Health System Specialist

This Health System Specialist position is with Veterans Health Administration (Department of Veterans Affairs) in Phoenix, AZ. The Office of Sterile Processing (OSP) is responsible for providing mission critical operational guidance and oversight to Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers and the sterile processing staff on all matters related to the reprocessing of critical and semi-critical resuable medical devices (RMD). The Health System Specialist serves as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) evaluating and providing consultative guidance and analysis of RMD programs at the VISN and facility level. Key duties: • The Health System Specialist - Subject Matter Expert (SME) duties include, but are not limited to: Conducting administrative and technical evidence-based reviews of policy documents, issue briefs, peer review executive summaries, business cases and RMD reprocessing and storage documents for OSP concurrence Conducting administrative and technical reviews of issue briefs, peer review of report summaries, business cases, special reports and RMD reprocessing and storage documents for OSP concurrence Planning, coordinating and implementing virtual and onsite VA medical facility assessment of VISN and facility RMD programs Coordinating and preparing reports, briefing materials, white papers and other correspondence for OSP leadership Providing recommendations in support facility level action plans and goals based on site visit findings and data collection methodologies such as Sterile Processing Accountability Tool (SPAT), Risk Identification Triage Mitigation System (RiTMS), and point-in time studies (PIT) Project management responsibilities to include development of project management plans, statements of work, communication plans, business case reports, and implementation/evaluation plans Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00AM - 4:30PM CST Order of Referral: This announcement will close on 08/20/2026. The first 75 applications received will receive first consideration. Applications that are submitted after the initial cut-off number has been reached will not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management. Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This position may be authorized for Virtual Work. Virtual Work eligibility is for current VA employees that are already subject to the return to in person work mandate and highly qualified candidates with assigned space to work in-person from an agency worksite. Definition of Virtual Work: Employee works outside of original hiring duty station at a VA-owned or leased space. Return to Office (RTO): RTO mandates are in effect and selectees will be required to report to in-person work unless they are approved for an exception or an exemption. Any approval for an RTO exception, exemption, or extension will happen after a tentative job offer, but before a final job offer. Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist/PD47669A 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, 08/21/2026. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This occupational series has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR). Individual Occupational Requirements (IORs) are requirements e.g., experience or education, for particular occupational series or positions within a series and are used in conjunction with a group coverage (generic) standard. This position's IOR is: Education: To qualify for the Health System Specialist position, you must possess an Undergraduate or Graduate degree in 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 the Basic Requirements identified above, you must also meet the Minimum Qualifications stated below. GS-11 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Providing support to sterile processing and reusable medical device (RMD) programs at the facility and/or VISN level; Working with computer applications including word processing, spreadsheets, databases and presentation software; Reviewing reports, policies, memorandums, and briefing materials for accuracy and dissemination; and Supporting the development of project management plans for a facility or VISN. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-11 level. Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree.. Major study must be in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. Education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. OR, Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-11 level. Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first two (2) years of graduate education leading towards a doctorate degree. (i.e., 2.5 years of progressive graduate education leading towards a doctorate degree would meet 50% of the qualifications requirement for this vacancy.) To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-XX. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Information related to the GS-12 and 13 grade levels can be found under the Education section of this announcement. 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/. View the full announcement and apply on USAJOBS.gov.