Health System Specialist - Activations Coordinator

This Health Systems Specialist position is in the Executive Director service at the VA Maine Healthcare Systems, located at the Augusta, ME location. This is a Full-time position.

The Health System Specialist (Activations Coordinator) provides guidance on projects for the VISN 1 VA Healthcare System. The incumbent is responsible for project execution, plans and implementation for health system wide projects.

Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Responsible for the end-to-end project delivery efforts.
• Accountable and responsible for all phases of a project from inception to closure including scoping, planning, launching, monitoring, controlling and closing.
• Business case development.
• Developing governance structure for projects.
• Oversight of project status and project status reporting.
• Develop and execute resource management plans.
• Monitoring to keep projects on budget within identified standards.
• Responsible for risk identification, resolution and escalating as required through proper channels.
• Deliver timely project health and performance dashboards including performance/outcome metrics.
• Create, maintain and communicate as appropriate project risk and issue logs.
• Build and lead effective interdisciplinary and cross-functional project teams.
• Establish and facilitate regular project team meetings.
• Document and file project level lessons learned.
• Provides in-depth analysis, best practice models, and creative quality project techniques.
• Responsible for planning program strategies, monitoring performance, developing initiatives and writing directives for health care system wide implementation.
• Interpret the laws, regulations, policies and guidelines governing the health care delivery system.
• Potential projects include priorities deployed at the Veteran Integrated Service Network (VISN) or national level:
• Examples include but are not limited to access, patient flow, admissions, discharges, transfers (ADT), registration, enrollment, eligibility, outpatient scheduling, self-service applications, pre-registration, Veterans Identification Card (VIC), Human Resources (HR), Compensation and Pension Examinations (C&P), beneficiary travel, timeliness, efficiencies, and cost effectiveness of projects.
• Other projects as assigned by the Executive leadership including ad hoc projects involving VISN and VA Central Office.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:00 - 3:30pm
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health System Specialist - Activations Coordinator/PD03328A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required.

Notifications:

• Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• This position is not a Bargaining Unit position.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's.
• Selectee may be required to work at any VISN 1 Healthcare System campus, as needed.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/23/2026.

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.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• 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: 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: (1) Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; (2) Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and (3) Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. At this level, applicants would have obtained this experience working within a health care setting, working directly with health care system administration and finance services to solve problems in support of policy compliance and program/operational functions. NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must clearly indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary, although some physical effort may be required, e.g., walking, standing, carrying light items such as manuals or briefcases, or driving or traveling by motor vehicle. Incumbent must have the ability to work within an environment of conflicting deadlines and shifting priorities. Incumbent may be required to work evenings and weekends, as well as perform infrequent overnight travel to meetings and conferences.

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/.

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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.