Health System Specialist

This position is the Executive Assistant (EA) to the Associate Medical Center Director at the Beckley VA Medical Center, Beckley, WV. Beckley VA Medical Center (BVAMC) is a tertiary care level 2 facility offering primary care, inpatient care, outpatient mental health care, nursing home care, home health care, and outpatient specialty care in an environment of teaching, and emergency preparedness.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/22/2026.

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-09. For a GS-12 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.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

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 is defined as: 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:

1. Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems;
2. Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and
3. Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement.

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 Individual Occupational Requirement, you must also meet the Minimum Qualification Requirement below:

• GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09) 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 policies, directive, regulations, guidelines, and goals of the Hershel "Woody' Williams VA Medical Center, VISN 5, VHA and VA. Knowledge of social and political trends (including proposed legislation) and changing requirements and the impacts those will have on Medical Center activities. Knowledge of the major issues, program goals and objectives, work processes, and administrative operations of the services; pertinent laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and precedents which affect administrative operations. Broad and in-depth knowledge of services and programs to effectively carry out the varied management aspects of the position. Excellent working knowledge of overall operations and the ability to assimilate complicated management issue, provide in-depth analyses, negotiate solutions and changes with high level internal and external officials and resolve frequent differences of opinion among high level officials. Interpersonal skills in presenting recommendations and negotiating solutions to disputed recommendations. Knowledge of Interpersonal relationship theories as well as organizational dynamics that impact interactions. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.M., in a field related to this position that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with the application. Education cannot be credited without documentations. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Must have equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate-level education (in excess of the first two years or 36 semester hours) and specialized experience to meet total experience requirements. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required.

• GS-12 Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11) in the Federal Service that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Health Systems Specialist? Specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: Knowledge of policies, directive, regulations, guidelines, and goals of the Hershel "Woody' Williams VA Medical Center, VISN 5, VHA and VA. Knowledge of social and political trends (including proposed legislation) and changing requirements and the impacts those will have on Medical Center activities. Knowledge of the major issues, program goals and objectives, work processes, and administrative operations of the services; pertinent laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and precedents which affect administrative operations. Broad and in-depth knowledge of services and programs to effectively carry out the varied management aspects of the position. Excellent working knowledge of overall operations and the ability to assimilate complicated management issue, provide in-depth analyses, negotiate solutions and changes with high level internal and external officials and resolve frequent differences of opinion among high level officials. Interpersonal skills in presenting recommendations and negotiating solutions to disputed recommendations. Knowledge of Interpersonal relationship theories as well as organizational dynamics that impact interactions. In-depth knowledge of VA regulations, applicable statutes, and current patient population needs as well as an awareness of nationwide healthcare delivery trends to function independently in the analysis and resolution of administrative and management problems. Ability to keep abreast of new and existing clinical, technical, and administrative concepts and analyze them with the needs of the VISN and Medical Center in mind.

Work Environment
Work is typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate-controlled office. Work will require local travel between facilities within the health care delivery system.

Responsibilities:

This is a development SOD for the Executive Assistant (EA) to the Associate Medical Center Director at the Beckley VA Medical Center. This position performs the same duties as at the full performance level, but with additional guidance and supervision as they develop the knowledge required for the role. The Associate Director oversees all administrative and support activities, including Facilities Management, Environmental Management, Supply Chain Management, Health Administration Service, Fiscal, Chaplain, HR, Canteen, Emergency Services, Police, Safety & Occupational Health, High Reliability Organization, and Prosthetics. The EA provides executive
level project management, data analysis, strategic planning, resource analysis, program assessment, and other support to the Associate Medical Center Director. The incumbent advises, implements, improves and coordinates various medical center programs and functions, including manpower utilization, fiscal management, work distribution, delegations of authority, management controls, and correspondence and compliance systems.

Major Duties included but not limited to:

• Performs staff support work in short and long-range planning efforts with direct responsibility for seeking and finding practical solutions which may be achieved through short or long-range planning.
• Administers Associate Director's planning process and ensures the integration of all planning initiatives.
• Assesses priorities to best meet Veterans' health care delivery needs. Assesses plans and planning phases to determine resources and services.
• Develops background and management options available to deal with complex medical center planning and implementation problems.
• Provides authoritative recommendations to the Associate Director regarding possible need for revision of regulations and policies governing planning activities. Recommends action or adjustments necessary to achieve required objectives.
• Ensures that proposals submitted by medical center staff for new initiatives are complete and all implementation
  requirements are accurately identified.
• Provides guidance for administrative activities of services related to budget and fiscal management, human resource management, strategic planning and program management and evaluation, assuring that the clinical and administrative functions are integrated to provide optimum utilization of resources.
• Independently reviews requirements for resources throughout the Associate Director's respective services and utilizes these reviews to present plans of action to the Associate Director.
• Maintains accurate utilization and cost information to analyze the effect of resources on the overall productivity of the various organizations. Works with adjustments in allocations during the year, consults in preparation of monthly reports.
• Collaborates with clinical and administrative services and appropriate committees to plan and evaluate resource utilization.
• Analyzes and evaluates the effectiveness of existing service programs in meeting established program goals and objectives.
• Develops evaluation methodologies and processes to study program effectiveness, organizational productivity, operational efficiency, and resource utilization.
• Monitors assigned metrics and proactively intervenes to address slippage or poor performance.
• Identifies medical center problems involving new or revised policies or procedures and brings them to the attention of senior medical center management for appropriate action.
• The incumbent assists in the development of information submitted from this medical center to the VISN or VA Headquarters, which includes statistical and demographic information for various medical center health-care programs, as well as any special reports required by the VISN.
• The incumbent serves as a Medical Center representative and primary POC for Medical Center staff for full assistance on administrative matters affecting patient care, education and organizational policy; Ensures service-level actions are delivered on-time and in-line with expectations from VAMC leadership staff.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD264360 and PD231800
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Salary : $74,678