The Pathways Internship Program allows students to join VA in career positions that emphasize long-term training and development while learning from and interacting directly with VHA healthcare administrators and support professionals. The intent of the internship is to provide students with on the job training and orientation with a goal of placing individuals into a permanent position within the Veteran Health Administration following the successful graduation from their secondary education.

Duties

This position is being filled under the Pathways Internship Program. The program is designed to provide students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions, from high school to graduate level, with paid work opportunities in agencies to explore Federal careers while still in school. The Internship provides managers a ready source of student employees and potential permanent employees upon completion of the program requirements. It also provides the student with work experience directly related to the curriculum studies or career goals while offering eligibility for non-competitive conversion to permanent employment upon completion. For more information on Internship opportunities within the Department of Veterans Affairs, please visit: https://www.va.gov/EMPLOYEE/pathways-internship-program/. Student Trainee (Program Analyst) duties include: Identify and improve operational processes impacting service lines or components of the VA healthcare system. Recommend improvements to policy and procedures related to service line budget and administrative processes. Reviews and reports on service line policies in preparation for surveys, audits, and inspections. Develop and present innovative projects recommending improvements to policies, procedures, and services provided by VHA to Executive Leadership. Analyze spreadsheets and data to determine related trends and develop recommendations for courses of action to service-level leadership. Provide data/information relating to policies and procedures, outcome-based trending, and workflow processes. Work Schedule: Position is for a part-time to full-time schedule depending on the applicant's school schedule. Work hours are flexible between changing semesters but prefers set schedules of at least 15-20 hours per week during normal business hours. 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. The grade progression for this position is GS-5 based off degree program enrolled in.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/17/2024. Internship Program Eligibility Requirements: Pathways internships are open to current students who are legally permitted to work in the U.S. To be eligible, you must also be enrolled in an accredited college (including four-year colleges/universities, community colleges, and junior colleges); professional, technical, vocational, or trade school; advanced degree program; or other qualifying educational institution, pursuing a qualifying degree or certificate. For more information on eligibility requirements for the Pathways Internship Program, review the VA Pathways Program Requirements. Through Pathways Internships, students have the opportunity to learn about various career paths, earn a competitive salary while continuing their educations, and contribute to the larger mission of VA in a meaningful way. Participants in the Pathways Internship Program who successfully complete internship requirements may also be eligible for conversion to a full-time position. For a complete list of program and conversion requirements, review the VA Pathways Program Requirements. Applicants must be accepted for enrollment or enrolled and seeking a degree or certificate (see definition below) in a qualifying educational institution on a half- to full-time basis (as determined by the educational institution);- Must meet the definition of a student throughout the duration of their appointments;- Must meet agency-specific requirements as specified in the agency's Participant Agreement with the Intern and;- Meet the qualification standards (e.g., series and grade) for their Internship positions. Certificate Program: Post-secondary education, in a qualifying educational institution, equivalent to at least one academic year of full-time study that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational or business school curriculum. Student means an individual accepted for enrollment or enrolled and seeking a degree (diploma, certificate, etc.) in a qualifying educational institution, on a full or half-time basis (as defined by the institution in which the student is enrolled), including awardees of the Harry S. Truman Foundation Scholarship Program under Public Law 93-842. Students need not be in actual physical attendance, so long as all other requirements are met. An individual who needs to complete less than the equivalent of half an academic/vocational or technical course-load immediately prior to graduating is still considered a student for purposes of this Program. Students must possess an acceptable average G.P.A. as defined by the educational institution to be eligible for appointment and to remain eligible for participation in the Program. As applicable, at the time of appointment and upon request, students must demonstrate an overall Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) of 2.0 or above on a 4.0 scale as recorded on the official transcript. You may qualify based on education and/or experience as described below: Minimum qualifications GS-03: Education: For the Pathways Internship Program you may qualify based solely on education as follows: Completion of one academic year of post-high school study. (This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university.) OR General Experience: You may qualify with 6 months of general experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-03 grade level in the Federal service. General experience for this position is defined as: Six months of progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position to be filled. OR Combination of Education and Experience: You may qualify with a combination of qualifying education and experience. You must have a combination of general experience and education beyond post high school study. Minimum qualifications GS-004: Education: For the Pathways Internship Program you may qualify based solely on education as follows: Completion of Completion of 2 full academic years of post-high school study or an associate's degree (This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university.) OR General Experience: You must have at least 1 year of general experience. General experience is progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position to be filled. OR Combination of Education and Experience: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of general experience and education beyond one year post high school study. Minimum qualifications GS 05: Education: For the Pathways Internship Program you may qualify based solely on education as follows: Completion of 4 full academic years of post-high school leading to a bachelor's degree or equivalent degree. OR Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:Perform standard clerical assignments and resolving recurring problems, verifying accuracy and completeness of information, processing incoming documents, responding orally to inquiries or requests for information, follows-up on requests or complaints, and inputting data into a computer system. OR Combination of Education and Experience: You may qualify with a combination of qualifying education and experience. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond three years post high school study. Note: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Verbiage displayed on your resume or application must contain your own words. You may refer to the experience located within the vacancy announcement, however, resumes or applications received that copied verbatim from the announcement will be evaluated and may be reviewed as falsifying your experience or application. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementCommunicationsHealth InformaticsPlanning and Evaluating 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. 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/. Physical Requirements: Work is mostly sedentary, but there is a moderate amount of walking involved, within frequent bending, lifting, and stooping.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: You must include an official enrollment verification from your school that shows your current enrollment status (Full time, half time, part time, etc.) and your anticipated graduation date. The enrollment verification are not transcripts, which are also required.

The required education must lead to a bachelor's degree with specialized in or directly related to the field in which the student trainees will receive training on the job. The degree of specialization in this field must satisfy on graduation the specific educational requirements in the qualification standard for the corresponding two-grade interval positions.

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 West Palm Beach VA Medical Center 7305 North Military Trail West Palm Beach, FL 33410 US
• Name: Amanda Barrios
• Phone: (717) 272-6621 X4953
• Email: [email protected]