What are the responsibilities and job description for the Education Program Specialist position at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs?
Summary
The Education Program Specialist (EPS) is responsible for initiating - planning - coordinating - delivering and evaluating education programs/projects that support the professional development of staff at Ralph H. Johnson Health Care System and associated community based outpatient clinics. The EPS is supervised by Chief of Employee Experience.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 03/27/2026. 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-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. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the 1720 occupational series. Education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. All applicants must meet one of the following for this position: Degree: that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position to be filled - of which at least 9 semester hours must have been in education courses - OR Combination of education and experience -- at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position to be filled - of which at least 9 semester hours must have been in education courses - plus appropriate experience or additional education. OR Four years of experience that demonstrated a thorough understanding of the principles and practices underlying the work of this series. This experience must have been of such character and diversity to demonstrate that the applicant possesses an understanding of the field comparable to that normally acquired through successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university. OR At least 1 full academic year of professional teaching experience. This experience is defined as full and primary responsibility - under general supervision - for instruction of assigned students in an accredited school or institution. This includes responsibility for preparing and presenting lessons and for evaluating students' progress - including a determination of the students' success or failure according to established criteria. Serving in an assistant capacity to a professor without the authority to determine the students' success or failure to meet course requirements does not meet this criterion. In additional to meeting the above IOR - applicants must also possess the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience - experience that equipped the applicant with particular knowledge - skills and abilities to perform the duties of Education Program Specialist - and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable - specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-11) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience may include - but are not limited to: demonstrated experience designing - implementing - and evaluating professional training programs - ability to assess learning needs - develop curriculum - and facilitate engaging in-person and virtual training sessions for diverse employee groups - knowledge of adult learning principles - instructional design methodologies - and current trends in workplace learning and development - experience collaborating with cross-functional teams to align training initiatives with organization goals and enhance overall employee experience - excellent communication skills - presentation - and project management skills. 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/.
Duties
The Education Program Specialist (EPS) is responsible for initiating - planning - coordinating - delivering and evaluating education programs/projects that support the professional development of staff at Ralph H. Johnson Health Care System and associated community based outpatient clinics. The EPS is supervised by Chief of Employee Experience.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 03/27/2026. 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-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. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the 1720 occupational series. Education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. All applicants must meet one of the following for this position: Degree: that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position to be filled - of which at least 9 semester hours must have been in education courses - OR Combination of education and experience -- at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position to be filled - of which at least 9 semester hours must have been in education courses - plus appropriate experience or additional education. OR Four years of experience that demonstrated a thorough understanding of the principles and practices underlying the work of this series. This experience must have been of such character and diversity to demonstrate that the applicant possesses an understanding of the field comparable to that normally acquired through successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university. OR At least 1 full academic year of professional teaching experience. This experience is defined as full and primary responsibility - under general supervision - for instruction of assigned students in an accredited school or institution. This includes responsibility for preparing and presenting lessons and for evaluating students' progress - including a determination of the students' success or failure according to established criteria. Serving in an assistant capacity to a professor without the authority to determine the students' success or failure to meet course requirements does not meet this criterion. In additional to meeting the above IOR - applicants must also possess the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience - experience that equipped the applicant with particular knowledge - skills and abilities to perform the duties of Education Program Specialist - and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable - specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-11) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience may include - but are not limited to: demonstrated experience designing - implementing - and evaluating professional training programs - ability to assess learning needs - develop curriculum - and facilitate engaging in-person and virtual training sessions for diverse employee groups - knowledge of adult learning principles - instructional design methodologies - and current trends in workplace learning and development - experience collaborating with cross-functional teams to align training initiatives with organization goals and enhance overall employee experience - excellent communication skills - presentation - and project management skills. 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/.
Duties
- Major duties of this position includes - but are not limited to: Develops innovative courses for diverse training programs
- This may include adapting or modifying current instructional material into appropriate course frameworks
- Instructs courses and program curricula with enduring resource materials
- Education may include a diverse spectrum and should include innovative teaching strategies - tools - theory that are designed for individual learning needs or broad target audiences Organizes - illustrates - advertises - and communicates education opportunity throughout the medical center and Communicate Based-Outreach Clinics
- Independently performs courses evaluation by gathering - analyzing and trending pertinent data
- Develops and implements recommendations or designs program enhancements to optimize delivery for the intended target audience
- Develops - modifies - and adapts education delivery in response to various aspects such as individual learner needs - available materials - information - research - delivery modalities - logistics - regulatory and documentation requirements
- Formulates new or revised policy/standards covering professional development programs - activities - or functions for which Employee Experience Service has responsibility
- Plans and develops educational programs and/or projects where the program is of moderate size and complexity covering of one or more specific areas within the education program with support and close supervision
- Provides technical support - assistance and training to staff who need assistance with educational software and learning management systems
- This may include planning and delivery of customer support systems such as installation - configuration - troubleshooting - program assistance - training - system access in response to learner needs
- Coordinates educational program/project activities such as meetings - conferences - task groups - information gathering and contract negotiations
- Meets the needs of internal and external customers (employees - patients - and trainees)
- Utilizes various computer applications and software in the performance of duties - i.e
- MS-Excel - Access - Visio - Publisher - Outlook - InfoPath - Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) - Veterans Health Information System Technology Architecture (VisTA) and Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and public related education and resource websites
- Performs other duties as assigned
- Work Schedule: 7:30am - 4:00pm - Monday - Friday (subject to change based on the needs of the organization) Telework: This position may be authorized for telework (ad hoc only)
- Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process
- Virtual: This is not a virtual position
- Position Description/PD#: Education Program Specialist/PD019360 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Salary : $89,508 - $116,362