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Program Specialist

Palo Alto VA Medical Center
Palo Alto, CA Other
POSTED ON 4/16/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 4/27/2026
The position serves as a Program Specialist performing a variety of office management, administration, and personnel management duties and support of the Diagnostic Radiology Service. The incumbent resolves a variety of substantive problems related to the assignment, preparation, administrative processing, support, and management of key areas of the clinical operations to include quality assurance, personal management, performance, staff pin processing, fiscal management, and personnel pay.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/27/2026.

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: You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

GS-09:

  • 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.
  • Qualifying specialized experience includes: analyzing processes/procedures; planning and organizing work to achieve goals; interpreting regulatory guidelines; generating various reports; and implementing department best practices. 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 degree or two (2) full years of graduate level education leading to such a degree in a related field of study that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position. (TRANSCRIPTS REQURIED) OR,
  • Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and graduate education beyond the first year. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED)

  • Administration and Management
  • Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
  • Personnel and Human Resources
  • Technology Application


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 is primarily sedentary, although some light physical effort may be required.

Work Environment: The work is carried out in an appropriately lit and climate-controlled office environment.

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:

  • Manages various administrative processes within the office and ensures that procedures meet the needs of the Service Chief and clinical operations and are consistently understood.
  • Evaluates procedures and determines when changes need to be made and independently affects the changes as they relate to duties assigned.
  • Assists in the management and preparation of various clinical and administrative subjects that include: Quality assurance; Staff and physician recruiting, credentialing, in-processing, and scheduling; all staff meetings; SharePoint and website maintenance and development.
  • Maintains office files and ensures they are compliant with applicable regulatory guidance. Maintains office publications and directives, ensuring they are current and updated periodically.
  • Reviews all incoming correspondence, distributes to the supervisor and other staff members as appropriate, and prepares replies to general inquiries and routine actions, as they relate to the clinical operations.
  • Responds to inquiries and administrative concerns/problems. Prioritizes, prepares, and coordinates responses to inquiries that are of a one-time and information-sensitive or confidential nature.
  • Responds to administrative issues and inquiries and resolves a variety of conflicts regarding administrative policies and processes among organizational issues.
  • Provides comprehensive support to the Administrative Officer on confidential personnel matters such as annual and mid-year performance appraisals, performance awards, personnel record maintenance, recruitments, and pay panels.
  • Assists employees with resolving pay problems, leave issues, and any other situation relating to pay, time, and attendance.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 08:00-4:30pm
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD040250
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Salary : $77,161

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