Program Applications Specialist
What you'd do
First Consideration will go to Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center employees, second consideration to The Department of Veteran's Affairs employees, and then further consideration will extend out to Federal employees. Telework (Ad-Hoc may be authorized) will be offered to only highly qualified applicants.
Major duties
The incumbent will serve in a developmental capacity performing assignments and completing training, both of which are aimed in preparing the incumbent to gain the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the full range of duties as described in the target position description. This position provides business oversight for a variety of software programs integral to the overall administration and operations of the business. The incumbent is responsible for the coordination and training for service and facility staff in business and functional areas for various information technology VISTA packages, e.g. ADT (Admissions/Discharge/Transfer); Scheduling; PTF (Patient Treatment File); Medical Record Tracking; Fee Basis; PDX (Patient Data Exchange); HINQ (Hospital Inquiry); AMIEII/IBBA (Intranet BDN/BIRLS Access); IB (Integrated Billing); AMIE (Automated Medical Information Exchange); Discharge Summary; PCE (Patient Care Encounter and Visit Tracking); ACRP (Ambulatory Care Reporting);Network Health Exchange; AICS (Automated Information Collection System); KLF Menu; CIRN (Clinical Information Resource Network);TIU (Text Integration Utilities); EWL (Electronic Wait List), Beneficiary Travel V 1.0; Incomplete Record Tracking V 1.0; Claims Manager - VISTA; EAS (Electronic Application Systems) V1.0; and additional business office programs as added. The applications control critical applications, which are used primarily by all care lines/services, i.e. Gains and Losses Sheet, Scheduling, Fee Basis, Admissions/Discharge/Transfer, AMIE, HINQ, PTF and a multitude of other software modules. Incumbent is key point of contact responsible for assuring that all information technology equipment with the service is operational and functions and coordinates with OI&T equipment replacement/installation with all other services. The incumbent is the point of contact for OI&T for information technology initiative for hardware and software needs for the service. The position is responsible for assisting with the preparation and implementation of the business contingency plans for system failure specifically addressing manual system backup plans addressing how day to day business will be conducted for long and short-term outages.Collects physical and data security needs for the service areas. Collects individual needs to determine menu access for staff, Regional Officeemployees, and employees from VISN VA facilities. Ensures OI&T assigns appropriate access to terminal and file codes for the purpose of controlling access to the patient and medical records. 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; 0730 - 4:00 Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized. Telework: Ad-Hoc may be authorized. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Applications Specialist/PD101010 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/21/2026. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 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: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Advocates for VetLink and ICB program needs at the facility and brings matters requiring higher level intervention to the attention of medical center leadership; Facilitates communication across care lines and services to achieve maximum fulfillment of VetLink and ICB program goals and objectives. Assures that each facility establishes and utilizes proper VHA workload reporting and data management systems for VetLink and ICB programs. Monitors core quality and performance measures for all VetLink and ICB programs. 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: Advocates for VetLink and ICB program needs at the facility and brings matters requiring higher level intervention to the attention of medical center leadership; Facilitates communication across care lines and services to achieve maximum fulfillment of VetLink and ICB program goals and objectives. Assures that each facility establishes and utilizes proper VHA workload reporting and data management systems for VetLink and ICB programs. Monitors core quality and performance measures for all VetLink and ICB programs. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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. or J.D., if related. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time graduate study is defined as 18 semester hours, Unofficial transcripts required when using education to qualify. 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 1 full year of graduate level education. Example: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels specified in the table, and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-7 and GS-9. (When crediting education that requires specific course work, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.) Example of combination of education and experience the position to be filled is a Supervisory, Medical Administration Specialist, GS-0301-07. An applicant has 9 months of specialized experience equivalent to GS-5 and 2 1/2 years of creditable graduate level education. The applicant meets 75 percent of the required experience and 50 percent of the required education, i.e., the applicant has 1/2 year of graduate study beyond that required for GS-7. Therefore, the applicant exceeds the total requirement and is qualified for the position. 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. 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/.
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