Pharmacist (Pharmacy Supervisor - Specialists)

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

The VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS) has an immediate opening for a GS-13 Pharmacy Supervisor of highly trained Specialty Clinical Pharmacy Specialists. This supervisor performs the full complement of supervisory functions for 13.0 FTEE GS-13 Clinical Pharmacy Specialists in the areas of Psychiatry, Pain Management, Substance Use Disorder, Harm Reduction, Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC), Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and TeleHealth. Along with the Pharmacy Supervisor for the Anticoagulation and Patient-Aligned Care Team (PACT) clinics, this position reports directly to the Pharmacy Associate Chief of Primary Care and Specialists.

The VAPAHCS pharmacy provides comprehensive clinical pharmacy services to our 300-bed Acute Care hospital division, the 350-bed Menlo Park CLC, and Ambulatory Care clinics in Palo Alto Division and San Jose, Monterey, Livermore, and Fremont CBOCs within VAPAHCS.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Supervisory performance elements include; Leading Change (leading section strategic plan of priority goals, DMS huddles, Standard Operating Procedures, and Gemba walks), Leading People (leading section All Employee Survey action plan, professional development plans, and human resource management), Business Acumen (leading section resource review, medication error review/follow-up, survey readiness), Building Coalitions (leading section DMS problem solving with stakeholders, local/VISN committee participation, customer service action plans), Results Driven (section Key Performance Indicators tracked on bowling charts), and Whistleblower Protections (ensuring completion of required trainings).
• Works collaboratively with interdisciplinary specialty teams in Behavioral Health, Pain Management and HBPC to provide clinical pharmacy support and promote interdisciplinary programs.
• Works collaboratively with the Pharmacy Supervisor of PACT/Anticoagulation in providing consistency in clinical practice, coverage of overlapping clinical responsibilities, meeting administrative bookability and productivity requirements and promoting clinical pharmacy services.
• Effectively manages operational and programmatic issues in a timely manner and assures compliance with all applicable laws, VHA regulations, Joint Commission standards, as well as VAPAHCS and Pharmacy Service policies and procedures.
• Ensures accountability among staff in meeting performance standards by establishing and monitoring results-oriented performance measures and addressing deficits in a timely manner.
• Provides staff development through coaching, mentoring and supporting opportunities for learning. Promotes staff involvement in precepting pharmacy students and residents.
• Fosters strong working relationships within the pharmacy sections and promotes collaborative working relationships with services outside of pharmacy.

VA Careers - Pharmacy: https://youtube.com/embed/Fn_ickNBEws

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 101718F
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
EDRP Authorized: Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive. Contact v21ccoeedrp@va.gov, the EDRP Coordinator for questions/assistance. Learn more
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

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:
  • (1) Graduate of an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited College or School of Pharmacy with a baccalaureate degree in pharmacy (BS Pharmacy) and/or a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. Verification of approved degree programs may be obtained from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, Illinois 60602-5109; phone: (312) 664-3575, or through their Web site at: http://www.acpe-accredit.org/.

TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH APPLICATION

• (NOTE: Prior to 2005 ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree program. Today the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy.)
• (2) Graduates of foreign pharmacy degree programs meet the educational requirement if the 2 graduate is able to provide proof of achieving the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Commission (FPGEC) Certification, which includes passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet Based Test (TOEFL iBT)

TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH APPLICATION

• Licensure: Full, current and unrestricted license to practice pharmacy in a State, Territory, Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or the District of Columbia. The pharmacist must maintain current registration if this is a requirement for maintaining full, current, and unrestricted licensure. A pharmacist who has, or has ever had, any license(s) revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited, or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section B, paragraph 16.

YOU MUST SUBMIT A COPY OF CURRENT LICENSE WITH THE APPLICATION PACKAGE

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).
Grandfathering Provision: All licensed pharmacists employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education and licensure/certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:

• (1) Employees grandfathered into the GS-660 occupational series may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
• (2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/certification/registration, that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
• (3) If a licensed pharmacist who was retained under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.

Grade Determinations: GS-13 Pharmacy Supervisor

(a) Experience. In addition to the basic requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.

(b) Assignments. Candidates at this grade level are to be in one of the assignments listed below. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

(c) Pharmacy Supervisor. Responsible for the professional and administrative management of an assigned area in pharmacy service, to include budgetary execution. Such individuals have responsibilities for supervising multiple pharmacists and technicians. Manages people, maintains effective interdepartmental relations, and cooperates with other services to accomplish the medical facility's mission and goals. Develops performance standards, assures that the program area is compliant with all regulatory and accrediting body requirements, designs and implements orientation and training programs for staff, and develops and maintains systems to monitor the performance of staff activities. Develops policies and procedures relative to their assigned area. Pharmacists assigned to this position must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• Ability to effectively supervise subordinate staff.
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
• Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards pertaining to pharmacy.
• Skill in managing people or programs

Preferred Experience: Ideal candidate should have work experience as a Pharmacy Supervisor of specialized pharmacy clinicians in psychiatry or pain management, as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in a clinic setting, or completion of a PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency and ideally a PGY-2 Psychiatry or Pain or Health System Administration Residency. The candidate should have strong clinical pharmacy knowledge and have proven experience in developing, implementing, and assessing clinical programs and/or projects for pharmacy.

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.

Physical Requirements: Work is generally sedentary. Typically, the Pharmacist sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items such as papers, books, small pieces of equipment and supplies, or driving an automobile. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

IMPORTANT: 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: 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.