Summary The Program Specialist serves as a key piece in administrative assistance and administrative functions within Business Operations for Mental Health service. The Mental Health Service manages the Mental Health Care for the Veterans enrolled in this health care system. It is organized into teams consisting of providers, clinical staff and administrative staff. Responsibilities Major Duties include but are NOT limited to: Ensuring resources, guidelines, outcomes and accountability are aligned for administrative support of the service's clinical and education missions, educating the care team leadership and other staff regarding applicable VHA and Health Care System policies and regulatory consensus and consultation to develop and implement team operational guidelines and operational guidelines and performance measures Gathering and analyzing data on a continuous basis to identify and acquire the recourses necessary to accomplish the service's missions. Performs duties directly contributing to the administrative operation of the Mental Health delivery system. Ability to apply the specialized principles and practices of health care management in direction or supporting the health care delivery system. Provides full staff assistance on administrative matters affecting patient care, education, and organizational policy. Provides Comprehensive resource allocation information support decisions involving organizational funds. Complies with all directives and special requirements in preparing annual and cyclic budget documents. Monitors annual execution, making necessary adjustments in execution or by reallocating resources. Administers budget, full authority to obligate funds. Responsible for development, control and overall administration of budgets for all organization control points (e.g., General Mental Health FCP). Develops the need for and maintains an awareness of available resources, and makes recommendations to Mental Health, Fiscal and the Pentad management regarding needs, distribution or redistribution of these resources. Responsible for formulation and execution of annual budget including salaries, travel, supplies, equipment and all other general operating expenses. Performs staff support work with short and long-range planning efforts. Provides a technical expertise in the field of healthcare planning and comprehensive advice and assistance to the Mental Health Administrative Operations Manager, as well as the Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health, regarding possible need for revision of regulations and policies governing planning activities. Reviews all equipment requests, collaborates with members of the Mental Health Service management team prioritizing the requests and ensures that the requests are submitted with appropriate justification. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD145160 Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this jo 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, 01/21/2025. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Ensuring resources, guidelines, outcomes and accountability are aligned for administrative support of the service's clinical and education missions, educating the care team leadership and other staff regarding applicable VHA and Health Care System policies and regulatory consensus and consultation to develop and implement team operational guidelines and performance measures; gathering and analyzing data on a continuous basis to identify and acquire the recourses necessary to accomplish the service's missions. Performs duties directly contributing to the administrative operation of the Mental Health delivery system. Ability to apply the specialized principles and practices of health care management in direction or supporting the health care delivery system. Provide full staff assistance on administrative matters affecting patient care, education, and organizational policy. Provide Comprehensive resource allocation information to support decisions involving organizational funds. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position (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 a Master's degree. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Analysis and Problem Solving 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 physical effort may be required. Work is typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate-controlled office. May require travel within the Health Care Systems several days each month to training, conferences, CBOCs, or contract sites. 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 This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. 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.