The position is located the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), Walla Walla, Washington. The Program Specialist serves as the liaison for the Social Work Services line. This is a full-time position at 40 hours per week.

Duties

Provides support in identifying, planning, coordinating, and executing administrative policies, programs, and operations of clinical programs of the Social Work Services. Duties require the ability to apply the specialized principles and practices of health care management in supporting a health care delivery system. Advises the Chief of Social Work Services on all aspects of clinical operations and serves as a member of the management team in the assessment of current clinical operations and the development of new programs and policies. Develops strategies and assesses priorities to best meet the Veterans' healthcare delivery needs. Examines programs and recommends expanding, contracting, combining, or realigning them to best meet patient healthcare needs, while ensuring quality in the most economical manner. Performs staff support work in short and long-range planning efforts. Advises and assists the Chief of Social Work Services in the planning, development, and operation of the Medical Center's social work clinical programs. Provides a critical support role in planning and implementing clinical programs and policies. Plays an essential support role in developing and coordinating internal review systems to assure that both clinical and administrative activities are compliant with agency and accrediting and regulatory requirements. Assists the Chief of Social Work Services in assessing social work needs and with the recruitment and hiring efforts, which includes social workers, registered nurses, and medical support assistants for the Social Work Service. Leads discussions on a variety of Medical Center subjects to set priorities and develop appropriate strategies to achieve stated goals and objectives. Analyzes complex, multidisciplinary problems and develops timely and informed recommendations. Contributes to the successful delivery of healthcare to patients through past employment and training. Follows established procedures to meet accreditation standards. Assures services provided meet nationally accepted standards, are at least equal those available in the community, and are maximally cost effective. Assures all standards of regulatory and accrediting agencies are continuously met in full. Serves as COR for Social Work Service and independently oversees the pre-solicitation development documents of contracts (e.g., Root Cause Analyses, Statements of Work, Quality Assurance Surveillance Plans, etc.). Monitors and approves invoices through the OLCS for established contracts.??????? Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30p.m. Telework: Ad-hoc (To be determined by Hiring Official) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD80608O, PD80607O, and PD80606O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): No authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/02/2024. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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 Qualifications: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level in the Federal service that has equipped me 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 OR, EDUCATION: Must have completed one (1) full year of graduate education. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position . 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; OR, COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Must have an equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience, as described above, to meet the total requirements. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of this position (i.e. hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as course work in health care administration). Only education beyond a bachelor's degree may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-07 level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university; OR, SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT (SAA): The superior academic achievement provision is applicable to this position GS-09 Qualifications: 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience with budget preparation, coordination, and implementation of program technical initiatives. Skills in conducting administrative and clinical duties. Ability to analyze and solve complex problems/issues; experience interpreting and applying laws, regulations, policies, and precedents that affect the outcome of program operations. Skill in adapting analytical techniques and evaluation criteria to the measurement and improvement of program effectiveness and/or organizational productivity. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree that demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work for this position. 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 Bachelors Degree. GS-11 Qualifications: 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: providing customer service to patients and staff with resolving problems or complaints; identifying problem areas and suggesting solutions or alternatives; explaining policies and procedures; keeping accurate records and preparing reports and/or written correspondence; collaborating with facility staff to improve the patient experience. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have three (3) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree, LL.M., or equivalent doctoral degree in the related field of the position to be filled. 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 a Master's degree. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer ServiceOperations SupportPlanning 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. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. Work Environment: Work is typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate- controlled office. May require occasional travel for purpose of training. 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 Jonathan M Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center 77 Wainwright Drive Walla Walla, WA 99362 US
• Name: Denise Lindsey
• Phone: 916-776-0180
• Email: [email protected]