Program Specialist

Full Job Description

The position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Richmond VA Medical Center (MC), Virginia under Surgery Service.

The paramount purpose of this position is to facilitate the recruitment of physicians and serve as a liaison between US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), State Department, and attorneys, in regards to essential required documents, such as Visas.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/18/2026.

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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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 s described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: coordinating recruitment activities, preparing recruitment advertisements, scheduling interviews, assisting with credentialing or personal documentation, advising supervisors on personnel or administrative policies, and monitoring budgets.

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

To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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 .

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Attention to Detail Budget Administration Compliance Contracting/Procurement Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Quality Assurance Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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 sitting, standing and frequent walking throughout the medical center. The position requires a considerable amount of reading and writing.

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: Manages administrative and human resource issues as assigned, coordinate personnel actions, performance standards, and manages aspects of the performance appraisal system within the Service.

Serves as an advisor to supervisors within the service on personnel and administrative matters using knowledge of federal and agency policy, laws, and regulations.

Responsible for coordinating routine review of position descriptions within Surgery Service and advising supervisors of review and update requirements.

Composes ads for recruitment purposes and for US Department of Labor regulations requirements to obtain the Immigration Visa; and send to Human Resources personnel to publish in national medical and technical journals, newspapers, and VAMC's nationwide.

Ads identify eligibility requirements such as licensing, certification, education and general requirements of the position.

Plans all visits by physicians being-considered for positions in the Surgical Service, to include logistical matters (accommodations, transportation, financial reimbursement, etc), and together with the Section Chief, drafts interview schedules and then coordinates final schedule by personally contacting all persons on the agenda and arranging their participation in the interview process.

Primary approving official for Surgical Service's Cost Distribution Report, and an approving official for Surgical Service Control Points; and responsible to the Chief, Surgical Service and the Administrative Officer for the financial status of the Service.

Coordinates all service level budgets planning and projecting with the Chief, Surgical Service, Administrative Officer, and the various Section Chiefs of Surgery Service.

Approves all purchase card reconciliations; monitor the purchases to ensure they are within putaecard guidelines and policy. Incumbent is responsible for monthly purchase card audits and reports.

Serves as Surgical Service's Technical Representative on contracts within the Service. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD03178A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized