Health System Specialist (Communications)

Full Job Description

This position is located in the Office of Communications, End-User Engagement, for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office (EHRM-IO), within the Office of the Deputy Secretary of VA (DEPSECVA), where the incumbent serves as a Health System Specialist.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/16/2026.

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-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13. 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.

Health System Administration Series, 0671 Individual Occupational Requirements: 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 In service 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.

In addition to meeting the IOR you must also meet: GS-14 grade level - You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-13, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Direct experience and expertise in applying change management techniques to successfully manage end user engagement and adoption of a modernized electronic health record deployment.

Experience in clinical principles, informatics to health care delivery, and electronic health systems deployments with advising and providing recommendations to leadership in meeting the needs and requirements of all stakeholders.

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 moderate level of physical activity including, walking, climbing stairs and conducting on site evaluations. The position requires up to 25% overnight travel.

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:

NOTE: The salary range may change depending upon the actual physical location of the selectee for this position.

Major Duties: Work closely with the Change Management team and Training Strategy team to ensure cross-function communication and effective approach in implementation of all end user engagement and dissemination strategy and activities.

Attends regular meetings with supervisor/management/ higher echelons to provide statuses on change management efforts, present proposals, address issues and seek support for solutions to problems.

Consults and maintains communication/cooperation with other program offices/organizations related to healthcare systems, patient outcomes, and quality of care and patient data files.

Ensures awareness of, and effective access to, available change management tools, (e.g., surveys, toolkits, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), one-pagers, placemats, posters, etc.) for appropriate target audiences throughout VA, specifically for the VISNs and sites within their purview and monitors use and impact.

Reviewing operations plans and objectives and monitors comprehensive program plans, budgets, and schedules to provide feedback to leadership, which will be used to adjust the site-level end user engagement and dissemination strategy and execution as necessary.

Ensures end user engagement strategies foster end user awareness and desire to successfully contribute to all events/milestones on deployment timeline, including training of all employees impacted by the EHR, and contribute to ultimate user adoption of the EHR nationally within VA.

Provides expert analysis and advice on facility, VISN, and national deployment issues, specifically for the VISNs and sites under his/her purview.

Partners successfully with contractors and executive leadership at the facility, VISN, and national levels, especially within the VISNs and sites under his/her purview, to build long-term end user engagement within VA for a modernized EHR.

Identifies, develops, and monitors key metrics related to successful end user engagement.

Identifies models and resources related to end user engagement practices, particularly "best practices" for the multiple VA sites to which they are assigned, that may have application nationwide as the deployment of EHRM-IO occurs in waves across the organization.

Serves as the authoritative source and principal advisor for end user engagement and dissemination strategy to the Director of End User Engagement in the areas of system and leadership factors that impact the ability for impacted staff within the organization to successfully adopt EHR, throughout all phases of deployment.

Ensures and provides recommendations for any necessary adjustments for the VA sites to which the incumbent is assigned during the planning and execution of all end user engagement nationally.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm ET Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: 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#: Health System Specialist (Communications)/PD20129A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required