Program Specialist

This Program Specialist position is with Veterans Health Administration (Department of Veterans Affairs) in Phoenix, AZ. The incumbent serves as the Program Specialist for Psychiatry at the Phoenix VA Health Care System in Phoenix, AZ. This individual assists the Psychiatry Service and Administrative Officer in coordinating day-to-day operations to support the delivery of mental health care. The incumbent also provides backup coverage to other areas of Psychology, as deemed appropriate by the Chief of Psychiatry and/or the Administrative Officer. Key duties: • 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. Duties may include, but are not limited to: Work closely with academic affiliates to ensure that residents, students, and interns complete the required documentation and training in a timely manner. Provides backup timekeeper coverage for Psychiatry and Psychology. Provides backup coverage for labor mapping for Psychiatry and Psychology. Provides backup coverage for Psychiatry suspense item tracking. Serve as the primary PIV sponsor for Psychiatry and as an alternate for Psychology. Assists with clinic profile setup and modification requests. Responsible for purchasing supplies and services using a Government Purchase Card and for the timely and accurate reconciliation of purchase card orders. Incumbent will also Functions as backup purchase card holder for other fund control points within Psychiatry and back up for the Psychology Service. Assists with clinic profile setup and modification requests. Coordinates meetings, and arranges for space, room configuration, completes minutes, agendas, and other administrative details. Assists with other administrative functions such as coping and faxing. Provides backup coverage for TMS administrative duties which includes monitoring completion of staff training. Provides backup coverage for travel and training requests for Psychiatry and Psychology. Work Schedule: Schedule will be discussed during interview. Telework: Not Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD11125-A 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, 09/04/2026. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. 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. GS-07: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Obtaining and interpreting data; conducting research as necessary for various projects; data collection and analysis and preparation of reports and/or presentations; maintains calendars, coordinates meetings, manages meeting documentation and related administrative tasks. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 1 full year of graduate level education or Superior academic achievement. (Transcripts are required). Degree must be relevant to the position to be filled OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels specified in the table, and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. (Transcripts are required). The education and experience must be directly related to the work of the position to be filled. GS-09: 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: Acts as a purchase card holder, responsible for initiating, processing, and reconciling purchases in accordance with organizational policies and procedures; uses qualitative and quantitative analysis methods to identify and solve complex issues, develop reports, and assess program goals; applies management techniques to evaluate work efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity; troubleshoots computer systems for staff and translates variable data into usable information. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related (Transcripts are required). Degree must be relevant to the position to be filled. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels specified in the table, and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9. (Transcripts are required) The education and experience must be directly related to the work of the position to be filled. 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, although some slight physical effort may be required. 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.