Government Information Specialist

Full Job Description

The facility Privacy/FOIA Officer has oversight for the data governance program and initiatives in the Long Beach VA Healthcare System and its supporting catchment area.

The position makes unique facility-level determinations about disclosures, issuance of denials, redactions, access, use and dissemination of federal agency records.

Welcome to VA Long Beach Tibor Rubin - History To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/10/2026.

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-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.

For GS-12 You may qualify based on your experience as described below: 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: Experience with Privacy Act, FOIA, and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); Skill in the development of a system-wide program including the training of a large group; Reviewing documents and requests in detail; Experience with formulating policy, ensuring compliance with federal and state laws and conducting research of federal laws and regulations; Experience with communicating to higher echelons, general public, and leadership personnel; Training individuals on protected information requirements; Assessing privacy risk; and advocating for victims of privacy violations.

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/.

Major Duties:

Duties include but are not limited to: Support developing a local level strategy for data governance, which includes leading from the executive office and creating a unique program that includes diverse processes and specific policies which are independent of other facilities.

Create unique written policies that define the enterprise privacy principles, guidance and practices that influence the data governance model for the organization.

Approve all facility policies and reviews business practices to ensure appropriate use and protection of information specific to each functional area.

Responsible for operational life cycle of the privacy/FOIA program by developing a communication strategy that fosters awareness for both internal and external partners to improve compliance, provide training and engage the public.

Routinely make independent key decisions that can have serious implications for the agency in the absence of situational guidance.

Perform complex analysis of key policy inquiries that can encompass all information collected, used, or disclosed in the facility.

Comprehending of all applicable laws, regulations and guidelines, independently analyzes all the interrelated issues that affect the privacy/FIOA program.

Assess gaps in policy, measure the knowledge of individual staff and facilitate improvements against the ever-changing policies, regulations and statutes that impact the privacy and FOIA programs.

Teach and train employees on general data protection procedures and detailed service specific practices for daily operations.

Develop and integrate policy-based processes, roles and controls that influence how data is created, collected, used, stored, and destroyed throughout the organization.

Independently investigate non-compliance of privacy related issues at all levels of the organization and outside of the organization when VHA information is involved.

Adjudicate complex privacy and FOIA decisions that affect employees, Veterans, patients, and commercial businesses in the absence of supervision.

Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday to Friday 7:00am to 3:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Not Available Position Description/PD#: Government Information Specialist/PD99843S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Available This occupation is being considered for a Veterans Health Administration enterprise-wide Critical Skills Incentive (CSI).

Candidates may be eligible for a lump sum CSI. The amount of lump sum CSI is determined based on appointment date and may be pro-rated as determined by the end date of the CSI.

Eligible candidates will be required to sign a service agreement agreeing to an obligated service period and failure to complete the obligated service period may result in a debt for the unearned portion of the CSI.

This occupation is currently approved for a Veterans Health Administration enterprise-wide Critical Skills Incentive through [insert date].

Candidates may be eligible for a lump sum CSI for a pro-rated amount if onboard prior to the CSI expiration date.

Eligible candidates will be required to sign a service agreement agreeing to an obligated service period and failure to complete the obligated service period may result in a debt for the unearned portion of the CSI.