Health System Specialist - Executive Assistant to the Regional Nursing Officer

Summary

There are three VISN 4 Health System Specialist vacancies: 1) Health System Specialist to the Regional Nursing Officer 4.1; 2) Health System Specialist to the Regional Nursing Officer 4.2; and 3) Health System Specialist to the Regional Nursing Officer 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 the RNO's principal management/administrative advisor and senior action officer for assigned regional and VISN priorities, independently integrating complex clinical, operational, administrative, and performance matters across the HSA and Health Care Systems. Leads cross-HSA and cross-facility implementation of assigned RNO initiatives and establishes mechanisms for monitoring performance, implementation reliability, risks, milestones, corrective actions, and outcomes. Integrates the RNO portfolio with related VISN and HSA priorities, including Connected Care, Telehealth, Sterile Processing, Informatics and EHRM. Leads development and implementation of regional standard work, governance mechanisms, performance-monitoring approaches, escalation pathways, and implementation tools designed to improve consistency, accountability, and reliability across multiple Health Care Systems. Represents the RNO, within delegated authority, in interactions with VISN executives, HSA Executives and leadership, Health Care System Directors and executive leaders, VHA Central Office representatives, Operations Center officials, and other internal and external stakeholders. 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 Regional Nursing Officer/PD0014VS Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved. 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, 10/27/2026. 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-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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education s described below: Health System Administration Series, 0671 Individual Occupational Requirements 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. 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. Specialized Experience GS-14: 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: Manages and/or prepares written analyses, briefings, and formal reports; Independently develops, interprets, and/or significantly modifies VISN-level programs, policies, and standardized delivery models; Develops and presents recommendations to senior executives; Develops and reviews executive correspondence, decision documents, reports, presentations and other products addressing complex clinical, operational, and organizational issues; and Provides expert analysis using qualitative and quantitative methods, program evaluation, organizational assessment, process improvement, system redesign, change management, risk assessment. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Site visits, meetings, briefings, and oversight activities may require walking, standing, bending, and carrying materials for portions of the workday. 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, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.