Program Specialist
What you'd do
OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?
Major duties
This position is located at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI. (695)- a level 1a complexity VHA facility and is organizationally aligned under the Dental Service. The primary purpose of this position is to render day-to-day support to the Chief, permitting the Chief to attend to and concentrate on the major and various significant aspects of the Dental Service. Major Duties: Assists the service chief in the formulation of service goals and objectives and in the initiation of new policies and procedures as they relate to the effectiveness and efficiency of the administrative and clerical aspects of the service. Identifies program weaknesses and/or flaws and develops new local standard operating procedures to enhance results and remedy deficiencies, submitting the new ideas to the supervisor for approval and implementation. Support the dental residency education programs including The Milwaukee VA Advanced Education in General Dentistry program as well as the graduate specialty residency program in the field of prosthodontics. Work directly with the chief of the dental service and the program director to ensure all accreditation standards are met and documentation is in place for residency site visit evaluations. Support mechanisms for procuring data for surveys as well as evaluations of dental residents on an ongoing basis. Conducts research and perform special studies covering activities which are in need of reevaluation or have become problem areas. Assistance on the application of qualitative or quantitative analytical methods to be used in problem solving. Delegate specific assignments by the Chief. Investigates, reviews, and prepares replies to memoranda and correspondence received in the service. Provides in depth advice, assistance, and courses of action to service supervisors and staff on matters such as staffing, recruitment, placement, and training. Serve to support staffing management and initiatives related to recruitment, promotions, and position management (i.e. MSS). Coordinate duties in the areas of clerical, administration, and personnel. This encompasses researching information, planning, advising, assigning, and supervising clerical matters involving the Dental Service. Serve as local point of contact for clinical questions for Community Care administrative staff to ensure care is directed according to urgency and specific care requirements appropriate to the consult request. Track and monitor network concerns utilizing appropriate community care/ TPA databases i.e. PPMS and DST. Analyzes dental metrics, data, and productivity reports for the Dental Service. Run reports to ensure that all metrics are properly tracked and meeting national indicators and may run reports related to productivity and ongoing focused professional performance evaluations (OPPE/FPPE). 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: Full-time, Monday- Friday, 7am-3:30pm Telework: This position is not authorized for telework. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD21128A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/10/2026. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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-7 Level Experience Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Qualifying specialized experience includes: following applicable regulations and instructions regarding access to computer files, release of access codes. Manage information security within areas of responsibility to assure that computer system security and confidentiality of sensitive information is maintained. Help motivate, train, and work effectively with the staff, and be able to design new procedures towards improvement of work output, using analytical and evaluative techniques to the identification, consideration, and resolution of problems or issues of a procedural or factual nature. Working with theory and principles of management and organization including administrative practices and procedures, organizations, such as those pertaining to the Dental Service, channels of communication, delegation of authority, routing of correspondence, filing systems, and storage of files and records. 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 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR, Combination: Equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the position as outlined above that meets the requirements of the position. GS-9 Level Experience Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Qualifying specialized experience includes: following applicable regulations and instructions regarding access to computer files, release of access codes. Manage information security within areas of responsibility to assure that computer system security and confidentiality of sensitive information is maintained. Help motivate, train, and work effectively with the staff, and be able to design new procedures towards improvement of work output, using analytical and evaluative techniques to the identification, consideration, and resolution of problems or issues of a procedural or factual nature. Working with theory and principles of management and organization including administrative practices and procedures, organizations, such as those pertaining to the Dental Service, channels of communication, delegation of authority, routing of correspondence, filing systems, and storage of files and records. Using qualitative and quantitative analytical techniques such as literature search, work measurement, task analysis, job structing, productivity charting, determining staff to workload ratios, development and administration questionnaires, flowchart of work processes, graphing. Working with people at all levels, both within the VA organization and outside sources. Working independently and to be able to identify and recommend solutions to problems. 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 LL.B. of J.D., if related 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: Equivalent 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 graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required. *Preferred Experience* -Evidence of completion of an accredited Masters of Health Administration program, Masters of Business Administration program, or other Post- Baccalaureate professional program. -Experience with CPRS Consultation Management related to dental eligibility, consult routing, consult scheduling, VISTA Scheduling Packages and appointment scheduling. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: 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/.
Before you apply
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