Why This Program Specialist Job Matters
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Program Specialist Job Overview
To qualify for this position, VHA applicants must meet all requirements within (30 days) of the closing date of this announcement. 11/09/2026. MOST CURRENT NON-AWARDSF-50 (YEAR 2026) MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH YOUR APPLICATION PACKAGE. FAILURE TO DO SO MAY DISQUALIFY YOU FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION. The incumbent has knowledge and experience with VHA scheduling directives and policy. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: NOTE: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE MUST BE WELL DOCUMENTED IN YOUR RESUME. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL DISQUALIFY YOU FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION. 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: Communication and interpersonal relations including the ability to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers. Maintenance of confidentiality of patient/employee information, electronic and print. The medical centers Performance Improvement Program. How to work and function in the medical center in a safe manner, including infection control and the correct operation of equipment. Skill in applying analytical and evaluative techniques to identification and resolution of issues or problems as they are related to scheduling procedures and audits, workload, compliance with VHA guidelines, accurate data capture. Knowledge of Medical center goals and objectives and expert knowledge of scheduling directives and provisions related to access to care, computer based systems to perform systematic reviews of information and data, run specialized reports, ensure competency of scheduling procedures, provide appropriate supervisors with recommendations for performance improvement and tailor training to specific needs. Ability to design, develop, modify and evaluate training presentations, plans, instructions, materials and aids. This includes the ability to coordinate with the facility Education Department and other facility subject matter experts and incorporate and/or modify information and training from the national office. Demonstrated skill in oral and written communication with a variety of people from different backgrounds and different levels of understanding. This may include Clerical, Technical, administrative and professional (medical and non medical) people at all levels in the agency. Knowledge in skill in the use of computer equipment with a wide variety of software such as Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, Access, Internet and VHA databases to search, extract and organize data, produce reports and prepare a variety of specific working documents such as spreadsheets, instructions, training guides and other similar products. Knowledge and ability to write effective and clear Standard Operating Procedures pertaining to materials being taught to staff.-Knowledge of an extensive body of the organization's rules and regulations governing confidentiality, including but not limited to the Privacy Act, Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), the Freedom act (FOIA) and 38U.S.C. 7332. Ability to develop and implement quality and process improvement procedures and to preform auditing functions of all persons required to hold the scheduling key or "Make an Appointment" option in Appointment Management in Veterans Health Information Systems and technology Architecture (Vista). The incumbent has knowledge and experience with VHA scheduling directives and policy. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a 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 must have a combination of specialized experience and graduate level education beyond the first 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours i.e., beyond the first year is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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 mainly sedentary with little need for physical exertion. 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/.