Program Specialist

Summary

This developmental position, located in the Mental Health Care Line, VA Medical Center, Houston, TX, composes a career ladder structure to the full performance level of Health System Specialist, GS-671-11. The primary purpose of this position is to support the clinical management of the Behavioral Health Integrated Program.

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Duties

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Major Duties:

• Participates in top management discussions, decisions, policy-making and provides program direction to other executives, managers and assigned personnel.
• Provides input, advice and counsel for planning, programming, budgeting and general administration.
• Provides program direction and guidance to subordinate staff, effectively delegating authority and responsibility needed in order to carry out assigned tasks.
• This position manages quality assurance and National Mental Health Program data, and ensures compliance with all applicable accrediting organizational standards.
• Coordinates and expands use of all pertinent resources available for patient care, develops extensive community extensive community relationships/partnerships with individuals and with health, social and welfare agencies; maintains cooperative relationships with corresponding services at local military installations and other VA facilities.
• Evaluates past expenditures, perceives immediate and long-term requirements and their budgetary impact, coordinates staff input and prepares budget requests accordingly.
• Identifies need for and recommends major equipment acquisition and replacement with consideration being given to timeliness of acquisition and cost effectiveness of new equipment as opposed to enhancement apparatus.
• Direct administrative activities within BHIP including budget and fiscal management, human resource management, strategic planning and program management and evaluation, assuring that the clinical and administrative functions are integrated in order to provide optimum utilization of resources.
• Participate in the development of overall clinic objectives and philosophies necessary for the attainment of optimum efficiency in providing health care to our veteran population.
• Responsible for the outpatient processing in BHIP to include analysis of workload, missed opportunities, and clinic cancellations and reporting.
• Provide input, advice and counsel for planning, programming, budgeting and general administration.
• Evaluate proposed program changes, operating procedures and delegations of authority to ascertain impact on current program operations and on the VISN and Medical Center operations.
• Assess space allocation and determines space requirements needed to support program operations considering relevant factors such as patient and work flow, accreditation requirements and safety concerns.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm or 8:00am-4:30pm (Subject to change based on the needs of the Agency)

Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/ PD038110

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

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
• Physical Requirements: No special physical qualifications are required to perform the work. The work requires the ability to move around the office and clinic and requires some standing, walking, bending and carrying of light items up to 20 pounds such as office files, copy paper and supplies.
• 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 dentification 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 will 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, 06/10/2026.

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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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:

GS-9

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Perform administrative and operational support duties, including coordinating meetings, managing calendar updates, and organizing clinical and administrative activities; assist with program planning, management, implementation, and evaluation processes; develop program goals, objectives, and operational strategies; participate in organizational planning and daily operations to support program effectiveness; monitor and follow up on program evaluation methodologies, procedures, and outcomes; communicate and collaborate effectively with staff members, departments, and external programs; knowledge of clinic profile management and Leaf system; working experience of data warehouse, VSSC and PowerBi. This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable.

OR,

Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.B. or J.D.

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 one year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels specified in the table.

GS-11

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: Perform administrative and operational support duties, including coordinating meetings, managing calendar updates, and organizing clinical and administrative activities; assist with program planning, management, implementation, and evaluation processes; develop program goals, objectives, and operational strategies; participate in organizational planning and daily operations to support program effectiveness; monitor and follow up on program evaluation methodologies, procedures, and outcomes; communicate and collaborate effectively with staff members, departments, and external programs; identify operational needs and provide recommendations for process improvements; coordinate daily program functions and maintain quality management procedures and compliance standards; provide excellent customer service and maintain professional communication with clients, staff, and stakeholders; collect, organize, analyze, and report data to support program performance and decision; knowledge of clinic profile management and Leaf system; working experience of data warehouse, VSSC and PowerBi. This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable.

OR,

Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LLM degree.

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 one year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels specified in the table. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for position at grade GS-11.

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

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. For further information, visit:

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. 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.

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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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.