Health System Specialist (Associate Group Practice Manager)

Summary

This position reports to the Ambulatory Care Operations Director (ACOD)/Group Practice Manager (GPM). The primary purpose of the Associate Group Practice Manager (AGPM) is to provide assistance and support to the ACOD/GPM by providing oversight and administrative management of all ambulatory care services in the facility and related Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) as it relates to access to care as applicable.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Provides access related consultative services, working in collaboration with facility Service Lines, to review and develop guidance and policies that will facilitate standardized processes within the facility and applicable CBOCs, etc.
• Review and provide input on regulations and policies for local interpretation, utilizing local group practice management and communication strategies. Works as part of an in house team to ensure a wide range of local factors are considered in the application of national policies and procedures. May be called upon to collaborate with staff from other facilities and to work on higher level project groups to review and make recommendations for facility and/or VISN level policies, procedures, systems, requirements, documents, and business or access analysis initiatives.
• Reviews and evaluates assigned processes and procedures to determine areas of effectiveness, efficiency, and improvement for proposal through local GPM group and supervisor. Reports to supervisor and access leadership in the facility, as assigned. incorporates best practices to help improve patient access to care and that standards are met within assigned services.
• Promotes established system-wide training plans to optimize local use. Supports the local clinic management system based on national requirements. Proposes improvements to supervisor regarding national training curriculum for onboarding and sustainment activities. Maintains knowledge of CPM training materials and supports fulfillment of action plans to meet CPM training requirements.
• Works with Veteran Experience Officers within the local facility to evaluate patient and family concerns regarding the access to services needed. Aligns efforts with national and local requirements. Assists supervisor in coordinating efforts to ensure patient concerns are received, evaluated, and addressed in a timely and effective manner by the appropriate subject matter experts. Provides accurate data to ensure that processes and procedures developed are appropriately supported. Assists in the evaluation of outpatient care patient feedback for access and quality measures at the facility. Utilizes an analytics system for the collection and analysis of outpatient care patient feedback for access and quality measures. Evaluates and recommends changes for continuous process improvement. Collaborates with the Veterans Experience, clinic management, scheduling, and analytic groups.
• Aligns local processes with planning and policies at higher levels. Identifies, defines and prioritizes customer service tools with assignments. Implements process improvement and training opportunities that support frontline employees in providing predictable, consistent and comfortable customer service experiences for Veterans, their caregivers and beneficiaries. Follows benchmarks and established processes for taking corrective actions on decreasing/low scores in Veterans/Staff experience data. Promotes consistent communication plans with clinic teams relating to the plan of action in accordance with the Veterans experience data.

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 eligible for Ad-hoc telework, at manager discretion.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist (Associate Group Practice Manager)/ PD99865S and PD99866S

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): No Approved

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Help

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, 06/08/2026.

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 (TIG) requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 . For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 .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:

As part of the basic requirements, applicants must meet the 0671 occupational series Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) in addition to Specialized Experience.

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR):

Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. 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 In service Placement: Successful completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program may be substituted for qualifying experience, provided it included a formal individualized training plan. Such a training program must have been conducted 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 the IOR you must meet the following specialized requirements:

GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the healthcare field performing progressively responsible analytical, administrative and clinical management duties. 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 involve 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, programs and requirements of health care delivery systems; knowledge of administrative practices and procedures common to health care delivery systems. Assist in analyzing situations, offering solutions to issues, and coordinating projects that require integration of numerous individuals and teams throughout a healthcare system. OR,

Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree OR 3 full years of progressively higher-level education leading to such a degree OR LL.M, if related. Education must be in a major study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. 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 master's or graduate degree level.

GS-12 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 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.

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 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.

Help

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.

Review our benefits

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.