Program Specialist (Nursing Operations)
What you'd do
The Durham VA Medical Center is seeking (1) highly skilled/experienced Program Specialist to serve within Nursing Operations.
Major duties
Responsible for providing continued oversight of a broad-based Patient Care Service program that supports the organizational driver "Employer of Choice" and operates in support of improving access to timely and highly specialized care needs for a complex (level 1a) healthcare system that is constantly evolving within a highly complex and competitive geographic area. Collaborates with nursing leaders and administration to create an innovative program for recruitment, retention, and recognition. One primary focus is on the administrative day to day operations, to reduce employee turnover, to improve staff satisfaction, and to enhance recruitment efforts. Will develop strategic plans to address employment recruitment, retention, and recognition, benchmarks key performance measures and monitors employee feedback regarding hiring, orientation, and career development processes. Organizes and collaborates with management in implementing hiring guidelines and structures in congruence with HR policies and procedures. Coordinates and collaborates with community agencies, vendors, and health care organization to meet the recruitment, retention and recognition needs of the organization. Position will also support the Care Coordination Center/Transfer Center with administrative tasks to ensure Veteran care is registered in the system when presenting to Community Emergency Departments for care. Duties included, but are not limited to: Staying informed of new technologies and learning environments for evaluation and training opportunities. Research issues impacting nurse retention and share findings with leadership. Attend professional conferences and identifying sources of marketing opportunities. Designing and implementing media advertising campaigns, job fairs, and presentations. Source applicants through various methods including advertising, recruiters, job sites, career fairs, resume mining, etc. Develop working relationships to assist in recruiting and retention efforts. Increase community awareness and branding of the organization. Keep current with sourcing strategies and industry trends and data. Articulate work environment options, opportunities, mentoring and promotion. Maintains systems to track, trend and forecast nursing personnel needs based on trend in the VA and in the community. Establishes and maintains positive working relationships with affiliated schools, profession organizations, certifying bodies and program directors of nursing programs in the local region. Required to travel to affiliated schools, Community Based Clinics (CBOC), and other sites to provide outreach and for nurse RR projects, as well as for education and training opportunities/requirements. Anticipates the recruiting needs of the Nursing Service and Medical Center and assesses quantitative and qualitative objectives for the purpose of recruiting and retaining top candidates. Creates and maintains databases related to recruitment and retention (such as turnover rates, exit interview, new hires, and reassignments. Facilitates recommendations for systems and/or resource changes that will serve to improve the work force and resource utilization. Serves as a consultant to Nursing Service Leadership on recruitment, retention, selection, hiring, on-boarding, and transfers. Monitors, analyzes, and reports on hiring processes and nurse retention. Performs all other duties as required. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not authorized Telework: Not authorized. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist (Nursing Operations)/PD068630 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, 07/30/2026. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: research, marketing, staff recognition; recruitment and hiring process; ability to apply analytical and evaluative methods and techniques; knowledge of specific health care delivery systems; experience with human capital regulations and standards of regulatory and credentialing groups; budget; recruitment and retention issues; knowledge of advanced functions in a variety of office automation software to include Access, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Visio, etc., and web based programs such as HR Smart, Leaf, VetPro, state licensing databases, and academic affiliation websites. 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 Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.M., if related (Transcripts required) 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 graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade GS-11. (Transcripts Required). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analysis and Problem Solving Attention to Detail Communications Customer Service Data Management Decision Making Financial Management Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Recruitment/Placement Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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 primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. Adequate vision to use a computer, read printed material and charts as required. Must be able to hear normal voices and able to speak to an audience effectively. The incumbent will be subject to stressful situations due to short timeframes for completion of assignments and potential conflicts. 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/. 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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