Program Specialist

Full Job Description

The Program Specialist serves the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Services (PLMS) as the coordinator, advisor, analyst, and planner for the delivery of health care services.

The PS has delegated responsibility to plan, schedule and carry out the administrative oversight of the PLMS contracts, education/training, quality improvement and Quality assurance reasonability's for efficient, high quality patient care.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/20/2026.

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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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 and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 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 quality assurance and administrative processes of data collection for quality Reviews; Knowledge of data analysis and completion of reports by determining what is required utilizing regulations, local memoranda, and consultation with administrative staff; Practical knowledge and skills in applying analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to issues or studies concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of the Service area; Knowledge of purchasing, inventorying, and equipment selection; Knowledge of all EEO activities; ability to analyze and interpretation of data to develop action plans to improve quality, access, and efficiency as necessary; Knowledge of skills used in developing, initiating, and implementing an effective ongoing program to monitor, evaluate and improve quality, performance and appropriateness of healthcare delivered to both inpatient and outpatient Veteran populations; Knowledge of the annual budget plans and periodic reviews of current expenditures; Knowledge of a wide range of analytical and planning mechanisms to assess the efficiency of many complex programs (administrative, professional, and clinical); Knowledge of acquisition management, service line rules and regulations, physician and professional research funding processes, contracting processes, cost accounting and containment processes and fiscal rules and regulations; Knowledge of veterans eligibility processes, clinic bylaws and health care ethics, quality assurance standards for acute and outpatient care, Joint Commission regulations, and CAP standards for the service's specialized laboratories; Knowledge of gathering and analyzing data (i.e., statistical science data), making interpretations, and presenting this data in many formats including graphs and slides to audiences of diverse backgrounds; Knowledge and ability to carry out numerous communications with various medical personnel, medical programs, laboratory, and other diagnostic testing and ordering of medical supplies dictates that PS can understand the language and processes of health care delivery; Computer knowledge in the areas of MS-WORD, MS-EXCEL, MS-POWERPOINT, and other computer systems/applications to gather information and present analysis of information in the appropriate format for presentation and communication.

OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience.

To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent graduate degree- or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree- or LL.B.

or J.D., if related. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.

You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first year of graduate school totaling 100%. i.e.

An applicant has 6 months of specialized experience equivalent to GS-7 and 1 year of graduate level education.

The applicant meets 50 percent of the required experience but none of the required education, since he or she does not have any graduate study beyond that which is required for GS-7.

Therefore, the applicant meets only 50 percent of the total requirement and is not qualified for the position.

(The applicant's first year of graduate study is not qualifying for GS-9.) 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 Include: Attends and represents at service in customer service meeting and all assigned facility committee meetings assigned by supervisor or service leadership.

Refers patients, staff, and other associates to appropriate POC's for information regarding clinical and/or administrative needs.

Serves and a service champion representative and subject matter expert on contracting and purchasing. Meet the needs of customers while supporting VA missions.

Consistently communicates and treats customers (veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner.

Advises top management of elements considered unacceptable from the standpoint of quality and utilization of resources.

Provides daily support by gathering documents, reports, statistics, and data to create reports for supervisors.

Maintains and improves systems of delivering health care by developing better programs and policies, improving utilization of resources and designing Plans and coordinates changes in workload to meet deadlines and maintain a smooth work flow.

Monitors appropriate follow-up of corrective measures identified to ensure implementation and resolution of problems.

Completes all duties assigned by the supervisor or service level leadership pertaining to contracting and service management.

Analyzes the need for and facilitates the purchase of equipment and expendable supplies, overseeing the use of funds allocated to the control points.

Responsible for procurement and tracking of path and lab service equipment and supplies.

Serves as a contracting officer representative for path and lab to help support the lab leadership stay up to date on contracts.

Performs periodic reviews of current expenditures are conducted in accordance with VHA and medical center guidelines to provide up to date information to executive leadership, lab leadership, and the Administrative Officer.

Provides information on policy and procedures to minimize negative impact to patients, the service, and facility.

Extensive coordination between multiple sections within Path and Lab or multiple services who are supported by Path and lab to increase communication and reduce conflicts.

Provides information to patients and staff timely and reports any identified issues to the proper supervision official. Identifies and communicates issues timely to reduce the likelihood of conflicts.

Coordinates and analyzes internal review activities of PLMS to ensure that both clinical and administrative functions.

Attends applicable committees or assigned task forces as directed by the Medical Center Director, Associate Director, Chief of Staff or Supervisor.

Conducts special analytical studies to resolve critical programmatic, organizational, or functional problems that require special skills in the application of scientific methodologies.

Coordinates with section representatives to monitor, corrected and identify all EOC related items and areas.

Continuously monitors the effectiveness and quality of support services in PLMS and coordinates the service or repair as needed. Work Schedule: 7:30 a.m.

- 4:00 p.m., M-F Telework: Ad-hoc may be available in accordance with agency policy Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD14389O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized