The Health System Specialist is assigned to the Credentialing and Privileging (C&P) Office, which is aligned to the Chief of Staff at a VA Medical Center (VAMC) and is responsible for providing lead administrative, consulting, technical direction and support to the C&P Specialists, C&P Manager and to program operations. The C&P Lead Specialist is aligned to and supervised by the C&P Manager.

Duties

To learn more visit: http://www.paloalto.va.gov/about/ The Health System Specialist serving as the lead C&P specialist providing oversight and input regarding compliance with VHA policies, directives, memos, notices, The Joint Commission (T JC) standards, recommendations by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and Government Accountability Office (GAO) and other internal or external auditors and reviewers as appropriate. The incumbent is responsible for collecting relevant data and making informed decisions to ensure qualified health care professionals are providing appropriate care in appropriate settings. The incumbent is considered a subject matter expert (SME) to providers and service chiefs regarding routine and complex matters related to C&P including provider competence for the ongoing provider practice evaluation (OPPE) and focused provider practice evaluation (FPPE). The incumbent assists the Manager with outlining the VAMC C&P Program goals and objectives, identifies risks, ensures training and education, and completes second level reviews as appropriate. Serves as a consultant to the C&P Office Specialists, VAMC Leadership and the VISN C&P Officer when the C&P Manager is absent. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:00pm 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 telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is NOT a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Lead Health System Specialist/PD99418S Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/14/2024. Individual Occupational Requirements: The 0671 series requires specific education or experience to be met in order to be appointed into a position of this series. You must meet one of the pre-determined Education or Experience Individual Occupational Requirements listed below as set by Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. OR, Specialized Experience: Progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care field. This work may have been performed in an operating health care facility or a higher organizational echelon with advisory or directional authority over such facilities. Work must have involved a close working relationship with facility managers and analysis and/or coordination of administrative, clinical, or other service activities, and provided knowledge of the following: Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. OR., Special Provision for In-service Placement: Successful completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program may be substituted for qualifying experience, provided it included a formal individualized training plan. Such a training program must have been conducted in an operating health care system and included: Assignments providing a knowledge of basic health system administration philosophies, practices, and procedures, and basic government administrative policies and requirements. Practical assignments providing an opportunity to apply health system administration skills and principles (as the individual progresses, work assignments must be characteristic of the grade level to which he or she is assigned); and Oversight by an experienced health system administrator with periodic evaluation of the individual's progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program. 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. These applicants must have held the GS-09 grade or higher for a year in order to meet this requirement for the GS-11 level of this vacancy. 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. In addition to meeting the IOR listed above, an applicant must also meet the minimum qualifications listed below: GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge and skill in applying analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to issues or studies concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of the facility's medical staff functions and C&P program operations.; Knowledge of pertinent laws, regulations, policies and precedents; accreditation standards and guidelines, including, but not limited to: T JC, which affect the use of program related support resources in the area of C&P, VHA Handbooks, Directives, Memos, and Notices; VetPro Policies/Standard Operating Procedures; and local medical center policies related to the principles, practices and program goals of the C&P program.; Knowledge of the principles, provisions and practices of credentialing and accreditation and regulatory bodies such as T JC, OIG Combined Assessment Program (CAP) and GAO. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M. in the related field of the position to be filled (i.e., hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration). The education portion must include courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Education must have been obtained in an accredited college, or university. 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: Administration and ManagementInterpersonal SkillsLeadershipQuality AssuranceTechnical Competence

Education

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.

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/.

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.

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 Palo Alto VA Medical Center 3801 Miranda Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94304 US
• Name: Diana Avila-Linaja
• Phone: 650-694-6000 X15130
• Email: [email protected]