Health System Specialist

Summary The incumbent serves as a Health Systems Specialist (HSS) to the Associate Director of Patient Care Service (ADPCS) at the Syracuse VA Medical Center (Syracuse VAMC). The incumbent is a principal advisor to the ADPCS, responsible for a wide range of responsibilities, and actively involved in operational issues and strategic planning for the health care system. Responsibilities Administration Support for Patient Care, Education, Research and Organizational Policy The incumbent provides a full range of support to the ADPCS and other facility leaders, such as members of the Pentad, on administrative matters affecting patient care, education, research, and organizational policy. The incumbent must apply a broad and intensive knowledge of general principles of administration and management and specific and thorough knowledge of VHA and Syracuse VAMC policies, procedures, practices, and precedents. The incumbent develops and maintains effective personal relationships with staff at all levels of the organization to insure cooperation and accomplishment of facility goals and objectives. The incumbent advises the ADPCS on all administrative matters including budget, staffing, equipment, space, and policy and is responsible for identifying and resolving complex problems related to facility operations. Administrative Management/Data Management/Analysis/Committee Management The HSS utilizes advanced knowledge of VHA databases such as, VSSC, EDIS, BMS, VistA, VATAS, and DSS in order to complete analyses of the Syracuse VAMC, particularly as it relates to Patient Care Services. The HSS independently accesses these databases to analyze data pertinent to nursing operations, such as nursing turnover rates, vacancy rates, workload indicators (e.g. ADC, BDOC, nursing unit turbulence rates, visits, etc.), patient flow indicators, emergency department wait times, staffing ratios (i.e. nursing hours per patient day), operating room efficiency metrics and pertinent cost data (e.g. nursing salaries, overtime, etc.). The incumbent must also be familiar with external data sources commonly used throughout the healthcare community, such as salary surgery tools to ensure the maintenance of competitive nursing salaries at the Syracuse VAMC. Supervision Responsible for the supervision of the Nurse Recruiter PSA, the Nursing PSA, and the two Nursing Timekeepers. Makes recommendations for promotions, reassignments and awards; and conducts semi-annual and annual performance reviews. Assists subordinate staff with performance issues as necessary; schedules and grants leave; and monitors overtime usage. Resolves informal complaints and grievances, discusses corrective actions with employees, and recommends appropriate disciplinary and/or adverse action. Responsible for the hiring and successful transitioning of new hires into the position by communicating performance elements and standards with applicable timeframes, providing ongoing feedback, coaching, and making appropriate use of the probationary period to assess the employees ability to perform. Develops the ability of subordinate staff and others as appropriate to perform and contribute to the organization through coaching, mentoring, providing ongoing feedback, and by granting opportunities to learn through formal and informal methods. Equipment Procurement/Contract Management The incumbent stays abreast of the latest available technology and equipment available to healthcare organizations and makes recommendations for the purchase of this equipment as it relates to the delivery of efficient, high-quality care at the Syracuse VAMC. The incumbent is knowledgeable of the life cycle of Patient Care Services equipment and ensures that recommendations are made to replace equipment before the useful life is exceeded. This includes a wide array of equipment which is critical to delivery of care; this includes beds, patient lifts, computer technology for documentation, IV pumps, nursing communication equipment, and diagnostic devices. The incumbent will oversee contracts related to nursing, and for managing nursing specific contracts such as a nursing agency contract which provides contract nursing personnel from multiple vendors. Personnel Management Effective management of Patient Care Services personnel levels is of critical importance to the operation of the Syracuse VAMC. The incumbent is responsible for developing/monitoring staffing plans, monitoring vacancies, and taking action to make corrections in the staffing of Patient Care Services, which represents approximately 650 FTE. Effective management of these resources requires utilization of nationally recognized standards for staffing healthcare organizations, such as the National Database for Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI), VA staffing benchmarks from the Office of Nursing Services, and various professional associations such as the Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN), the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), etc. Work Schedule: 06:00-14:30 Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD11033O Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) – See “Additional Information” below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/08/2024. 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. 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-11 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 supporting the ADPCS and other facility leaders, such as members of the Pentad, on administrative matters affecting patient care, education, research, and organizational policy; Extensive knowledge of general principles of administration and management and specific and thorough knowledge of VHA and Syracuse VAMC policies, procedures, practices, and precedents; Experience developing and maintaining effective personal relationships with staff at all levels of the organization to insure cooperation and accomplishment of facility goals and objectives; Ability to utilize advanced knowledge of VHA databases such as, VSSC, EDIS, BMS, VistA, VATAS, and DSS in order to complete analyses of the Syracuse VAMC, particularly as it relates to Patient Care Services; Ability to supervise the Nurse Recruiter PSA, the Nursing PSA, and the two Nursing Timekeepers; and Experience making recommendations for promotions, reassignments and awards; and conducts semi-annual and annual performance reviews. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Analytical Thinking Control of Funds Interpersonal Skills Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Some walking, bending, and carrying of light office items is required. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements 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. 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/. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.