Program Applications Specialist

The Dayton, Ohio VA Medical Center is looking for a Program Application Specialist that will support Surgical Services with a comprehensive knowledge of healthcare application support, clinical workflow processes, information security requirements, and program operations.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/24/2026.

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 as 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:
• Knowledge of healthcare information systems, clinical software applications, documentation requirements, and service-level operational processes.
• Knowledge of the major program goals, work processes, administrative operations, and workflow relationships in order to analyze system issues in relation to real-world clinical and administrative operations.
• Knowledge of VHA directives, local policy, information security requirements, documentation standards, and application procedures that govern system access, use, data integrity, and user responsibilities.
• Skill in applying analytical and evaluative methods to study the efficiency and effectiveness of program operations, training activities, workflow processes, and application support functions.
• Skill in conducting detailed analyses of work processes, user problems, transaction flow, documentation issues, and recurring operational deficiencies where information may be incomplete, varied, or drawn from multiple sources.
• Ability to adapt analytical techniques and evaluation criteria to measure productivity, identify causes of operational problems, and recommend changes that improve program effectiveness and user performance.
• Knowledge of training principles, adult learning techniques, and implementation methods sufficient to develop, revise, and administer training programs, guides, job aids, and implementation materials.
• Interpersonal and communication skill sufficient to present findings, explain recommendations, and obtain cooperation from managers, supervisors, providers, trainees, and staff concerning application use and workflow changes.

OR,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have graduate education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level, you must possess a master's or equivalent graduate degree or at least 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation

OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and and graduate level education as described above. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

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/.

Responsibilities:

Duties include but not limited to:

• Analyzes user menu and access requirements and coordinates role-based access in accordance with least privilege principles, information security policy, and service operational needs.
• Plans, coordinates, and validates implementation activities for new releases, patches, and system enhancements affecting Surgical Services workflows; tests updates in the designated environment and documents results before production use.
• Develops and maintains local procedures for use of clinical applications, downtime operations, and recovery processes so service operations can continue safely and efficiently during planned or unplanned outages.
• Reviews workflow performance, documentation patterns, and user feedback to identify system-related barriers that affect productivity, workload capture, or documentation accuracy.
• Conducts validation reviews of data entry, order entry, templates, note titles, clinical documentation elements, and transaction flow to identify inconsistencies, omissions, or inefficiencies requiring corrective action.
• Prepares written findings, issue summaries, and recommendations for leadership regarding application usage trends, operational risks, and opportunities to improve efficiency and standardization.
• Assesses equipment, device, printer, workstation, and peripheral support needs related to application use and provides written input for planning, replacement, and service requests.
• Develops or refines local tracking tools, checklists, and reference resources that improve end-user compliance with documentation standards and strengthen consistency in system use across Surgical Services.
• Assesses training needs for providers, nurses, technicians, clerks, residents, fellows, and administrative staff by reviewing workflow errors, user questions, documentation trends, and changes in application functionality.
• Develops comprehensive training plans, user guides, job aids, implementation checklists, quick-reference materials, and local standard work instructions tailored to Surgical Services roles and workflows.
• Designs and delivers group and one-on-one instruction on application features, documentation requirements, device use, and information security practices using classroom, desk-side, and virtual training methods.
• Evaluates the effectiveness of training by analyzing user performance, documentation quality, error patterns, and post-training questions, then revises instructional content and methods as needed.
• Identifies training priorities when changes in software, policy, workflows, templates, or documentation requirements occur and develops proactive rollout plans to support timely implementation.
• Provides refresher training at recurring intervals and as needed to address new releases, recurring errors, compliance concerns, and service-specific workflow changes.
• Prepares written summaries and recommendations for supervisors and service leadership concerning training gaps, user readiness, and areas where additional education or process revision is needed.
• Coordinates with facility educators, informatics staff, and other ADPACs to align training content with enterprise standards while adapting instruction to the operational realities of Surgical Services.
• Independently investigates recurring user problems involving hardware interfaces, software applications, workflow sequencing, order entry, documentation completion, access issues, and transaction failures affecting surgical operations.
• Applies analytical and evaluative methods to gather facts, compare expected and actual system behavior, identify root causes, and distinguish between local workflow problems and technical issues requiring escalation.
• Conducts detailed reviews of work processes, data flow, documentation practices, and operational bottlenecks to identify substantive issues affecting efficiency, accuracy, or timely completion of work.
• Develops, recommends, and tracks corrective actions to resolve operational problems and improve program effectiveness, including revised processes, retraining, standardization of practices, or escalation to technical support.
• Prepares reports, issue logs, status updates, and written analyses for leadership that explain the problem, summarize findings, describe alternatives considered, and recommend practical solutions.
• Monitors corrective actions after implementation to evaluate whether changes produced the intended result and whether additional adjustments or follow-up are required.
• Analyzes information from multiple sources, including user reports, system output, audit findings, training feedback, and operational metrics, when making recommendations to improve productivity and program support.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Applications Specialist/PD021950
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Salary : $64,021