This position is located within VA Altoona, Connected Care Service Line. Incumbent provides high level support, training, and advanced management of telehealth operations and is typically stationed at a clinical care delivery site.

Duties

The Lead Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) provides an array of complex and specialized duties related to leadership, staff education, technology management, as well as project and program management for all dimensions of virtual care and telehealth initiatives. In addition to lead duties, the incumbent maintains responsibility for day-to-day operation of telehealth services at the assigned location and between the assigned location and remote sites of care as well as participating in the programmatic development and advanced support of the facility-wide telehealth program. The incumbent is expected to be able to exercise independent judgement and is responsible to regularly provide oversight and guidance to other staff members and will require minimal direct supervision. This lead position functions above the full performance level and therefore requires the performance of higher-level duties which must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Major duties include, but may not be limited to: Leading a team of telehealth staff by providing guidance and technical direction relating to the telehealth program. Working with the supervisor to develop assignments for team members in order to meet routine and unusual deadlines and priorities. Distributing and balancing workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflow and/or job specialization and required rotations. Serving as the work leader, monitors the status and progress of team members' work and makes day-to-day adjustments in accordance with established priorities. Giving on-the-job training to new employees (local and at the CBOC sites). Instructing employees in specific tasks and job techniques, making available written instructions and reference materials for use by team members in the accomplishment of tasks or projects. Monitoring and reporting on the status and progress of work to ensure that the supervisor's instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines and quality have been met. Providing information to the supervisor concerning promotions, reassignment, recognition of outstanding performance, and personnel needs. Reporting to the supervisor on training needs of employees and conduct or performance issues. Resolving simple, informal complaints of employees and referring others, such as formal grievances and appeals, to the supervisor or an appropriate management official. Using a needs assessment, service agreements and other tools, collaborating with stakeholders to develop new programs and processes to ensure telehealth programs are meeting the strategic plans of the healthcare system. Performs other duties as required. Work Schedule: 7:30 am - 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 / Lead Health Technician Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Experience: One year of experience in a health care field that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work such as but not limited to a medical or clinical assistant (or technician) or health technician. Education: Four academic years above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. OR Experience/Education Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. Examples are listed below: Six months of experience in the health care field and two years of education above high school that included at least six semester hours in health care related courses such as, biological science, surgical technician courses, nursing assistant or other courses related to the position; or an associate's degree in a health care related field; or Six months of experience in the health care field and successful completion of a course for health care technicians, hospital corpsmen, or medical service specialists given by the U.S. Armed Forces. Certification: None English Language Proficiency: A candidate will not be appointed under authority of 38 U.S.C. chapters 73 or 74, to serve in a direct patient-care capacity in VHA who is not proficient in written and spoken English. See chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part. Grade Determinations: Lead Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical), GS-8 Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (Ability to use independent technical judgment to analyze, evaluate and resolve problems; Knowledge of quality control and assurance procedures and principles of performance improvement; Ability to function effectively between competing priorities; Knowledge of proper maintenance and troubleshooting of telehealth equipment; Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize and coordinate activities of a health technician in order to effectively complete job duties of assignment such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work; Ability to assist in Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) development, outcome management and strategic planning; Ability to perform successful knowledge transfer regarding the use of telehealth technologies). Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize and coordinate activities of a Health Technician (Telehealth Clinical) in order to effectively complete job duties of assignment such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work. Skill in leadership and interpersonal relations and conflict resolution to deal with employees, team leaders, providers, and managers. Ability to communicate effectively in order to meet program objectives. This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels. Knowledge of quality control and assurance procedures and principles of performance improvement. Skill in the assessment and resolution of complex workload capture issues using multiple data sources. Ability to develop and compose complex written instructions. Knowledge of analytical and evaluative processes to independently resolve complex issues. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-8. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-8. Physical Requirements: See VA Handbook 5019

Education

IMPORTANT: 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: Sharon Hill
• Phone: 770-901-1803
• Email: [email protected]