Health System Specialist - Executive Assistant to the HSA Executive Director

Summary

There are three VISN 4 Health System Specialist vacancies: 1) Health Systems Specialist to HSA Director 4.1; 2) Health Systems Specialist to HSA Director 4.2; 3) Health Systems Specialist to HSA Director 4.3, providing expert-level analysis and program management across the full scope of the assigned portfolio.

Duties

Duties include but are not limited to: Serves as a principal advisor and executive-level liaison to the HSA Executive Director on complex, multi-facility health care administration, operations, and program-management issues. Leads HSA-wide initiatives and coordinates activities among VHA, VISN, HSA, medical center, and program-office leadership to achieve operational, clinical, quality, safety, and strategic objectives. Conducts complex management studies, program evaluations, data analyses, and special projects; develops findings, recommendations, performance measures, corrective actions, and solutions with HSA-, VISN-, or national-level impact. Applies system redesign, process improvement, change-management, and organizational-analysis methods to address operational problems and improve the effectiveness, efficiency, quality, safety, and timeliness of health care services. Advises leadership on human capital, financial management, resource allocation, strategic planning, capital planning, quality management, procurement and logistics, environment of care, and field operations. Represents the HSA Executive Director in high-level meetings and engagements; coordinates responses to sensitive or high-visibility issues involving senior leadership, oversight organizations, legislative or Congressional inquiries, and external stakeholders. Reviews and prepares executive correspondence, reports, briefings, decision documents, and management information used to support governance, policy development, resource decisions, and operational performance. Interprets VA and VHA policies, regulations, directives, and strategic priorities; identifies policy gaps and recommends organizational, procedural, or policy changes affecting multiple facilities. Supports the HSA Executive Director's Office through performance-management tracking, executive assignment coordination, governance support, decision documentation, and other administrative and operational functions. Work Schedule: Employees are required to work the regular business hours and applicable core hours of the Health Service Area (HSA) to which they are assigned. Work schedules will be aligned with the time zone(s) served by the assigned HSA and may differ from the employee's local time zone. Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist - Executive Assistant to the HSA Executive Director/PD0017VS Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/28/2026. 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-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13. 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 Requirements (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series. To qualify for the GS 0671 occupational series, applicants MUST possess one of the following: 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: 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: 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 may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-13 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: experience leading or coordinating enterprise- or network-level health care administration and management-analysis programs; advising senior executives on complex, multi-facility operational issues; interpreting and applying health care policy and regulatory requirements; conducting comprehensive studies and data analyses; developing strategic plans, performance measures, and corrective actions; implementing process improvement, system redesign, or change-management initiatives; coordinating resources and actions across multiple facilities and program offices; preparing executive-level communications and briefings; and resolving sensitive, high-visibility issues involving quality, safety, operations, personnel, resources, oversight, or delivery of health care services. 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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universitie