Program Specialist

The Primary Purpose of the Position is to be assigned the work and responsibility for providing effective, efficient, direction, and control and operation of the Employee Experience Section. Assigned work is inclusive of providing service management with objectively based information for making decisions on program operations. The incumbent performs a variety of analytical, planning, educational, presentation, evaluative and advisory work. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/08/2026. 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--09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Preparing graphs, charts, and other audio-visual displays depicting program information and statistics for use in training, management briefings, and information dissemination activities both within and outside of the organization; Provides marketing strategy input and assists in the execution of strategy to promote all Employee Survey participation, evaluation, analysis, and action planning lifecycle; Reviews, analyzes and evaluates reports and statistics in order to advise on trends, out-of-line situations, and anticipated needs; Develops system-wide recognition program using multiple strategies for leadership and staff; Independently performs tasks relating to budget execution by compiling resource data from various financial management reports; Conducts management audits, surveys, and systematic reviews of employee operations in order to evaluate workgroups; Reviews documents, reports, and/or applications for omissions and inconsistencies and ensures data entry is complete and accurate. Develops, maintains, and enters pertinent information into a tracking system. 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., if related. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). 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 a master's or equivalent graduate degree. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). 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. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds. Occasional travel to other sites. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at #J-18808-Ljbffr Veterans Health Administration