Program Specialist

Summary The Program Specialist is responsible for the overall management of the Scheduling Training and Audit program for the Community Care Service, in collaboration with leadership, for the staff at the Syracuse VA Medical Center and all associated Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). Responsibilities Managing the overall responsibilities of the Scheduling Onboarding for Community Care staff, VS GUI, a robust training, and education program Analyzing and interpreting work processes to determine educational needs of individual employees, monitoring minimum standards for quality and productivity. Assessing and developing standard work and training programs. Conducting formal and on the job instruction Evaluating training outcomes and on-going auditing for compliance. Participates in all phases of training, short and long range, developmental planning, implementation, and evaluation. Serves as the point of contact for routine, development, and one-on-one training matters. Develops and/or modifies procedures, courses, training guides and plans, and seeks alternative training sources for an organization having a well-defined and readily understood mission. Prepares internal office instructions governing local training development programs. Conducts formal and informal in-service and continuing education programs based on identified needs. Provides training to all staff with Scheduling options, utilizing adult learning principles and appropriate teaching aids when applicable. Reviews, analyzes, and evaluates training courses and programs to assess their quality and effectiveness. Provide extensive planning and organization, analyses and accumulated data and information, and considerable coordination and integration with other functional activities. Develop a medical center-wide training plan with input from the Chief of Community Care. Makes planned, systematic studies to determine the immediate and long-range training needs of the organization as they pertain to VHA Directive 1230. Initiates educational programming that is responsive to changes in the policy/procedure/technology and promotes the organization's mission, vision, and values. Provide management with periodic reports on the status of training and an analysis of the effectiveness and capacity of the training program to achieve agency objectives and policies. Modify annual training plans to stay within guidelines established by VHA Directive 1230 and top management to meet annual training objectives. Collaborate Scheduling audits for community care services will serve as a facility's best practice. Runs audit reports at the facility, department, and individual levels. Independently analyzes audit outcomes and identifies scheduling practices that require remediations and supports the Health Information Specialists with CPRS training as needed. Works with supervisors, managers, and section chief to resolve discrepancies or conflicts with established schedulers training. Conducts remediation training and re-auditing of schedulers who do not pass audits and within those services that do not meet scheduling performance expectations per guidelines. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 7:30am- 4:00pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD49697O Requirements 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 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 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, 10/20/2026. 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: Knowledge of management principles, techniques of analysis, and evaluation, along with knowledge/skill in performing technical aspects of scheduling programs, practices, and procedures and audit programs to plan, organize, and facilitate training for all program staff. Oral and written communication with a variety of people from different backgrounds and different levels of understanding. Knowledge and skill in the use of computer equipment with a wide variety of software such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Internet, and VHA databases to develop training aids and materials, extract and organize data, produce letters, memorandums, conduct data searches, and to prepare a variety of specific working documents and forms such as spreadsheets, databases, word processing, desktop publishing, graphics, and other similar projects. 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 degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Creative Thinking Interpersonal Skills Partnering 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: No special physical demands such as above-average ability, dexterity, or strength are required to perform the work. Work is sedentary, and the employee may sit comfortably. 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 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. 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. 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.