Health System Specialist

Summary

This position serves as a Health System Specialist supporting the Specialty Care Integrated Clinical Community within Veterans Integrated Service Network 15. The incumbent provides specialized analytical, advisory, and operational support to a broad network of specialty care services across multiple medical facilities, directly supporting leadership at the network and national levels.

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Duties

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The position requires deep knowledge of Veterans Health Administration health care delivery systems, governance structures, and performance management frameworks. The incumbent is responsible for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting complex health care data and translating findings into actionable recommendations for senior leadership. A significant component of the role involves coordinating and supporting governance committees, tracking compliance with national directives, and managing high-priority suspenses from the national to the facility level.

The Health System Specialist actively contributes to national programs and initiatives, providing network-level data and operational insights that directly inform national program design, policy decisions, and care delivery improvements across the Veterans Health Administration. The position prepares and presents executive-level briefings, supports clinical restructuring and resource allocation reviews, and mentors specialty care service leads across the network.

This role requires exceptional communication, project management, and analytical skills, and the ability to work independently across a complex, multi-facility health care enterprise to advance the delivery of high-quality care to Veterans.

Duties include but not limited to:

• Provides program oversight for assigned functions and initiatives, ensuring proper implementation, monitoring key data, and taking timely action to achieve targeted outcomes.
• Collaborates creatively and strategically with VISN 15 and VACO colleagues to design, develop, and implement innovative initiatives that enhance patient care quality, access, and operational efficiency.
• Serves as a representative of the Chief Medical Officer on Network-level issues, coordinating with personnel to meet national mandates and performance expectations.
• Performs administrative management duties directly supporting a health care delivery system, applying specialized principles of health care management to guide and support operational functions.
• Provides comprehensive staff assistance on administrative matters affecting patient care, education, research, and organizational policy.
• Supports senior Network leadership in planning, organizing, developing, directing, and evaluating Network office operations.
• Provides resource allocation guidance, including analysis and recommendations regarding organizational funds, staffing distribution, and operational needs.
• Directs services to prepare funding, staffing, equipment, and space requests to meet immediate and future operational requirements.
• Prepares and submits special studies, data analyses, and project reports to the Chief Medical Officer within required timeframes.
• Initiates and justifies budget requests for physicians and other clinical resources based on future needs, workload demands, past performance, and efficiency considerations.
• Conducts staff support work in short- and long-range planning, ensuring compliance with annual and cyclic planning directives and consolidating inputs from subordinate units.
• Administers and manages the planning process for assigned programs, ensuring synchronization with Network and agency goals.
• Analyzes and evaluates program effectiveness using qualitative and quantitative methods, assessing performance against short- and long-range objectives.
• Compiles final evaluation reports, identifies discrepancies, and recommends corrective or improvement actions.
• Establishes administrative controls to ensure timely completion of required remedial actions.
• Identifies Network-wide issues requiring new or revised policies or procedures and elevates them to senior leadership for action.
• Ensures timely responses and decisions on requests within the Network and VACO, tracking progress and resolving delays that impact critical operations.
• Maintains current awareness of resource availability and provides recommendations for distribution or redistribution based on changing program needs.
• Develops, implements, monitors, and adjusts operational plans to achieve mission requirements in a cost-effective and efficient manner within budget constraints.
• Provides leadership in determining resource requirements across assigned organizational elements and adjusts allocations when program needs shift.
• Designs and implements systems, processes, and procedures to improve cost-effectiveness, productivity, and operational outcomes.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

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

Telework: This position may be authorized Ad-hoc telework at managers discretion.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/ PD104750

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: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. 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 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, 06/02/2026.

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 may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can't be waived. The education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. To qualify for the GS 0671 occupational series, applicants MUST possess one of the following:

• Undergraduate and Graduate Education : Undergraduate or graduate education in a major field of study hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields, such as business or public administration, with course work in health care administration. (A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing your qualifications on education). OR,
• Specialized Experience : 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. OR,
• Special Provision for Inservice Placement : Completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program, which included a formal individualized training plan. The training program should have been performed 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 meeting the IOR, you may qualify based on your specialized experience as described below:

• 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: 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.

Preferred Experience : Prior Health System Specialist experience.

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.

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.

The 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 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.