Medical Administration Officer

Full Job Description

The San Diego VA Healthcare System is hiring one Medical Administration Officer, Chief of Health Administration Service (HAS).

The incumbent provides overall management and leadership of the service and reports directly to the Associate Director.

They have full-delegated authority/responsibility for executive level management of HAS, including but not limited to the oversite of Business Operations, Clinic Operations, Health Information Management (HIMS), and the HAS administrative team.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/12/2026.

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.

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-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: Leadership & Oversight, Policy & Compliance, Strategic Planning & Resource Management, Directs & Manages Personnel functions, Collaboration & Representation, Revenue & Reporting, Quality Assurance and Supervisory or Chief experience in a healthcare setting.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Leadership Organizational Development Strategic Thinking 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: This is primarily a sedentary position, but the work requires some walking, bending, stooping and carrying of light objects such as manuals, documents, etc.

Concentration and sustained performance under prolonged stress is required because of the time factors involved in completion of work assignments within deadlines.

The employee works in an office/clinical setting. Work areas are generally adequate and shared. Occasional travel is required.

Incumbent frequently walks to and interacts with other services throughout the Medical Centers and CBOCs.

The incumbent observes established safety standards and practices as defined in the Medical Center Policy guides.

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 the following: Direct and manage the application of all federal, state, and local laws regarding healthcare and VA eligibility provisions.

Provide expert advice and direction and act as an integral part of the healthcare system management team. Direct human resources responsibilities within the Health Administration Service (HAS).

Given that HAS is the largest administrative service in the hospital, considerable attention to human resource management is required.

This involves broad knowledge of government-wide and agency human resources management requirements, policies, and systems. Develop the need for and maintain an awareness of available resources.

Make recommendations to Medical Center management regarding the needs, distribution, or redistribution of these resources. Participate in budget and planning processes within the VAMC.

Formulate and issue policies through the Director relating to broad areas of health administration.

Develop both long and short-range policies and plans for the organization by coordinating the medical administration needs of the medical center and indirectly with VISN 22.

Manage a wide variety of duties involving multiple facilities, sites, programs, etc. This may include planning and conducting/coordinating visits and inspections to evaluate operations.

Conduct intensive analysis and problem-solving as a recognized expert in a program or functional area. Design studies to improve patient care and service and resource utilization.

Conduct studies such as gap analysis, population modeling, service demand, needs assessment, SWOC analysis, make/buy analysis, and others.

Participate in the DMS by coordinating service level huddles, attending and coaching subordinates, facilitating the Administrative Chief's huddle on behalf of the Associate Director, and participating in the Enterprise Huddle.

Collaborate in the development, execution, and management of the annual business plan to support the service's strategic direction and daily operations, including evaluation, allocation, and resource execution.

Provide reports/briefings on study results to identify areas and issues for nationwide review, promoting discussions among national VA groups.

Conduct analytical studies on manpower, workload, space, equipment, and other resource utilization.

Utilize specialized application software, including Monarch, Pyramid, SQL, and SharePoint Access for facility analysis and planning.

Collaborate with other services and facility leadership to implement processes and initiatives to better the customer experience and support a High Reliability Organization.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm 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#: Medical Administration Officer/PD13069O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized for a highly qualified applicant relocating to the San Diego, CA commuting area Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): May be Authorized for a highly qualified applicant relocating to the San Diego, CA commuting area