Supervisory Health System Specialist
North Chicago, IL - USA
Job Summary
OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincolns promise To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan - by serving and honoring the men and women who are Americas Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate care to Veterans
The Supervisory Health Systems Specialist for the Associate Director for Facility Support (ADFS) directly supports the ADFS in his/her duties in providing oversight to facility management and infrastructure operations including engineering construction health technology management (HTM) supply chain management (SCM) nutrition and food service (NFS) environmental management service (EMS) comprehensive environment of care (CEOC) safety prosthetic and other assigned support services. The position will be supervised by the ADFS. The Purpose of the position is to function as the Executive Assistant to the ADFS and as such has full delegated authority and responsibility for executive level management support to the ADFS and top management officials responsible for organizational development direction and evaluation of facility engineering and environmental operations.
Duties Include:
- Serves as subject matter expert in healthcare facility operations as they relate to the implementation and execution of construction engineering HTM SCM NFS EMS CEOC safety prosthetics and environment of care initiatives and programs and projects under the ADFS.
- Plans coordinates and integrates all assigned activities and performs critical program review and analysis across a broad spectrum of issues such as infrastructure strategic planning facility utilization construction phasing and personnel and budgetary impacts.
- Functions as a close personal assistant to the ADFS providing technical and administrative guidance and Assistance in various functional areas and augmenting the effective utilization of the Associate Directors time and expertise in relation to the multiple facilities and engineering services that report to the office.
- Is responsible for designated official correspondence prepared for the signature of the Associate Director and when appropriate can represent the Associate Director and/or facility at meetings and events related to facilities construction and environment of care.
- As a member of the directorate management team he incumbent has administrative decision making authority responsibility and accountability on issues affecting the office.
- The incumbent Collaborates with operations and program managers to ensure integrated goals and priorities for facility and infrastructure programs are met.
- The incumbent is knowledgeable of overall VHA Veteran Integrated Service Network (VISN) Health Service Area (HAS) FHCC and Department of War (DoW) goals missions and priorities to assure a positive impact on all facilities programs and resources.
- The incumbent may be designated as an Approving Official or Alternate Approving Official for fiscal related documents within the Directorate.
Work Schedule: (Monday-Friday) 7:15 am to 3:45 pm
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. (Ad-Hoc only)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Health System Specialist/PD253770
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
- You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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 identification 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)
- 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.
To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 10/08/2026.
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-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 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 and/or education as described below:
BASIC REQUIREMENTS: You must have one of the following:
EDUCATION: Undergraduate or Graduate Education with a major study in hospital administration public health administration or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration.
OR
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
Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond.
GS-13 GRADE REQUIREMENTS:
- Must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12) that has equipped you with the particular knowledge skills and abilities required to perform successfully the duties of the position and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled Specialized experience includes: 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 hospital performance improvement program and how to work and function in the Hospital in a safe manner including infection control and the correct operation of equipment. Comprehensive knowledge of the range of administrative laws policies regulations and precedents applicable to the administration of one or more important public programs. Knowledge of agency program goals and objectives the sequence and timing of key program events and milestones and methods of evaluating the worth of program accomplishments coupled with a comprehensive understanding of management and systems to conduct analytical studies and projects related to changes in the delivery of patient care throughout the enterprise. Skills to plan organize and direct team study work and to negotiate effectively with management to accept and implement recommendations where the proposals involve substantial agency resources require extensive changes in established procedures or may conflict with the desires of the activity studied. Skill in oral and written communication to prepare and present briefings convey recommendations to management staff and attend meetings conferences and ad hoc meetings.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
- Analytical Thinking
- Attention to Detail
- Critical Thinking
- Decision Making
- Information Management
- Interpersonal Skills
- Oral Communication
- Problem Solving
- Project Management
- Strategic Thinking
- Technology Application
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 sedentary. It occasionally requires carrying of light objects such as files books and papers; some walking standing and bending. No special physical qualifications are required.
For more information on these qualification standards please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at
There is no educational substitution at this grade level.
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
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: 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:
Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
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.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government passionate about the ideals of our American republic and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Required Experience:
Manager