Program Specialist

Summary

This position is located in Patient Administration Service (PAS), of the Edward Hines VA Hospital. The primary purpose of this position is to serve as the integral link between the Medical Support Assistants and PAS in providing oversight, support, evaluation and tailored training as it is related to scheduling responsibilities and appointment management. The incumbent is responsible for performing appointment audits and other reviews for schedulers throughout the facility.

Duties

The incumbent develops, modifies and administers training programs for the scheduling staff and supervisors throughout the facility and tailors training for local needs and specific areas. In this capacity, the incumbent coordinates orientation activities and prepares material to educate new and experienced scheduling employees with the organization's mission, structure, history, objectives and policies of scheduling and high-level customer service. He/she develops, reviews, analyzes, implements, and conducts training based on facility needs and performs analysis of audit findings related to access to care, scheduling, consult management, insurance capture, recall reminders, return to clinic orders, open encounters, and clinic profile management. On a continuing basis, the incumbent assesses training and education efforts to determine the effectiveness of the training program while keeping abreast of any changes or updates to directives related to scheduling. The incumbent provides management with periodic reports on the status of the training and an analysis of the effectiveness and capacity of the training program in achieving agency objectives and policies. The incumbent modifies annual training plans to stay within the guidelines established by VHA regulations and top management to meet training objectives. The incumbent provides detailed guidance to staff concerning scheduling procedures. The incumbent works with supervisors, managers and service chiefs to resolve discrepancies or conflicts with established schedulers training. The incumbent provides consultation and assistance in implementation of performance improvement activities. The incumbent participates in all phases of training, developmental planning, implementation and evaluation and serves as the point of contact for routine development and one-on-one training matters. He/she incorporates training material and guidance prepared at the national level and develops and modifies procedures, courses, training guides and plans, and seeks alternative training sources when appropriate for local needs. The incumbent prepares internal office instructions governing local training development programs and works with all facility staff to identify and develop continuing education programs for facility quality improvement. He/she conducts formal and informal in-service and continuing education programs based on identified needs and provides training to all staff with the ability to schedule, coordinate and utilize appropriate teaching aids when applicable. The incumbent reviews, analyzes and evaluates training courses and programs to assess their quality and effectiveness and follows up on training to determine successful completion of courses. The incumbent ensures all assigned training and development needs meet the requirements of VHA guidance. The incumbent ensures all assigned training and development needs meet the requirements of VHA guidance. Develops facility training plans and schedules monthly, annual trainings, reflected on a calendar including course, date, time and locations. Participates in facility, VISN and national committees along with the Patient Administration Service in representing the facility on topics such as, but not limited to, scheduling programs, access to care, consult management, clinic practice management and data support. Monitors facility wide master list for scheduling. The incumbent provides assessments of scheduling processes through a standardized auditing mechanism. He/she conducts extensive reviews and analysis of data from diverse sources, assembles information, and develops reports or presentations. This monitoring requires an extensive knowledge of administrative practices and polices within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The incumbent plays an integral role in auditing, monitoring, and systems integrity. The incumbent must manage, advise or perform internal audits of scheduling activities and issue reports of audits that describe findings and recommended corrective actions. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm, Tour of duty may vary based on the needs of the service. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist / PD18218O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, VHA applicants must meet all requirements within (30 days) of the closing date of this announcement. 11/09/2026. MOST CURRENT NON-AWARDSF-50 (YEAR 2026) MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH YOUR APPLICATION PACKAGE. FAILURE TO DO SO MAY DISQUALIFY YOU FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION. The incumbent has knowledge and experience with VHA scheduling directives and policy. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: NOTE: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE MUST BE WELL DOCUMENTED IN YOUR RESUME. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL DISQUALIFY YOU FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION. 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Communication and interpersonal relations including the ability to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers. Maintenance of confidentiality of patient/employee information, electronic and print. The medical centers Performance Improvement Program. How to work and function in the medical center in a safe manner, including infection control and the correct operation of equipment. Skill in applying analytical and evaluative techniques to identification and resolution of issues or problems as they are related to scheduling procedures and audits, workload, compliance with VHA guidelines, accurate data capture. Knowledge of Medical center goals and objectives and expert knowledge of scheduling directives and provisions related to access to care, computer based systems to perform systematic reviews of information and data, run specialized reports, ensure competency of scheduling procedures, provide appropriate supervisors with recommendations for performance improvement and tailor training to specific needs. Ability to design, develop, modify and evaluate training presentations, plans, instructions, materials and aids. This includes the ability to coordinate with the facility Education Department and other facility subject matter experts and incorporate and/or modify information and training from the national office. Demonstrated skill in oral and written communication with a variety of people from different backgrounds and differe