This Program Specialist position is located within the Primary Care Service at the White River Junction VA Medical Center at the White River Junction, Vermont location. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

Duties

The position provides administrative oversight of the following services: Primary Care (PC), Home Based Primary Care (HBPC), Homeless PACT (HPACT), Women's Health (WH) and Community Based Outpatient Centers (CBOCs), which are integrated services within VA WRJ Primary Care Service Line. The position participates with all levels of management, planning, analyzing, implementing, and establishing sound business practices. Because all these clinics have diverse requirements the Program Specialist must have knowledge of their complexities and uniqueness. The Program Specialist independently coordinates and tracks information relating to the maintenance of all clinic areas. The Program Specialist is directly responsible for administrative matters such as workplace environment, support staff adjustments, scheduling information, productivity analysis and needs assessment, collection and analysis of performance data including access and panel data, and administrative oversight of educational programs including the medical and nurse practitioner residency programs. The Program Specialist is the programmatic expert and resource for clinic personnel. Duties include but are not limited to: Analyze a given issue or case assignment to not only ascertain the facts, but to help determine the actions necessary to achieve the required results. Conducts research for the purposes of gathering additional information, identifying options, and determining regulatory requirements. Prepares written products, including findings and conclusions; and to explain, defend, or promote the results of the work to others. Independently collects, reviews, and analyzes the statistical data from the various data systems. Utilizes project tracking programs to create and maintain pertinent information in a shared automated tracking system. Tracks project milestones, progress reports, funding accomplishments, compliance strategies, etc. Ensures the accuracy of the data being processed by performing routine and non-routine audits. The audits may be performed on source data (from VISTA or VHA financial systems); DSS data, VSSC, or end-user reports displaying DSS data. Data may include Encounter Action Required Report, consult completion, and performance measures. Develops analytical tools to identify, format, and reduce data for analysis in order to provide succinct and meaningful information to management. Develops workflow charts, graphs, and PowerPoint Presentations to demonstrate trending data, workflow efficiency, and program development. Recommends changes in existing clinic activities using productivity, cost effectiveness, and clinic outcome data. Ensures that all health care personnel have sufficient training to perform well in the computer programs that they will need to do their job. Maintains timecards for clinical and administrative personnel. Performs annual inventory on all equipment used within the designated services. Works closely with logistics to order, maintain, distribute, and manage supplies and equipment. Serves as the VISN consult point of contact, responsible for overseeing all Primary Care consults and monitors them for timeliness. Performs additional as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, Days, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized 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#: Program Specialist/PD038370 and PD037550 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Notifications: This position is in the Competitive Service. This position is an AFGE Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment. Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/09/2024. 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. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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: To qualify for this position at the GS-07 level, you must meet one of the following: 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. Specialized experience is knowledge of the unique characteristics of the specific health care delivery various administrative areas such as program management and administration, budgeting/financial management work, research and analysis work, lease management; ability to provide expert analysis and advice on program issues. OR, Education: One (1) full year of successfully completed graduate level education or superior academic achievement, that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): SAA at the baccalaureate level in the coursework detailed above is fully qualifying. Applicants who wish to apply under this provision must submit proof from their educational institution that they meet one of the criteria listed below. To qualify for SAA, applicants must have completed all the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled and meet one of the following: Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university or major subdivision. A grade-point average of "B" (a GPA of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study. A grade point average of "B+" (a GPA of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study. Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. For a list of recognized honor societies please visit http://www.achsnatl.org/quick_link.asp. For more information regarding SAA please visit http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/SEC-II/s2-e5.asp#e4f. OR, Combination: Equivalent combination of successfully completed education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the position as outlined above that meets the requirements of the position. Only education beyond a bachelor's degree may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-07 level. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required. GS-09: To qualify for this position at the GS-09 level, you must meet one of the following: 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. Specialized experience is knowledge of the unique characteristics of the specific health care delivery various administrative areas such as program management and administration, budgeting/financial management work, research and analysis work, lease management; ability to provide expert analysis and advice on complex program issues, ability to develop Medical Center policies, procedures, and resource allocations for assigned programs, develops status reports or response materials for higher level attention, review, or signature. OR, Education: Successfully completed two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education or masters or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D., in a related field of the position to be filled. Education at the graduate level must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR, Combination: Equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the position as outlined above that meets the requirements of the position. Only education in excess of the first year (18 semester hours) may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-09 level. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Data ManagementInformation ManagementProblem Solving 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 sedentary in nature. Manual dexterity is required in operation of a personal computer. The work sometimes requires walking, standing, bending, lifting or carrying light items such as paper, books and charts. Travel to facility CBOCs and divisions/sites of care is required to verify/validate rooms, staffing, and primary care setup on a periodic basis. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address White River Junction VA Medical Center 215 North Main St. White River Jct., VT 05009 US
• Name: Jessica Steed
• Phone: (802) 295-9363 X2021
• Email: [email protected]