The incumbent serves as Program Specialist for Mental Health at VA Western NY Healthcare System and works under the direction of the Chief of Mental Health and with other key personnel in the formulation of budget, management and trending of performance management metrics, statistical analysis, projects, reports, personnel records management, strategic plans, resource utilization, needs assessments, and assigned administrative activities as needs occur.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Creates on-call schedules, peer review distribution, timekeeper activities, 2PC paperwork, etc., for Psychiatry. The incumbent would enter the assignments based on with whom the patient is currently being treated. Serves as the Chief of Mental Health representative on committees as delegated. Assist the Administrative Officer with advising management on administrative policies and regulations and coordinating the development of short and long range strategic goals for Mental Health. Assist with drafting new policies and procedures after skillful analysis of impact to current operations and appropriate regulations, with leadership input as needed. Assist with implementing administrative policies and procedures drafted, evaluating effect and impact to operations. Assist with a variety of data management tasks, as assigned by the Chief of Mental Health. Compiles and prepares reports for such things as cost benefit analyses, workloads, patient care referral program, personnel utilization, work schedules, overtime and leave usage. Creates and validates stop code usage for workload capture and implementing corrective action. Independently extract workload and cost data from the centralized VA database in Austin, Texas and download into patient care spreadsheets. The incumbent delegates, monitors, and maintains responsibility for the progress of Mental Health related programs to performance measures and system redesign projects. Initiates quality improvement activities and coordinates their implementation in the programs. Participates in quality audits and reviews findings. The incumbent assists with the gathering and analyzing data from staff to respond to identified problems and develops alternatives, makes recommendations, or offers solutions for the Chief of Mental Health's review/consideration. Perform other 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: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Monday - Friday Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist - Mental Health/PD079530 Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: 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, 12/21/2023. 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: managing and coordinating administrative support services essential to the effective operation of a clinical program; assist with functions as the liaison between administration and clerical staff on problems/issues; assist with timekeeping, personnel management, and budget coordination; preparing and maintaining a variety of reports, forms, and correspondence; and utilizing various software programs to accomplish administrative duties. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one full year of graduate level study, or possess a master's or higher degree etc. in a field that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). OR, Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): A bachelor's degree in a field closely related to the position requirements based on (1) class standing, (2) grade point average of 3.0 or higher; or (3) honor society membership. (NOTE: You must attach a copy of your transcript and/or verification of class standing for further verification.) For a list of recognized honor societies please visit http://www.achsnatl.org/quick_link.asp. Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a bachelor's degree. NOTE: To calculate the combination of education and experience, determine the amount of experience you have as a percentage for the grade level. Then determine the amount of graduate education you have as a percentage for the grade level. Add the two percentages; the total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify for the grade level. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) 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: performing analytical, evaluative, and advisory work; managing department projects/programs; progression of quality improvement activities and coordinates their implementation; compiles and prepares reports for operational effectiveness for such things as cost benefit analyses, workloads, patient care referral program, personnel utilization, work schedules, overtime and leave usage; and utilizing various software programs to accomplish administrative duties. 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 two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or a J.D. or an LL.B. degree from an accredited college or university may substitute for experience required at this level. 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 a master's or equivalent graduate degree. NOTE: TRANSCRIPT(S) MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH THE APPLICATION MATERIALS. CONFERRAL OF DEGREE(S) SHOULD BE PRESENT ON TRANSCRIPT(S). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Cost Benefit AnalysisDatabase Management SystemsPlanning and EvaluatingStrategic ThinkingWriting 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. Some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of office items is required. Manual dexterity is required in operation of a calculator, personal computer and/or other office machines. 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 New York Healthcare System 3495 Bailey Avenue Buffalo, NY 14215 US
• Name: Crystal Collier
• Email: [email protected]