The Education Program Specialist is located within the Minneapolis VA Education Service Line and reports to the Director of Learning Resources and Technology, under the Associate Chief of Staff for Education, and leads the Field Accreditation Service (FAS) Program; responsible for advising, consulting, oversight and management of accreditation activities at MVAHCS. Also provides non-supervisory leadership to MVAHCS agents in place (AIPs) and will provide mentorship to AIPs across VISN 23.

Duties

The primary purpose of this position is to support the Learning Organization Transformation Journey to patient-centered by leading interdepartmental and organization-wide teams and is considered a subject matter expert in accreditation. Major duties include: Analyzes issues, trends, and supporting data to determine the needs of individuals and organization. Collects data to validate identified professional practice gap and determines specific knowledge, skills or practice deficit or opportunities. Applies adult learning principles in planning and conducting continuing education activities. Uses multimedia or educational technologies, computer-based learning, breakout sessions and blended learning strategies. Applies professional skill and knowledge to solving educational problems through innovative and effective methods for education. Evaluates outcomes of program in terms of improved patient care, behavior change, knowledge, and financial outcome of the program. Assesses the gap between current knowledge or skill and desired knowledge or skill to determine the content to be covered and appropriate method of instruction needed. Evaluates educational research studies and their implications for continuing education. Identifies team learning opportunities that foster a shared vision and promotes systems thinking by identifying successful methods of team learning and describing an effective approach for sharing knowledge systematically. Coordinates education activities and initiatives and employs strategies to facilitate positive learning environments. Maintains records for all MVAHCS accredited offerings in accordance with FAS policies and procedures. Applies professional skill and knowledge to solving educational problems through innovative and effective methods for education or by recommending appropriate new or revised policy. Assesses the continuing educational processes and requirements for the various health professionals on the team and identifies any barriers to learning and change. Evaluates outcomes of program in terms of improved patient care, behavior change, knowledge, and financial outcome of the program. Evaluates the effectiveness of the FAS program and commits to achieving excellence through continuous improvement. Establishes organizational metrics for evaluating the educational effectiveness of FAS programs and complete annual review comparing results with metrics. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Ad Hoc only, as determined by agency policy and discussed with management. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Remote: This is not a remote position. Position Description/PD#: Education Program Specialist/PD60836-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Bargaining Unit: Yes, AFGE/1272 The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/17/2024. 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. Applicants must meet the Individual Occupational Requirements below: BASIC REQUIREMENT: Applicants who do not meet basic education requirement are ineligible for further consideration. Degree: that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position to be filled, of which at least 9 semester hours must have been in education courses. OR Combination of education and experience: at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position to be filled, of which at least 9 semester hours must have been in education courses, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience must reflect the level and kind described in C below. OR Four years of experience that demonstrated a thorough understanding of the principles and practices underlying the work of this series. This experience must have been of such character and diversity to demonstrate that the applicant possesses an understanding of the field comparable to that normally acquired through successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university. OR At least 1 full academic year of professional teaching experience. This experience is defined as full and primary responsibility, under general supervision, for instruction of assigned students in an accredited school or institution. This includes responsibility for preparing and presenting lessons and for evaluating students' progress, including a determination of the students' success or failure according to established criteria. Serving in an assistant capacity to a professor without the authority to determine the students' success or failure to meet course requirements does not meet this criterion. ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT - In addition to meeting the IOR, basic requirements, you must also possess specialized experience and/or directly related education as described below to qualify for this position. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position consists of: Applying educational principles and practices to plan, develop, and present adult or continuing educational and training programs. Identifying educational needs, gap analysis and resolving accreditation or ethical-legal issues. Analyzing and evaluating educational performance through use of relevant data from surveys or assessments. Utilizing data preparation techniques and relevant software packages, such as commonly used analytical, spreadsheet and communications software and demographic/medical databases, to facilitate decision-making. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, obtained in an accredited college or university, if related to the Education Program Specialist position, may be substituted for specialized experience to qualify for this grade 11 position. Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. 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 .a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, if related to the Education Program Specialist position, obtained in an accredited college or university which may be substituted for specialized experience to qualify for this GS 11 position if such education demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. Transcripts Required. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationEducation and TrainingManages and Organizes InformationTechnology Awareness 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: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. Work Environment: The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. The work environment includes everyday low risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of offices, meeting and training rooms, or commercial vehicles. Occasional travel is 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Minneapolis VA Medical Center One Veterans Drive Minneapolis, MN 55417 US
• Name: Tracy Casady
• Phone: 402-995-4028
• Email: [email protected]