Health System Specialist

Summary

The incumbent serves as the Facility's Senior Space Planner at the Washington DC VA Medical Center, responsible for strategic space planning, space management, and activation planning for all HCS campuses, CBOCs, and leased sites. The incumbent operates as a key advisor to the Medical Center Director, Associate/Assistant Directors, Chief of Engineering, Chief of Staff, and other senior leaders on all matters involving space utilization, master planning, and construction related activation.

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Duties

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Major Duties:

Space Management and Master Planning (40%)

• Leading development, implementation, and maintenance of the facility's long- and short-range space master plan, ensuring alignment with VISN, VHA, and facility strategic plans and projected workload and demographic trends.
• Managing the space inventory, including Capital Asset Inventory (CAI), and ensures accurate documentation of current and planned space assignments, functional adjacencies, and utilization across all sites of care.
• Developing space programs and functional layouts using VA space criteria; analyzes supply and demand gaps and propose space solutions to address clinical, research, administrative, and support requirements.

Capital and Strategic Planning (20%)

• Leading or co-leading the development of Strategic Capital Investment Planning (SCIP) submissions and other capital proposals (major/minor construction, leases, NRM, activation funding, and major equipment) in coordination with Engineering, Finance, and program offices.
• Using VSSC, DSS, VISTA, data warehouse, and other tools to evaluate workload, access, demographics, and perform and performance data to justify capital and space initiatives.
• Integrating national and VISN strategic planning guidance into the facility master plan and advises leadership on the capital implications of new or expanded programs, missions, affiliations, or care delivery models.

Project Space Planning and Phasing (15%)

• Serving as the facility's primary space planning subject matter expert on integrated project teams (IPTs) for construction, renovation, lease, and realignment projects.
• Developing and maintains master phasing diagrams, including construction zones, logistics, swing space, and impacts to patient care, parking, and support services, coordinates phasing solutions with Project Managers and Engineering staff.
• Performing complex staging and phasing analyses to minimize disruption to clinical operations, identifies space related project risks, and recommends mitigation strategies and sequencing.

Activation Planning and Move Management (15%)

• Providing overall programmatic oversight of construction related activation, including detailed planning for occupancy, move sequencing, furniture/fixtures/equipment (FFE), IT, signage, and transition activities.
• Overseeing and works with the GS 12 Activation Coordinator, who manages day-to-day activation planning, move coordination, and tracking of activation deliverables, risk, and milestones across assigned projects.
• Ensuring timely development and submission of activation business plans, economic analyses, activation funding requests, and supporting documentation; monitors execution to ensure resources and schedules meet project requirements.

Program Analysis, Consultation, and Reporting (10%)

• Designing and conducting analytical studies related to space utilization, access, organizational efficiency, and facility configuration, using qualitative and quantitative methods (e.g., flow charts, critical path, forecasting, feasibility studies).
• Preparing executive level briefings, master plans, reports, and presentations for the Director, VISN, VACO, and external stakeholders on space planning, capital proposals, and activation status.
• Providing expert consultation to clinical and administrative services on space impacts of new initiatives, regulatory requirements, accreditation findings, and patient safety/environment of care issues.

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

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/ PD265370

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• Subject to background/security investigation
• 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.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/09/2026.

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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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:

This occupational series has an Individual Occupational Requirement - for this series, the following Basic Requirement must be met in addition to the Specialized Experience.

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

Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5) : 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 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.

In addition to the IOR you must meet the following specialized requirements: GS-12 Specialized Experience

• You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Leading or co-leading integrated project teams (IPTs) for construction, renovation, lease, and realignment projects, coordinating activities among Engineering, Finance, clinical services, and external partners. Developing and maintaining master phasing diagrams and swing-space plans that sequence construction, moves, and activation milestones while minimizing disruption to patient care and operations. Overseeing activation planning, including move sequencing, FFE (Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment) IT, signage, and occupancy-by directing and coordinating with the Activation Coordinator and tracking project deliverables, risks, and schedules. Developing and maintaining the facility's long- and short-range space master plan using VA space criteria, workload projections, and demographic trends for all campuses, CBOCs, and leased sites. Managing and validating the space inventory (e.g., Capital Asset Inventory), ensuring accurate documentation of current and planned space assignments, functional adjacencies, and utilization. Preparing technically, sound capital and space justifications (e.g., Strategic Capital Investment Planning submissions, major/minor construction, leases, activation funding, equipment requests) using data from VSSC, DSS, VistA, and other analytic tools.

Preferred Experience:

• Individual should have 3-5+ years of hands on experience in a healthcare facility space planning for large, complex hospitals, or medical centers (e.g., tertiary or academic settings). This includes developing long and short range space master plans, creating functional layouts using healthcare or VA space criteria, managing space inventories, and working with clinical, administrative, and support services on space solutions.
• Experience with Strategic Capital Investment Planning, construction, and lease proposals, and linking capital plans to strategic goals. Experience with swing space, move planning, activation business plans, and coordinating furniture, fixtures, and equipment/IT. Experience with workload/access data, forecasting, and tolls like data warehouses, or similar systems. Experience negotiating with senior leaders and delivering clear executive briefings and reports.

Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary but includes periodic walking, standing, climbing stairs, and accessing construction and mechanical areas requiring the use of personal protective equipment.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

Whole Health is an approach to health care that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their life to the fullest. The VA is committed to Whole Health and values Veteran and Employee health and wellbeing. As a VA employee, you will practice Whole Health in an environment that supports personalized and proactive care.

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise - "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate care to Veterans?

The VA has adopted Core Values and Characteristics that apply universally across the Department. The five Core Values define "who we are," our culture, and how we care for Veterans, their families and other beneficiaries. The Values are I ntegrity, C ommitment, A dvocacy, R espect and E xcellence (" I CARE ").

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. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

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

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 qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

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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