Health Systems Specialist (Associate Group Practice Manager)

The primary purpose of the position is to provide assistance and support to the Ambulatory Care Operations Director (ACOD) / Group Practice Manager (GPM) and to all ambulatory care services in the facility and related Community Based Outpatient Clinics as it relates to access to care as applicable. The incumbent is responsible for Primary Care, Mental Health, Surgery, Medicine or Ancillary ambulatory clinics oversight and integration into an efficient Clinic Practice Management (CPM) model.

Duties include, but not limited to:

• Provides access related consultative services, working in collaboration with facility Service Lines, to review and develop guidance and policies that will facilitate standardized processes within the facility and applicable CBOCs, etc.
• Review and provide input on regulations and policies for local interpretation, utilizing local group practice management and communication strategies.
• Reviews and evaluates assigned processes and procedures to determine areas of effectiveness, efficiency, and improvement for proposal through local GPM group and supervisor.
• Proposes improvements to supervisor regarding national training curriculum for onboarding and sustainment activities.
• Works with Veteran Experience Officers within the local facility to evaluate patient and family concerns regarding the access to services needed.
• Implements process improvement and training opportunities that support frontline employees in providing predictable, consistent and comfortable customer service experiences for Veterans, their caregivers and beneficiaries.
• Promotes consistent communication plans with clinic teams relating to the plan of action in accordance with the Veterans experience data.
• Incumbent utilizes advanced principles and strategies for access improvement to review and provide recommendations to Clinical Leads (CLs), including identifying strategies to reduce backlog. Monitors existing or emerging workflow issues; monitors consult management issues and provide guidance to CLs and Administrative Leads (ALs) when required. Monitors Information Technology (IT) usage and issues and provide information or assistance to CLs as needed.
• Assists clinic managers in forecasting the impact of staff changes and developing countermeasures to mitigate the effect of staff shortages on access to care.
• Provides administrative program advice for ambulatory care clinical support services.
• Monitors profile indicators to help eliminate issues with backlogs (including Recall Delinquency, Past Due Return To Clinic Orders, and Open Consults), Missed Opportunity Rates, Wait Times or Community Care options.
• Acts as a liaison or point person for communications with persons and/or groups internal or external to the facility, representing Group Practice Management on clinical access issues.
• Establishes and maintain good relations with various groups and organizations, including other medical centers, medical societies, medical schools, colleges and universities, accrediting agencies, public health officials and organizations, volunteer work groups, and the community at large.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 0800-1630
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Systems Specialist (Associate Group Practice Manager)/PD99865S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/16/2026.

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 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.

INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT: Positions in the occupational series 0671 MUST MEET 1 of the following:

• Possess an Undergraduate or Graduate degree with a major field of study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration.

OR;

• Possess 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;

• 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.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

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: 1-Perform market analysis, conduct internal/external comparative audits, monitor utilization rates and make sound recommendations based on findings in VSSC. 2-Gather data and monitor workflow of clinical productivity and efficiency and make recommendations for enhancement/ improvement. 3-Analyze problems and use sound judgment to identify solutions that meet the overall mission of facility. 4-Develop data management procedures and systems that produce accurate reporting of expense/revenue and workload. 5-Support the GPM in the development, implementation, and tracking of short-term and long-term clinic business plans.

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/.

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/.

• 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
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's 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)

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 interest. In 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.