Health System Specialist
What you'd do
The Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (OHIL) is seeking a Health System Specialist to join its Front Office. In this role, the incumbent will serve as a national-level project manager and trusted advisor to senior leadership, supporting strategic initiatives and organizational priorities.
Major duties
The duties of the Health System Specialist are as follows but are not limited to: Position coordinates activities with clinical program offices, managers and peers, participates in multiple projects and project teams, and communicates with a wide variety of constituents, including managers, senior executives, clinical, policy, regulatory, quality and technical staff. Advises leadership on and approves processes for identifying portfolio gaps and prioritizing special initiatives (e.g., Under Secretary of Health priorities) to address emerging health care needs and stakeholder requirements. Leads cross-functional teams to evaluate potential clinical solutions, optimize resource allocation, and mitigate risks to ensure timely delivery of projects within scope and budget. Makes recommendations regarding scaling and adoption of pilot technologies, based on rigorous needs assessment and quality criteria. Ensures that recommendations to leadership include analysis of how these pilots align with government wide, agency and facility systems and requirements. These projects are multi office focused and are a combination of all OHIL subordinate office efforts. This includes: Tracking projects status, facilitating the resolution of issues with internal and external entities, regularly communicating with many stakeholders, customer relationship management, applying project management principles and practices, responding to data calls, participating in calls, attending kick-off's and other related meetings, contracting and budget analysis, drafting and facilitating the approval of: project management documentation, contracting documentation, budgets, minutes, tracking information , press information, and other communications items. Position has responsibility for developing, maintaining, and reporting of project plans in support of project priorities and requirements determined by VHA leadership. Acts as a subject matter expert and strategic influencer for the identification, piloting, and potential roll-out of emerging medical technologies and special initiatives. Demonstrates deep clinical insight of VHA practices and policies, enabling translation of clinical workflows and needs into actionable design requirements and project inputs. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 08:00 am - 4:30 pm. You may be required to travel up to 25%. Compressed/Flexible: Available upon request, and at the discretion of leadership Telework: This position may be authorized for telework on an Adhoc basis. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD318380
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/07/2026. 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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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 by the Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR): Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. OR, General Experience (for GS-5 positions): Work that required a knowledge of the basic principles and practices related to the management of a health care delivery system. Such experience may have been gained as an administrative officer, management analyst, administrative or clinical program manager or supervisor in a health care delivery system. OR, Specialized Experience GS-5 and above: Progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care field. This work may have been performed in an operating health care facility or a higher organizational echelon with advisory or directional authority over such facilities. Work must have involved a close working relationship with facility managers and analysis and/ or coordination of administrative, clinical, or other service activities, and provided knowledge of the following: Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems. Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. Special Provision for ln-service Placement: Successful completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program may be substituted for qualifying experience, provided it included a formal individualized training plan. Such a training program must have been conducted in an operating health care system and included: Assignments providing a knowledge of basic health system administration philosophies, practices, and procedures, and basic government administrative policies and requirements. Practical assignments providing an opportunity to apply health system administration skills and principles (as the individual progresses, work assignments must be characteristic of the grade level to which he or she is assigned); and Oversight by an experienced health system administrator with periodic evaluation of the individual's progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program. And, Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Position coordinates activities with clinical program offices, managers and peers, participates in multiple projects and project teams, and communicates with a wide variety of constituents, including managers, senior executives, clinical, policy, regulatory, quality and technical staff. Advises leadership on and approves processes for identifying portfolio gaps and prioritizing special initiatives (e.g., Under Secretary of Health priorities) to address emerging health care needs and stakeholder requirements. Leads cross-functional teams to evaluate potential clinical solutions, optimize resource allocation, and mitigate risks to ensure timely delivery of projects within scope and budget. Makes recommendations regarding scaling and adoption of pilot technologies, based on rigorous needs assessment and quality criteria. Ensures that recommendations to leadership include analysis of how these pilots align with government wide, agency and facility systems and requirements. These projects are multi office focused and are a combination of all OHIL subordinate office efforts. This includes: Tracking projects status, facilitating the resolution of issues with internal and external entities, regularly communicating with many stakeholders, customer relationship management, applying project management principles and practices, responding to data calls, participating in calls, attending kick-off's and other related meetings, contracting and budget analysis, drafting and facilitating the approval of: project management documentation, contracting documentation, budgets, minutes, tracking information , press information, and other communications items. Position has responsibility for developing, maintaining, and reporting of project plans in support of project priorities and requirements determined by VHA leadership. Acts as a subject matter expert and strategic influencer for the identification, piloting, and potential roll-out of emerging medical technologies and special initiatives. Demonstrates deep clinical insight of VHA practices and policies, enabling translation of clinical workflows and needs into actionable design requirements and project inputs. 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 sedentary. Typically, the position sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items, such as papers, books, or office supplies. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. 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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