Program Specialist

Summary The Program Specialist position is located in the Dental Service at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System (VASLCHCS). The incumbent provides comprehensive program, analytical, and administrative support for the full life-cycle of dental community care consults; coordinates communication and information exchange among Veterans, Dental Service staff, Community Care personnel, and dental providers. Responsibilities Duties Include but are not limited to: Coordinate Dental Community Care/Care in the Community (CITC) consults, including tracking consult status, obtaining required documentation, coordinating with Veterans and community dental providers, and supporting timely administrative closure. Use VA clinical, administrative, and office-automation systems such as CPRS, VistA, CTM, DRM, PATS, VATAS, Microsoft Excel, Power BI, Outlook, and Adobe Pro to manage records, analyze workload data, prepare reports, and protect sensitive information. Support dental or healthcare program operations through patient service recovery, process improvement, supply/equipment or contracting support, timekeeping, and effective communication with interdisciplinary staff and external providers. Serve as a timekeeper or alternate timekeeper, including reviewing timecards; entering and correcting work schedules, leave, overtime, and premium-pay actions; resolving routine discrepancies; and maintaining accurate, confidential time-and-attendance records in VATAS or a comparable system. Knowledge of dental inventory and procurement processes, including monitoring stock levels, initiating supply and equipment requests, maintaining records, and coordinating with vendors and Supply Chain Management. Independently manage dental referrals or community-care consults, including documentation review, authorization tracking, records retrieval, provider coordination, Veteran communication, and timely closure of care episodes. Proficiency use VA systems or comparable electronic health records, consult-management, scheduling, tracking, and reporting tools to maintain accurate records, protect sensitive information, and monitor workload or access metrics. Developing trackers, analyzing workflow or performance data, identifying barriers to access or timeliness, and recommending or implementing measurable process improvements. Success resolving complex patient, Veteran, provider, or stakeholder concerns involving access, scheduling, documentation, authorizations, or service recovery while using sound judgment and appropriate escalation. Support dental inventory and procurement, supply/equipment tracking, dental laboratory or invoice review, contracting support, and/or time-and-attendance functions in a healthcare, dental, or comparable regulated environment. Dental Community Care/Care in the Community (CITC) consult coordination, including reviewing consults for completeness, obtaining required clinical documentation and radiographs, tracking consult status, resolving routine barriers, and supporting timely closure of authorized dental treatment episodes. Electronic health record, consult-management, scheduling, reporting, and office-automation systems to manage referrals, records, workload data, correspondence, and sensitive patient information. Customer service and service-recovery experience involving Veterans, patients, family members, staff, and external dental providers; including researching concerns, communicating clearly and tactfully, coordinating corrective actions, and escalating complex issues appropriately. Data collection, analysis, reporting, and process-improvement experience, including development of consult trackers, workload logs, dashboards, spreadsheets, standard templates, and recommendations that improve access, timeliness, workflow efficiency, or continuity of care. Dental inventory, procurement, supply-chain coordination, equipment tracking, dental laboratory invoice review, or basic contracting support in a healthcare or dental setting. Protect protected health information, personal identifiable information, payroll information, and other sensitive administrative records in accordance with privacy, security, and records-management requirements. 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 Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD148540 and PD148550 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements 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, 08/28/2026. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks a 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: GS-07 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: ability to apply skills and knowledge to routine and non-routine assignment; adherence to basic policy and instructions; satisfactory progress is made in those aspects of the work for which the incumbent receives guidance and training, supervisory controls will be lessened in line with the incumbent's proven knowledge, skills, and abilities; use judgment in locating, selecting, and applying the most appropriate instructions, references, or procedures to management or program analysis technical assignments. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have on (1) full year of graduate level education or have superior academic achievement. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond a bachelor's degree to qualify at the GS-07 level. Specialized Experience GS-9: 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: ensures accurate administrative and clinical consult status; analyzes recurring workflow issues; communicate with private general dental offices, specialty offices, community care network participants, and other outside providers to coordinate scheduling, exchange records, clarify documentation needs, and facilitate completion of authorized treatment episodes.OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education, or masters or equivalent graduate degree, or LL.B. or J.D., in a related field of the position to be filled. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education in excess of the first year (18 semester hours) of graduate school may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-09 level. 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. 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