Health System Specialist

This position serves as a Health System Specialist supporting the Specialty Care Integrated Clinical Community within Veterans Integrated Service Network 15. The incumbent provides specialized analytical, advisory, and operational support to a broad network of specialty care services across multiple medical facilities, directly supporting leadership at the network and national levels.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/10/2026.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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 Requirement (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series and it is something that can't be waived. To qualify for the GS 0671 occupational series, applicants MUST possess one of the following:

• Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Undergraduate or graduate education in a major field of study hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields, such as business or public administration, with course work in health care administration. (A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing your qualifications on education). OR,
• Specialized Experience: 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:
  • Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems;
  • Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and
  • Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. OR,
• Special Provision for Inservice Placement: Completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program, which included a formal individualized training plan. The training program should have been performed 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 IOR, you may qualify based on your specialized experience as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: 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:
  • Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems;
  • Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and
  • Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement.

Preferred Experience: Prior Health System Specialist experience.

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:

The position requires deep knowledge of Veterans Health Administration health care delivery systems, governance structures, and performance management frameworks. The incumbent is responsible for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting complex health care data and translating findings into actionable recommendations for senior leadership. A significant component of the role involves coordinating and supporting governance committees, tracking compliance with national directives, and managing high-priority suspenses from the national to the facility level.

The Health System Specialist actively contributes to national programs and initiatives, providing network-level data and operational insights that directly inform national program design, policy decisions, and care delivery improvements across the Veterans Health Administration. The position prepares and presents executive-level briefings, supports clinical restructuring and resource allocation reviews, and mentors specialty care service leads across the network.

This role requires exceptional communication, project management, and analytical skills, and the ability to work independently across a complex, multi-facility health care enterprise to advance the delivery of high-quality care to Veterans.

Duties include but not limited to:

• Provides program oversight for assigned functions and initiatives, ensuring proper implementation, monitoring key data, and taking timely action to achieve targeted outcomes.
• Collaborates creatively and strategically with VISN 15 and VACO colleagues to design, develop, and implement innovative initiatives that enhance patient care quality, access, and operational efficiency.
• Serves as a representative of the Chief Medical Officer on Network-level issues, coordinating with personnel to meet national mandates and performance expectations.
• Performs administrative management duties directly supporting a health care delivery system, applying specialized principles of health care management to guide and support operational functions.
• Provides comprehensive staff assistance on administrative matters affecting patient care, education, research, and organizational policy.
• Supports senior Network leadership in planning, organizing, developing, directing, and evaluating Network office operations.
• Provides resource allocation guidance, including analysis and recommendations regarding organizational funds, staffing distribution, and operational needs.
• Directs services to prepare funding, staffing, equipment, and space requests to meet immediate and future operational requirements.
• Prepares and submits special studies, data analyses, and project reports to the Chief Medical Officer within required timeframes.
• Initiates and justifies budget requests for physicians and other clinical resources based on future needs, workload demands, past performance, and efficiency considerations.
• Conducts staff support work in short- and long-range planning, ensuring compliance with annual and cyclic planning directives and consolidating inputs from subordinate units.
• Administers and manages the planning process for assigned programs, ensuring synchronization with Network and agency goals.
• Analyzes and evaluates program effectiveness using qualitative and quantitative methods, assessing performance against short- and long-range objectives.
• Compiles final evaluation reports, identifies discrepancies, and recommends corrective or improvement actions.
• Establishes administrative controls to ensure timely completion of required remedial actions.
• Identifies Network-wide issues requiring new or revised policies or procedures and elevates them to senior leadership for action.
• Ensures timely responses and decisions on requests within the Network and VACO, tracking progress and resolving delays that impact critical operations.
• Maintains current awareness of resource availability and provides recommendations for distribution or redistribution based on changing program needs.
• Develops, implements, monitors, and adjusts operational plans to achieve mission requirements in a cost-effective and efficient manner within budget constraints.
• Provides leadership in determining resource requirements across assigned organizational elements and adjusts allocations when program needs shift.
• Designs and implements systems, processes, and procedures to improve cost-effectiveness, productivity, and operational outcomes.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm
Telework: This position may be authorized ad-hoc telework at managers discretion.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD104750
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Salary : $106,437