Program Specialist

Summary

This position of Program Specialist is located at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL. The VHA Facility and is organizationally aligned under the Health Administration Service (HAS) Line. The primary purpose of this position is to provide oversight, support, evaluation and tailored training as it relates to all programs in HAS.

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Duties

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The Program Specialist for PAS, Ensure quality frontline contact with patients and staff by setting the tone for perception concerning quality health services at the VA. A high degree of tact and diplomacy is required when dealing with veterans. A caring, compassionate, and sensitive manner is essential when explaining procedures to veterans and their family members both in person and via the telephone.

Major Duties :

• Assist in assigning and evaluating the work of the staff, resolve complex tasks/problems to ensure patient services are met.
• Evaluation and training of new products, equipment, and systems; Identifying training needs; assist in making final decisions on personnel vacancy selections.
• Assist in extracting and analyzing data to provide reports in support of performance evaluation measures to the section chief. Incumbent must assist with clinic access contingency plan by adjusting appointment times, location, or date as needed.
• Participates in all phases of training, developmental planning, implementation, and evaluation and servesas the point of contact for routine development and one-on-one training matters.
• Develops facility training plans, as well as a monthly training calendar of the days, times, and locations of training programs for the facility scheduling staff and supervisors.
• Assesses training and education efforts to determine the effectiveness of the training program while keeping abreast of any changes or updates to directives related to scheduling.
• Serves on facility VISN-wide committees and represents HAS operations, providing information and assistance as needed.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:30pm

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

Position Description/PD#: 231420

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI):

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Autthorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

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.
• 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, 08/25/2026.

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. 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-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: Skills in applying analytical and evaluative techniques; Skills in finding resolution of issues or problems; Skills in scheduling procedures and audits and workloads; Skills in scheduling directives and provision related to computer-based medical systems to perform systematic reviews of information and data; Skill in running specialized reports; Skill in developing and modify and evaluate training presentations, plans, instructions, materials and aids, and ability to coordinated with the facility Education Department or other facility subject matters. Evidence of specialized experience must be supported by detailed documentation of duties performed in positions held. Please provide such documentation on resume.

OR

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a masters or equivalent graduate degree, or successful completion of two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.B or J.D., if related, obtained in an accredited college or university, may be substituted to qualify for the grade 9, Program Specialist position. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position and been obtained at an accredited college or university. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. NOTE: TRANSCRIPTS 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 .
• Physical Requirements: Work is mainly sedentary with little need for physical exertion. The environment involves everyday risks and normal safety precautions inherent in an office setting. The work environment is fast-paced and requires meeting numerous deadlines.

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.

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 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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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.