Program Specialist

Summary

Serves as the primary administrative resource for Nursing Rehabilitation Service at VA Palo Alto Healthcare System. Manages personnel actions, program coordination, procurement/contracting, and process improvement initiatives. Supports the Chief Nurse and Administrative Officer by analyzing data, tracking compliance, and ensuring efficient service operations for Veterans.

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Duties

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Duties to include but not limited to the following:

Personnel Support:

• Coordinates the administrative functions for the Office of the Chief of Nursing Rehabilitation Service by performing the full range of human resource management requirements.
• Provides personnel management for the service with varied functions and activities with new and changing requirements. The coordination of the personnel management program for Nursing Rehabilitation Service includes recruitment, promotions, awards, position management & classification.
• Provides personnel support and recommendations to Nursing Rehabilitation Service employees, maintaining thorough knowledge and awareness of new and consistently changing processes and/or requirements. Works in conjunction with the various nurse managers, the assistant chiefs, and the service chief as well as administrative staff to accomplish such duties.
• Coordinates with the various supervisors in the completion of the annual reviews which include performance appraisals and proficiencies on ePerformance.
• Responsible for records management throughout all aspects of Nursing Rehabilitation Service, including confidential personnel files.
• Serves as the lead Talent Management System (TMS) Coordinator, tracking mandatory training compliance for all Nursing Rehabilitation Service staff and affiliates.
• Serves as an Automated Data Processing (ADP) Application Coordinator (ADPAC) for Nursing Rehabilitation Service.
• Responsible for engaging in analytical ADP-related problem solving.
• Communicates and understands technical terminology when dealing with other ADPACs and the Office of Information and Technology (OI&T).

Program Management:

• Compiles reports relevant to clinical performance measures, performance improvement, staff management, agency accreditation requirements, and related administration requirements for presentation to executive staff.
• Coordinates and assists in meetings associated with nursing leadership, facility leadership, VISN leadership, and various other facility staff.
• Triages information from the VISN, facility leadership, and VACO to disseminate to the appropriate management staff, ensuring to translate the request to clearly articulate the relevance and purpose.
• Serves as a liaison between the Chief Nurse of Nursing Rehabilitation Service, AO, and service managers. Develops or compiles information used to identify trends in patient care or services, or for quality assurance and patient evaluation.

Process Improvement:

• Provides Nursing Rehabilitation Service leadership with analyzed data and objectively based information for making decisions on the administrative and programmatic aspects of service operations and management.
• Advises the chief, managers, and AO on potential benefits/uses of process improvement strategies to improve efficiency of programs.
• Researches and investigates new or improved processes or practices for potential application to Nursing Rehabilitation Service operations.
• Analyzes new or proposed regulations to determine impact on service operations and management, and develops new or modified administrative program processes, goals, or objectives to ensure compliance with regulations.
• Conducts studies of organizational efficiency and productivity and recommends changes or improvements in organization, staffing, or work methods.
• Collects and analyzes data from the hospital system to recommend actionable ideas to improve the delivery of patient care or services.

Equipment/Contract Management:

• Manages procurement and contracting for the service, including preparing procurement requests, evaluating proposals for work, serving as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for procurements, maintaining procurement and contracting records, and/or verifying all quality measures for the contract are met.
• Responsible for ordering medical/clinical equipment with procurement values up to one million dollars; prepares market research, salient characteristics, and statements of work.
• Maintains and renews COR certification.
• Manages purchase card reconciliation and invoice approval in compliance with VA fiscal guidelines.

Suspense Coordinator:

• Manages all administrative and clinical suspenses for Nursing Rehabilitation Service under minimum direction of the AO. This includes coordinating with the Patient Advocate Office, managers, as well as the service chief, to ensure timely completion and minimal duplication of these suspenses.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM PST

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: 640-02586-O

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• 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 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 or trial 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, 06/11/2026.

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: provides personnel management for the service with varied functions and activities, coordinates with the various supervisors in the completion of the annual reviews, responsible for records management, compiles reports relevant to clinical performance measures, performance improvement, staff management, agency accreditation requirements, and related administration requirements for presentation to executive staff, analyzes data and objectively based information for making decisions on the administrative and programmatic aspects of the service operations and management, manages all the administrative and clinical suspense assignments.

OR

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

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Organizational Awareness
• Planning and Evaluating
• Problem Solving
• Written Communication

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 primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort, such as walking, bending, standing, lifting, climbing of stairs, carrying of correspondences may be required.

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

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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.