This position serves as the Administrative Officer for the Medicine and Geriatrics Service with administrative responsibility, accountability and oversight. This position is located in the Medicine and Geriatrics Service at Altoona VA Medical Center.

Duties

Major duties and responsibilities include: The Administrative Officer serves as an administrative advisor to the Service Chief. As such, the incumbent provides a key role in assisting the Service Chief in the development and implementation of policies and procedures, both long and short-range planning, budget, guidelines, and proposals for efficient and effective utilization of resources and the operation of the service. The incumbent performs and/ or directs special studies and projects for the Service Chief, some highly confidential and complex in nature. The incumbent is skilled in Performance Improvement, including mastery of requirements of the VA Central Office (VACO) and The Joint Commission (TJC), as they relate to the Service, the incumbent responds expeditiously to unannounced demands for surveys and statistical reports and ensures all reporting is completed timely and accurately. The incumbent analyzes proposals and provides the Service with an objective opinion before a final decision is made. Resolves significant problems relating to such correspondence through negotiations with the originating or concurring offices. When designated, the Administrative Officer represents the Service Chief at meetings, presents information, and takes positions which are consistent with the Service's policies and thinking. Develops new or modified work methods, organizational structures, records and files, management processes, staffing requirements, procedures for administering program services, guidelines and automating work processes for the service by reviewing operational and project trends. Facilitates communication with individuals at all levels inside or outside the agency. Specific leadership and management responsibilities include ensuring that diverse functions are interfaced, and duplicative efforts streamlined or eliminated; executing operations plans which are based on effective controls and realistic projections; utilizing and communicating various measures of efficiency; collaborating with and motivating diverse groups of professional and administrative employees. The Administrative Officer serves as a Service Level Patient Advocate for the service, identifies barriers to providing exceptional customer service by using customer feedback in plam1ing and providing products and services to enhance the overall customer service experience of all Veterans, staff and visitors. Provides interpretation of health administration policies and procedures to medical center staff and assists in the implementation of new programs within the service. The incumbent will prepare budget projections based on studies of past expenditures, mastery of service requirements, changes in workload, and future goals of the service. This requires working directly with the Chief/Assistant Chief, Medicine, and Geriatrics, Chief, Health Administration Service, Chief Fiscal Service, and medical center Executive Leadership Team to accurately assess, determine, and forecast specific needs and communicate the information effectively to all parties. Evaluates and plans sufficient space utilization based on constantly changing and ever-increasing program demands, inclusive of all Medicine and Geriatrics staff while adhering to VA guidelines. The incumbent is responsible to plan for revised space assignments and request allocation of space through the medical center's Space Plan. Contributes to the overall management of the medical center by participating as team member on special task forces, conducting special studies, and providing leadership in national and local All Employee Surveys, OIG-CAP surveys, Joint Commission surveys, and all other surveys that touch Medicine and Geriatrics service. Prepares staffing and program analysis to ensure sufficient staffing levels are kept and justification supports requests for resource allocation, regularly reporting analysis to the Service Chief. Coordinates implementation of internal policies and programs relating to equal employment, merit promotion, position management, and employee relations. Personnel programs will emphasize, but not be limited to, those areas related to increasing patient satisfaction and blending the delivery of good care/service with maximizing employee productivity. Performs other related duties as assigned. 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. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Administrative Officer/PD028580 and PD028580-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not 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, 07/31/2024. 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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 grade level. 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. To qualify for this position at the GS-7 level, you must meet one of the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of an Administrative Officer, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. Specialized experience includes, but is not limited to: Record and organize documents related to expenditures and provides accurate and timely data; participates with managers in reviewing equipment needs, plans and goals to develop budget data; Analyzes proposals and provides the Service with an objective opinion before a final decision is made and prepare budget projections based on studies of past expenditures, master of service requirements, changes in workload and future goals of the service. OR, Education: Have successful completion of one (1) full year of graduate education. Such education 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: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond a bachelor's degree to qualify for the GS-07 level. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required. OR, 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. To qualify for this position at the GS-9 level, you must meet one of the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of an Administrative Officer. Specialized experience includes, but is not limited to: Recommends course of action and conducts review of correspondence with requires concurrence, or signature Service Chief or higher-level officials; suggests new or modified work methods, organizational structures, records and files, management processes, staffing requirements; conducts an internal audit program to ensure the financial policies of the service are being followed and are effective and responsible for the management of all administrative processes through appropriate utilization of staff within the assigned service. NOTE: 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. 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 master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.B. or J.D. in a related field 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. 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 the first year or 18 semester hours and specialized experience to meet total experience requirements. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript must be submitted with application. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementFinancial ManagementHuman Capital ManagementManages ResourcesPlanning 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 mostly sedentary and requires a substantial amount of interaction with a personal computer. The Incumbent walks to and from meeting, performs space, supplies, and equipment inventories, and frequently carries papers and books weighing less than ten pounds. 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 James E Van Zandt VA Medical Center 2907 Pleasant Valley Boulevard Altoona, PA 16602 US
• Name: Esperanza Obinyan
• Email: [email protected]