Program Specialist

Summary

The position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Albany Stratton VA Medical Center and serves the Veterans interest across the VA Health Care Network within an extremely complex Health Care System. The incumbent performs a variety of administrative and training tasks and provides technical assistance associated with maintaining and supporting the programmatic work and activities performed within the Department of Facilities Management Service Operations Team.

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Duties

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Duties include but are not limited to:

• Maintain and Support various Special Purpose Systems with the Albany-Stratton VAMC. Actions include, but not limited to, cybersecurity vulnerability remediation, software parameter changes, technical workflow modifications within software/hardware systems.
• Develop and analyze project plans to track implementation of new initiatives and monitors outcomes for sustainment projects including comprehension and testing to determine effectiveness and efficiency of training.
• Conducts needs assessment through various kinds of surveys, townhalls, etc. depending on subject and situation to determine requirements for clinical and non-clinical staff throughout the facility.
• Designs, evaluates and develops sustainment monitoring programs, Quality Assurance programs, training plans, and serves as documentation custodian for all projects.
• Have direct knowledge of Information Technology and Networking Principles to either perform maintenance/troubleshooting as subject matter-expert or to facilitate maintenance/troubleshooting efforts with Information Technology/Networking Service groups and/or vendor groups.
• Design, implement, and maintain various special purpose systems including, but not limited to, communications equipment, monitoring systems, digital signage, media distribution hardware, audio/video equipment. Experience with systems such as Vocera communication badges, TempTrak temperature monitoring equipment, Lenel/Dormakhaba physical security systems, portable radios, pagers, or various networked electronic equipment.
• Perform technical evaluations on specialized electronic or networked equipment within a hospital facility not covered by Information Technology or Healthcare Technology teams.
• Create standard operating procedures for technical tasks such as cybersecurity remediations, workflow creations, user administration, and general software/hardware maintenance.
• Work as Subject Matter Expert (SME) in consultation with facility projects including isolated and networked equipment, networking infrastructure, and construction projects.
• Research potential FMS projects, develops and identifies goals and action plans, coordinate meetings with participants, and lead RPI projects on existing with the workgroups, all to ensure timely completion of action plans, which results in actionable projects for Strategic Capital Investment Program (SCIP).
• Functions as the agent in place for the FMS for all continuing technology activities for the organization including periodic auditing, construction rounding, environments to continue operational status.
• Serves as onsite subject matter expert support answering any questions employees may have, assists with completion of process reports for EOC/EMS/Safety committees, submits completed reports to VISN upon approval.
• Records management for facility regardless of format (paper, electronic, electronic system), which must be managed as per the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) approved records schedules found in VA Records Control Schedule.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm

Position Description Title/PD#: Program Specialist/ PD36061A

Physical Requirements: No special physical demands such as above average ability, dexterity, or strength are required to perform the work. Work is sedentary and the employee may sit comfortably. There may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items, driving of an automobile, etc. Fieldwork may involve traveling to meetings and sources of information.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; including Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.

Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.

Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS GS-11: 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: managing multiple technology projects and maintenance programs in a healthcare/hospital environment simultaneously; applying knowledge of technology design, infrastructure, and building codes; installing, testing, maintaining, and repairing mechanical and building components and systems such as audio/visual, telecommunications, information technology programs, monitoring systems and physical access and safety systems; evaluating project/program effectiveness and efficiency and recommending improvements; and developing training programs, materials, and user guides to ensure employee compliance. 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 an LL.M. 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: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond.

To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-11. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here:

If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.