Health System Specialist

Full Job Description

This position, located at the OKC VA HCS, Office of the Director, Quality, Safety, and Value Service, serves as a Facility Systems Redesign Coordinator responsible for the implementation of a Performance Improvement Program at the Health Care System level.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/20/2026.

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 level. 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.

This position has the following Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): Undergraduate and Graduate Education.

Major study -- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration....OR, Specialized Experience.

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: Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement....OR, Special Provision for Inservice Placement.

Successful completion of 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.

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 of 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...knowledge of the mission, organization, and program requirements of healthcare delivery systems, VA systems; ability to provide consultation to executive, service line, and program leadership; ability to identify projects, improving quality outcomes and maximize return on investment of utilized resources; knowledge of clinical practice guidelines designed by healthcare improvement organization to collect, analyze, and present data for performance improvement studies and projects; knowledge of healthcare Lean/Systems Redesign utilizing standardized tools, methods, and principles such as Lean and Six Sigma; ability to identify systems design problems, define a project scope and goals through a collaborative process, and prepare studies for facility leadership; ability to communicate both orally and written with clarity; speaks effectively to both small and large groups; possesses administrative expertise and mature judgment; and knowledgeable of medical center operations.

Preferred Experience: Experience in the methods and tools used in performance improvement; LEAN or LEAN/Six Sigma certification preferred but not required; demonstrates ability to communicate well, both orally and in writing; manages multiple competing priorities and is well organized.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Analysis and Problem Solving Communication Organizational Performance Analysis Systems Engineering 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 requires some physical exertion, such as periods of standing when teaching; some walking, bending, crouching, stooping, stretching, or similar activities when visiting work sites; and some moderate lifting and carrying.

At other times the work is sedentary, requiring the use of a computer.

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:

Major duties of this position include but are not limited to...

Participates in and facilitates transformative quality, safety, effectiveness, and efficiency improvement efforts Acts as the project lead for healthcare and operational improvement projects impacting patient care delivery systems and functions throughout the medical center Facilitates, coaches, and trains audiences at all levels of the organizations throughout the lifecycle of a performance improvement project Organizes, directs, controls and coordinates group activities in a timely and effective manner Conducts extensive work in analyzing data and conducting background research on the issue Defines a project scope and goals through a collaborative process with subject matter experts and leadership at the facility, service line or program, or unit level Develops processes by consulting with subject matter experts in order to develop standard work Identifies metrics performing below benchmarked standards or falling below the upper or lower control limits of a statistically controlled models Plans and conducts studies directed at reducing errors due to cognitive overloading and human-computer interaction failure Develops local data metrics and dashboards to monitor projects in progress or performance benchmarks of a project that is awaiting a charter or formal decision from executive leadership for action Ensures sustainability and spread of efforts directed at improving quality, safety, effectiveness, and efficiency using management engineering Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: This position may be authorized for telework.

Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PDS0012A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized