The position is in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Salisbury VA Health Care System (SVAHCS), in the Corporate Compliance Service, Privacy FOIA Program.

Duties

Major duties include but not limited to: Researches, analyzes, and responds to FOIA requests, including requests for medical records, for facility information and applies required FOIA exemptions. Reviews and analyzes appeals from denials of access to records requested under FOIA and makes recommendations on release/non-release of records. Ensures timely entry and completion of all FOIA requests. Under the direction from the Privacy Officer, the incumbent will assist in preparing responses to privacy and/or FOIA inquiries from Congressional Offices, Human Resources, news media, and the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS OCR) for the Privacy Officer. Investigates, gathers facts and information, and develops recommendations for HHS OCR requests on HIPAA- privacy complaints. The incumbent will assist the Privacy Officer by researching and gathering necessary information for privacy-related inquiries and investigations from the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) and the Office of the Medical Inspector (OMI), by. Prepares proposed responses for the Privacy Officer. Assist by reviewing complaints related to the medical facility privacy practices, using, or accessing individually identifiable health information, or disclosing or release of individually identifiable health information. Prepares recommended solutions for release by the Privacy Officer. Investigates data breaches and makes suggestions for appropriate remediation. Enters privacy complaints, incidents and data breaches into the Privacy and Security Event Tracking System (PSETS) in accordance with local procedures. Member of Incident Response Team (IRT), responsible to investigate, communicate and manage significant data breaches. Reviews facility Medical Center Policy and Privacy Standard Operating compliance procedures, processes, and workflow to ensure information is appropriately safeguarded, used, and disclosed in accordance with established procedures. Assesses the facility's privacy posture through periodic evaluations. Reviews any products where individually identifiable information may be maintained to ensure use, storage, and maintenance of sensitive personal information complies with program requirements. Identifies discrepancies and deficiencies and makes suggestions to Privacy Officer on how to resolve issues. Assists with completing Privacy monthly monitoring and auditing and the Facility Self-Assessment at the end of each quarter. Assists in completion of Privacy Impact Assessment for the facilities local systems. Generates reports for the Privacy Officer to present to facility leadership on FOIA request and release of information trends. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 07:30am-04:00pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for limited telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Government Information Specialist/PD020960 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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, 01/05/2024. 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. 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: Working with the Privacy and Freedom of Information Act programs within the medical facility and disseminates information, monitors the program functions, prepares evaluations, develops and presents training, and reports activities. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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: An equivalent combination of creditable experience and education as described above, to meet total qualification requirements for this position at the next lower grade level. (COPY OF OFFICIAL/UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) Only graduate education in excess of one year is creditable towards meeting this requirement. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: ComplianceCompliance InspectionCustomer ServiceIntegrity/Honesty 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: Work is primarily sedentary but may involve some walking, standing, bending, and carrying light items such as papers or books. There are no special physical demands 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 WG Bill Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center 1601 Brenner Avenue Salisbury, NC 28144 US
• Name: Danielle Muse
• Email: [email protected]