This position is located in the VA Central Iowa Health Care System Surgical/Specialty Care Service Line. As a Program Specialist you will be providing administrative support to the service line Chief and Health System Specialist for existing programs and future initiatives at all five Central Iowa VA sites, while also supporting service line relations with affiliated educational institutions.

Duties

Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Service Line Clinical Informatics (Data Acquisition, Management and Application) (40%): Provides clinical and/or administrative data to the Director and Administrative Officer to identify opportunities for improvement. Develops information relative to evidenced-based patient care, clinical workflow analysis, process redesign, resource allocation, quality improvement and clinical decision support. Participates in the development of service line decision support systems and may lead, manage, or monitor efficacy of changes as requested. Maintains schedules, contact information, inventory and workload information; technology, documents and upcoming events information. Acquisition and Contract (30%): Serves as the primary COTR for the Service Line; evaluates, plans and requests space, equipment and supplies for the Service Line. Oversees the process for purchasing equipment from when requests are solicited to the point of delivery. Collects equipment requests from providers and solicits input used in prioritizing requests. Assists the Administrative Officer in developing and submitting proposals for additional space needed. Researches information required to submit proposals for new construction or renovation projects. Coordinates contracting activities, advises leadership regarding options, initiates and negotiates new contracts as requested, and manages existing medical specialty contracts. Develops Statements of Work for contracts as required and ensures all internal facility reviews and approvals are obtained, ensures contracts are complete, accurate and current, and develops and maintains internal and external tracking methods/mechanisms. Program and Resources Assessment Management (15%): Assists with ongoing fiscal management of Service Line resources. Serves as a Fund Control Officer; researches, summarizes, and compiles data involving obligations, expenses, and line item information, budget preparation and manages resources within budgetary constraints. Employs qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyze, evaluate and improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness. Works individually or cooperatively with other medical center staff to develop and coordinate new and existing initiatives as assigned. Personnel Processes Management (15%): Coordinates the processes to recruit/process Fee basis/contract employees and retain service line personnel (placing of announcements, coordination of interviews/selection process, performing market salary research, obtaining approval for fee basis providers, etc.). Tracks credentialing progress of providers, tracks compliance with mandatory education, assists with new employee processing through Human Resources, setting up new clinic profiles, PIV processing, computer training, coordinating SL orientation, etc. Assists Chief and Administrative Officer with management of providers in the CBOCs (fee basis, contract and employee staff). Recommends and assists with formulation and implementation of local processes or policies, such as those used to monitor appropriate use of hardware and software, to coordinate clinic schedules, and to determine appropriate date to be used for labor mapping. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm Telework: This position may be authorized for Ad-hoc telework. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD302810 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, 09/27/2024. 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. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: 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 for this position is defined as: analyzing administrative or program principles, concepts, policies, and objectives; providing workflow and/or budget data to management in order to evaluate information, effectiveness, and efficiency of the service line; managing and coordinating online communication tools such as internal SharePoint websites and other related informational tools; assisting with evaluating, processing and completing medical contracts. OR, Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a 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 in excess of the first year (18 semester hours) may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-09 level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Budget AdministrationContract AdministrationInterpersonal EffectivenessManages and Organizes Information 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. Preferred Experience: Contracting and Data Analysis 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 Demands: The work is primarily sedentary in nature, although there will be some instances in which minor physical effort will be required. This includes some walking, climbing stairs, standing, bending, carrying of light items such as papers, books or driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. Work Environment: The work environment is performed in an open office area with frequent interruptions and limited privacy. The physical environment is controlled and involves no more than the everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, meeting and training rooms or libraries. The work area is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated. 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 VA Central Iowa Health Care System 3600 30th St Des Moines, IA 50310 US
• Name: Kenneth Kelly
• Phone: 701-232-3241 X3683
• Email: [email protected]