative policy and procedures, skill in communicating effectively, both orally and in writing with a wide range of people with varying degrees of understanding, knowledge developing service views so as to be able to successfully perform duties such as developing material, managing events/calendars and coordinating administrative responses, the ability of apply common office practices and procedures in order to maintain a smooth workflow, extensive knowledge of hospital services to solve problems or inquire into correct procedures to assure the service runs smoothly, possesses the ability to maintain secure information that is relayed and learned with full understanding of FOIA and Privacy policies, maintenance of confidentiality of patient/or employee information, knowledge of the office automation systems including all types of Microsoft software products, Excel, and other programs necessary to smoothly run the service, knowledge of the regulations of timekeeping, an understanding of organization policies and procedures and personnel rules and regulations sufficient to assign and review work, and to provide administrative guidance to other employees when needed, skill in adapting policies and procedures to emergency situations and establishing new procedures to meet new situations. Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must possess a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related; OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analysis and Problem SolvingAnalytical ReasoningDatabase AdministrationProject ManagementTechnology Application 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 of this position is primarily sedentary in nature. However, short periods of walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items, such as papers and books, are required on an occasional basis. No special physical demands are required by the work of this position. 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 Western Colorado Health Care System 2121 North Avenue Grand Junction, CO 81501 US
• Name: Gabriela Soria
• Phone: 303-202-8656
• Email: [email protected]