Health System Specialist
What you'd do
As the Chief Planning Officer, the incumbent performs duties guiding the strategic and administrative management of the integrated health care delivery system. The incumbent is primarily responsible for planning the effective and efficient delivery of health care in a defined service area (known as a VISN) using strategic thinking and planning principles specific to health care management. The incumbent serves as a senior advisor and reports directly to the Deputy Network Director.
Major duties
Work Schedule: Negotiable Telework: Authorized. Ad-hoc telework - only when official duty station is closed due to emergency situations, inclement weather, etc. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD112250 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved 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, 08/24/2026. 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 must possess one of the 3 options below: 1. Undergraduate and Graduate Education in a Major study of:* Hospital Administration, Public Health Administration, or related fields such as Business or Public Administration with course work in health care administration. OR, 2. 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. Applicants must possess: Management ability to delegate authority, evaluate and oversee people and programs, recognize, and adapt to changing priorities; and* Knowledge of the interrelationships and interdependencies among various medical and administrative services and programs. OR, 3. Special Provision for Inservice 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. To qualify for the GS-13, in addition to meeting the time-in-grade restriction and IORs, applicants must also 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. 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: Leads the VISN planning cycle to include environmental scanning, gap analyses, strategy development and prioritization, implementation, and tracking. Lead multi-disciplinary team through the planning cycle per VHA and VISN guidance, eliciting input from senior leadership and coordinating planning related actives of the VISN Boards, Councils, or Committees (e.g., VISN Strategic Planning Board, Executive Governance Board, Executive Leadership Forum). Performs ongoing environmental analyses to understand local market dynamics and the impact of industry trends and health care policy on the organization's strategic direction. Ensure that proposals/initiative submitted for VISN approval are complete and all implementation requirements are accurately identified. Serves as the primary VISN Liaison and point of contact for VHA Central Office VISN planning activities and initiatives. Research, engages, and collaborates with public and private community health care providers and organizations to expand VHA's health care delivery network, improve access to care, identify innovative solutions and leverage all community resources in support of the Veteran population. Develops working relationships with planning personnel from neighboring VISNs and collaborates, as appropriate, in the analysis and design of a high-performing integrated health care delivery network. Provides oversight for Facility Planners, directing the completion of planning tasks and responsibilities; and coordinating planning activities to ensure the integration of health system planning priorities into a consolidated service delivery plan. Develops and trains facility planners and other support staff in understanding and using VHA planning processes, tools, and databases. Performs VISN population-based demographic studies involving data collection and analysis, forecasting and related methodologies; and advises facilities on planning issues associated with program development and expansion initiatives. 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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