Summary This position serves as a Health System Specialist in the Office of Integrity and Compliance (OIC), Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The position will provide support to Integrity and Compliance professionals across VHA in VAMCs, VISNs. CPACs and Program Offices. Responsibilities This job announcement will remain open for 5 business days and close on 09/20/2024. The initial application review cut-off for this job announcement is 50 applications. The first 50 applications received will be considered first. Applications received after the initial cut-off number (50 applications) may not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management. Independently answer and respond to inquiries and requests for guidance and assistance received in the VHA OIC mailbox or from direct contact within time frames established by the Supervisor. Reviews, answers, and approves requests for access to various OIC mail groups and meeting invites from Facility, VISN and Program Office ICOs. Provides SME level service on the use of the CIRTS record keeping system. Provides advice on guidance on investigation steps, inquiry response or allegation outcome determination and record processing. Coordinate and conduct periodic calls with VISN ICOS, document outcomes of these meetings and report to the Supervisor Provide Ethics Advisor guidance and assistance to ICOs acting as facility, CPAC or VISN Ethics Advisors. Onboarding of new ICOs Review CIRTS record entries created by the ICO to analyze the quality and timeliness of responses to inquiries and allegations Respond to questions about the elements of an effective compliance and integrity program as outlined in D1030 Reviews all inquiries, develop responses and assess whether a national response is needed and submit any such proposed actions to the Supervisor for consideration. Provides advice on guidance on investigation steps, inquiry response or allegation Provide training on system use and operational advice or instruction. (OARVP) Must possess customer service and public relations skills necessary to diplomatically and effectively relate to senior management at the network, headquarters and facility levels as well as when interacting with OIC staff, other VA staff and external parties. Meets the needs of customers while supporting VA missions. Consistently communicates and treats customers (veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: May be available. Telework: Available (applicant is required on site 50% of work schedule per pay period) Virtual: The employee may work at a VA facility or other VA-leased space other than the facility that is hiring the employee and is authorized for telework up to 50%. . Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD58138A 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 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) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/20/2024. 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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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 or In-Service Placement as described below: Individual Occupation Requirement (IOR). IOR Education: Possess undergraduate or graduate education with major study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. Transcripts are required with application and unofficial transcripts are acceptable. OR IOR Experience: Possess at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-12) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Health System Specialist. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as 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: (1) Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; (2) Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and (3) Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. At this level, applicants would have obtained this experience working within a health care setting, working directly with clinicians and local leadership to develop performance improvement techniques; applying organizational and system-wide strategies for continuous quality improvement; and experience running and supervising an administrative component of a health care system customizing in facility wide performance improvement programs, projects, and products. NOTE: 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. OR IOR Special Provision for In-service Placement: Successfully completed 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. AND Specialized Experience: Have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience but must include 5 of the 7 following examples: Customer Service and client relations Field Affairs, Helpline and Customer Service for learning and communicating. Communicate thoughts, ideas, information, and messages in writing and presentations Assess, design, implement, and evaluate products, services, and activities Expresses ideas and facts to individuals or groups Work with organization, the public and outisde entities to solve problem Provdide compliance information and policies tp program offices Note: In order to meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet 5 of 7 of the above examples of specialized experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Technical Competence Oral Communication Writing Customer Service 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: Work is usually performed sitting at a desk, in conferences, meetings, etc. No special physical demands are required. Travel to other VHA facilities to participate in site visits, conduct special projects or to attend professional conferences or meetings may be required. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information 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.