This position provides a professional evaluation of medical, medical support, and administrative services and products provided to assess the efficiency, effectiveness, and economy of services and to identify, recommend and implement improvements as deemed appropriate. The position serves as the Correspondence Analyst and Congressional Liaison and reports to the Medical Center Director.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to: Correspondence Analysis Serves as the central reception, dissemination, coordinator, and monitor point for all correspondence and tasks from internal and external stakeholders. Correspondence and tasks may come from any number of sources, including but not limited to White House, Congressional Offices/Staffers, OIG, VACO, VISN, VSO, Veteran patients, Veteran family members, contract vendors, and other internal/external sources. Ensure timely completion and submission of reports and inquiries by establishing, assigning, and providing oversight of suspense's tasked to responsible service(s), program manager(s), or subject matter experts. Responds to all Inquiry Routing and Information System (IRIS) assigned by VA Central Office. All contacts are entered into the Patient Advocate Tracking System (PATS). The incumbent will manage the workflow of all Extra Views (EVs), Issue Briefs (IB), and other correspondence received for the medical center to ensure that work is delegated timely to appropriate services to provide adequate time for executive management review and approval before the submission deadline. This position investigates and processes Federal Tort claims under $2500.00. Congressional Liaison Will serve as the Congressional Liaison for the CMCVAMC and works with facility leadership to respond to inquiries. Coordinate administrative issues received from Veterans, staff members, VACO, State and local governments, other Federal Agencies, and Congressional staff to the Director's office. Ensures all written communication clearly and precisely addresses the inquiry received. Ensures that routine responses to public inquiries are appropriate and comply with organizational policies. Assures that background and supporting information is provided in the correspondence package. Prepare correspondence responses based on information received from services to address issues outlined in the correspondence received adequately. Fosters solid relationships by keeping CMCVAMC customers informed, being responsive to their requests, and obtaining information and expertise to present on various issues and programs. Program Analysis Will be required to carry out specific studies and projects that assist the Medical Center in readily focusing on agency-level, program-level, and managerial issues, and decisions. Develops background information and provides alternatives and recommendations from which the executive management can make well-informed decisions. Identifies existing or potential problem areas and recommends corrective action or preventative measures. Drafts new and revised medical center memoranda and bulletins. Reviews, analyzes, and evaluates the accomplishment of medical facility programs by reviewing reports, studies, projects, and information provided by support personnel, contractors, and other agencies. Actively participates in appropriate management committees; conducts special projects and analysis involving specific problems, coordinates activities for special projects, and analyzes the impact or implications of events, proposals, or directives on the CMCVAMC mission. Requires knowledge of the process improvement and systems redesign and the ability to apply these principles using Lean Six Sigma methodology, data analysis, and systems engineering. Communications and Outreach Make informal presentations to staff outlining functional responsibilities' history, status, and objectives. Foster solid internal relationships by keeping CMCVAMC staff informed, being responsive to their requests, and obtaining information and expertise to present on various issues and programs. This includes conducting internal surveys and the development of internal weekly newsletters and other internal correspondence. Develops and plans outreach programs and activities that are appropriate for expanding the patient base of the CMCVAMC and increasing the number of Veterans who receive care at the CMCVAMC and its CBOCs. Works closely with clinical service lines, Suicide Prevention Coordinators, Homeless Program staff, Women Veterans Program staff, Public Affairs Officer and others to enhance outreach methods to maximize the growth potential of the CMCVAMC. Identify outreach opportunities and work independently to coordinate staff, communication materials and logistics for outreach events to maximize exposure of the CMCVAMC to Veterans and other stakeholders within the CMCVAMC catchment area. Develops public involvement events that target concerned communities, establishes methods for reaching and eliciting input from targeted communities. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (negotiable) Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist (Correspondence Analyst)/PD049380

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/25/2024. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to thorough knowledge of administrative concepts and practices in order to enable the incumbent to make changes in policies, to devise and install procedures affecting the organizations and to foresee problems. Strong written and oral communications skills are necessary in order to develop policies, prepare guidelines and design instructional guidance on management improvement projects. Knowledge of the substantive authorities and functions of the Director as they apply to the VISN in order to serve as a liaison for the Director and the VISN. Ability to analyze problems to identify significant factors, gather pertinent data, and recognize solutions; plan and organize work; OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Ph. D or equivalent doctoral degree or3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree orLL. M if related OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. 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-11. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analytical ReasoningCommunicationsInterpersonal SkillsPolitical SavvyProblem SolvingWriting 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, although some slight physical effort may be required. 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 Corporal Michael J Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 3900 Woodland Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19104 US
• Name: Beverly Smith
• Phone: 610-384-7711 X4657
• Email: [email protected]