Health System Specialist (Strategic Planner)

Full Job Description

The Health System Specialist serves as the Strategic Planner and is responsible for the coordination, implementation, oversight, and ongoing development of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS) organizational strategic plan.

The STVHCS Strategic Plan facilitates the continuous development of integrated health care delivery system.

Engagement with senior leadership in aspects of strategic planning, including the development of strategic goals, objectives, and performance measures.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/06/2026.

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-11 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.

Individual Occupational Requirement: 0671 series has Individual Occupational Requirement that must be met.

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 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 the basic requirements, you must meet the specialized experience below.

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: 1) Identifies short and long-term planning parameters required to adequately accommodate existing and future healthcare demand including budget/resource analyses; set resource priorities; 2) Lead the annual STVHCS Strategic Plan and coordinate retreats/ad-hoc planning; 3) Develops and manages initiatives/programs; track milestones; brief ELT; 4) Customer service/Veteran focus embedded in planning and space/capital coordination with Engineering/Planner/CFO; and 5) Monitor plan versus actual; adjust using operational data.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Capital Planning and Investment Assessment Financial Analysis Information Management Planning and Evaluating Stakeholder Management 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 typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate controlled office. May require occasional travel up to 25% of the time.

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:

Initiates health care system wide planning activities to develop, communicate and continuously update a comprehensive strategic planning process.

Identifies and coordinates a health care system planning process which is customer driven and integrates aspects of performance improvement activities.

Utilizes VAMC, VISN and VHA planning/data resources (databases, staff, and publications) to ensure planning activities and decisions are based on relevant and current information.

Provides advice and support (ex-officio) to health care system committees directly related to planning efforts (ex. Executive Leadership Board).

Coordinates activities with Executive Leadership, the Chief Engineer, Capital Project Planning, and the Facility Planner to ensure programmatic planning is incorporated with space planning priorities (Master Space Plan, Capital Plan) and the five-year plan.

Coordinates activities with the health care system Quality Manager to ensure that planning processes are directly related to performance outcome measures.

Involves appropriate stakeholders in developing proposals and/or reviewing planning initiatives for further consideration and development.

Develops, tracks, and shares strategic plans for programs, services and/or the facility.

Reviews proposed organizational changes requiring establishment, consolidation, transfer or regrouping of functions for one or more services, or sub-organizational units.

Analyzes and evaluates organizational staffing and functional structures or organizational components in terms of meeting objectives.

Prepares Restructuring and Realignment evaluations and justifications. These complex analyses are reviewed by the VISN Network Director and VACO leaders.

Work directly with relevant clinical and administrative chiefs and staff members to quantify Veterans' needs and service gaps. Oversight of tenant sharing agreements.

Communicates and coordinates regularly with Property owners, business owners, City, State, and other federal agencies.

The precise nature of this collaboration must ensure risk mitigation pertaining to budget, contracting, negotiations, and program/project execution.

Collaboration with appropriate stakeholders on lease projects, revocable license agreements, and joint incentive funding (JIF) between DOD and VA. Primary VAST Station Identifier POC for STVHCS.

Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8-4:30p.m.

Telework: Ad-hoc and as determined by the Agency Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist (Strategic Planner)/PDHA671-00431-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized