Health System Specialist Associate Director of Operations

Duties include but are not limited to:

Executive Level Staff Assistant and Program Coordination - 35%

• Provides high-level coordination and administrative support for the service lines under the assigned ADs purview which may include but are not limited to: Business Office Logistics Safety Police Services Healthcare Technology Management Facilities Management Services Environmental Services Fiscal Nutrition and Food Service Prosthetics Veterans Canteen Services Center for Development and Civic Engagement Privacy/FOIA System Redesign Office of Information and Technology High Reliability Organization Human Resources Public Affairs and Congressional Liaison.
• Coordinates assignments tracks progress and ensures alignment with applicable policies and executive priorities.
• Facilitates team huddles and ensures consistent communication of executive priorities across assigned service lines.
• Ensures compliance with VA/VHA policy privacy and regulatory standards.

Health System Operations Management and Planning - 20%

• Operational Integration & Readiness: Designs and coordinates enterprise operating rhythms (leadership huddles governance councils dashboards) that align service execution with AD Resources/AD Operations priorities and the DMCDs intent.
• Authority: Recommends reallocations within approved ceilings; drafts justifications for unfunded requirements (UFRs) and unfunded capital requests; coordinates with Fiscal/Budget to align proposals with financial policy.
• Issue Resolution: Triages and resolves complex patient staff and stakeholder escalations (congressional VISN VACO). Authors executive correspondence and position statements with data validation and legal/FOIA awareness.
• Investigations & Culture: Chairs or participates in fact-finding and Administrative Boards of Investigation as assigned. Serves as Employee Engagement Coordinator; administers AES activities develops action plans and conducts pulse checks.

Health Care System Strategic Planning - 20%

• Strategy Development: Facilitates multiyear operational plans aligned to facility VISN and national priorities (access quality/safety equity high reliability modernization). Converts strategy into executable annual operating plans AOPs) with key performance indicators (KPls) and accountable owners.
• Growth & Capital Projects: Coordinates business cases and stakeholder engagement for CBOC expansions lease/space planning equipment standardization and replacement medical center planning.

Communications Information Coordination and Data Analysis - 25%

• Performance Analytics: Develops integrated dashboards and analytic products using tools such as DSS VSSC Pyramid/ProClarity Power Bl SAIL Symphony EHCPM IPEC STOP codes and workload/staffing models.
• Decision Support: Translates complex data into executive insights and options with operational fiscal and risk implications; crafts decision memoranda with courses of action (COA analyses and recommendation rationales.
• Stand-In Authority: May be requested to stand in for the Associate Director(s to which assigned exercising delegated decision-making authority on operational resource and administrative matters within established guidelines and ceilings.
• Liaison Functions: Serves as the primary coordination point between the AD offices and VISNN ACO program offices on assigned matters.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist - Associate Director of Operations/PD266590
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public determining if your employment advances the public interest we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification in writing that your continued employment advances the public interest.

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 08/03/2026.

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-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 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.

Preferred Experience:

• Experience 3 years in health system administration or operations within a large complex healthcare organization preferably the VA or another integrated delivery system.
• Experience providing executive level support e.g. chief of staff senior analyst executive assistant to hospital or system leadership involving coordination across multiple clinical and administrative service lines. Experience developing and using performance dashboards and analytics Power Bl DSS VSSC or comparable tools to support executive decision making.
• Experience supporting accreditation regulatory surveys or inspections The Joint Commission OIG GARF OSHA etc. including development and tracking of corrective action plans.
• Experience leading or contributing to health system strategic or operational planning including multi year plans annual operating plans and business cases for capital or space projects Experience using structured process improvement and analytical methods e.g. Lean Six Sigma demand capacity modeling workflow redesign to resolve complex operational issues.
• Experience functioning in an Incident Command System or similar emergency management structure in a healthcare environment.
• Experience handling sensitive or high visibility issues and stakeholder escalations including interactions with senior leaders unions congressional offices or community partners.

This occupational series has an Individual Occupational Requirement - for this series the following Basic Requirement must be met in addition to the Specialized Experience.

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 (for positions above GS-5): 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 individuals progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program.

In addition to the IOR you must meet the following specialized requirements:

GS-12 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: exercising expertise in clinical operations; providing access related consultive services to review and develop guidance and policies; reviewing and providing input on regulations and policies for local interpretation utilizing local group practice management and communication strategies; and implementing established action plans.

For more information on these qualification standards please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at

Required Experience:

Director