Health System Specialist

Full Job Description

This position is located within the Program Evaluation and Resource Center (PERC) at the VA Medical Center in Menlo Park, CA.

PERC conducts nationwide evaluations of VA treatment methods, services, and programs for mental health, substance use disorders (SUD), and suicide prevention, supports compliance with Congressional mandates, develops computational tools used by providers throughout VHA, and monitors them for quality, fairness, and availability.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT: One (1) full year of specialized experience as described below that is equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12) in the Federal service and that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position.

Specialized experience includes 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: (a) Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; (b) Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; (c) Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel and procurement.

In addition, at this level, the following experience is also required: Specialized experience leading and conducting complex health care systems program evaluations within large health care organizations, including independent analysis of large-scale patient and administrative datasets to assess quality, efficiency, and operational performance ; and experience applying advanced statistical and analytical problem-solving methods, informed by clinical knowledge, to identify systemic issues and implement data-driven improvements in health care delivery and operations.

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Decision Making Interpersonal Skills Planning and Evaluating Project Management IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week.

All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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.

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; religious; 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.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required when visiting different sections of the health care system for meetings or fact-finding.

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:

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** MAJOR DUTIES: Provides project management leadership, strategic direction, and oversight for novel programs and major mental health initiatives that Office of Mental Health (OMH) and Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) are deploying across VHA.

Ensures that a standardized and effective approach to implementation is applied, using a project management framework, process improvement methodology, and change management standards, processes, and resources.

Functions as an advisor to PERC, OMH, and OSP leadership, providing valuable consultative services and problem-solving expertise related to project management.

Reviews projects to determine implementation strategies that are optimized for existing workflow and operations.

Develops and maintains detailed project schedules, tasks, milestone dates, and schedules to ensure proper sequencing of events and tracking of processes and costs throughout the life cycle of the project.

Establishes processes and systems to accurately monitor the status of assigned projects, track progress toward achieving agreed upon actions, and facilitate meeting program requirements in a timely manner.

Gathers data from mental health programs across VHA, combines data, and evaluates whether OMH or OSP leadership need to be briefed on findings.

Creates and maintains systems and databases designed to ensure that projects comply with administrative policies, procedures, and requirements.

Assists the mental health care programs at all 139 VHA health care systems with developing implementation activities using the frameworks established by national OMH or OSP guidance and policy.

Collaborates with OMH and OSP and other stakeholders throughout VHA to establish project objectives and improve the implementation of mental health programs, initiatives, and mandates.

Leads technical assistance and dissemination activities in support of major mental health initiatives, programs, and mandates. Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Telework: This position may be authorized for telework.

Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.