Occupational Therapist (Program Coordinator)

The Occupational Therapist (Program Coordinator) is responsible for leading, coordinating, facilitating and providing ongoing support to the VA Medical Center (VAMC) in the design and implementation of their respective innovation initiatives in support of the VHA Innovation Ecosystem.

The Occupational Therapist (Program Coordinator) duties include, but are not limited to:

• Demonstrates experience with and knowledge of the major issues, program goals and objectives, work processes, and clinical/administrative operations related to innovation within the medical center.
• Demonstrates experience with and knowledge of the laws, policies, regulations, and precedents applicable to VHA around design, intellectual property, innovation.
• Develops details plans, goals and objectives for the long-range implementation and administration on Innovators Network and medical center goals.
• Develops and executes a facility-wide communication plan in coordination with local Public Affairs to promote a culture of innovation i.e. presenting at employee town hall meetings, leadership briefings, or service line briefings.
• Conducts program evaluation, including monitoring and assessing awardee performance, and establishes performance measures of assessment of innovation impact and value to the organization.
• Execute the operating budget, prepares budget requests with justifications, and aligns resources to deliver sustained value to Veterans.
• Evaluates, plans and direct the program to ensure proper coordination of care within the local facility inclusive of regional/national stakeholders such as The Joint Commission, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), Universities, American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and VHA.
• Assists with special administrative projects such as strategic planning, performance improvement, and coordination and training of interdisciplinary team members.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: Ad-Hoc
Functional Statement #: 954150
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

In order to qualify for this position, you must meet the requirements below within 30 calendar days of the closing date listed on the announcement.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education and/or Experience Requirement: - You must meet at least one of the requirements below:
  1. Bachelor's degree in occupational therapy and two (2) years of experience as an occupational therapist (NOTE: The baccalaureate degree must be from an approved program prior to the AOTA January 1, 2005 decision that the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) would only accredit master or doctoral degree programs in occupational therapy); OR
  2. Bachelor's degree in occupational therapy and two (2) full years of graduate education in a related field (NOTE: The baccalaureate degree must be from an approved program prior to the AOTA January 1, 2005 decision that ACOTE would only accredit master or doctoral degree programs in occupational therapy); OR
  3. Master's Degree or higher in occupational therapy; OR
  4. Graduates of foreign occupational therapy programs meet the requirements if they have a current, full, active and unrestricted state license, to practice occupational therapy in a state, territory or Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or in the District of Columbia.
• Certification - You must must possess a current National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) certification as an OT.
• Licensure- Candidates must hold a full, current, and unrestricted license to practice occupational therapy in a State, Territory or Commonwealth of the United States, or the District of Columbia.

Grade Determination- GS-13: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met:
Education, Experience, and Licensure. Completion of one year of experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level and directly related to the position being filled.

Demonstrated KSA's- In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all the following KSAs:

• Knowledge of contemporary occupational therapy within specialty area to provide clinical guidance, training, or education for internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to set priorities, delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, and balance responsibilities.
• Ability to articulate and communicate the assignment, project, problem to be solved, actionable events, and objectives; as well as provide direction on work methods, practices and procedures in administration and/or education methodologies.
• Ability to monitor and report on the status and progress of work, evaluate the program to ensure that methods, deadlines and quality have been met, and ensure adjustments to the work process are in accordance with priorities.
• Ability to develop and coordinate treatment and/or educational programs within a concentrated field or specialty area, such as amputee, spinal cord injury, chronic pain, student clinical education/residency programming, polytrauma/traumatic or brain injury.
• Ability to effectively motivate and manage a clinical staff with widely divergent backgrounds, interests, and points of view.]

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Preferred Experience:

• Experience with VHA Innovations programs, including the VHA Innovation programs.
• Experience coordinating innovation initiatives; applying Human Centered Design and design-thinking methodologies
• Facilitating innovation training and workshops
• Evaluating program outcomes
• Collaborating with interdisciplinary stakeholders at the local, regional, and/or national level.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating, implementing or providing substantive program support or healthcare innovation initiative, including experience with innovation program goals, work processes, and clinical and/or administrative operations.
• Demonstrated experience supporting, coordinating, or leading a VHA Innovators Network program orcomparable healthcare innovation program, including implementation of innovation initiative, applicantion of Human- Centered Design/design thinking methodologies, program evaluation, facilitation of innovation training, and collaboration with mulidisciplinary stakeholders.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.

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.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.