Program Specialist

Summary

The Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS) is a Level 1a facility and ranks among a complex system in the VA serving the VA Sierra Pacific Network (VISN 21 ). The VAPAHCS offers a full range of comprehensive health care services including Dentistry, Geriatrics and Extended Care, Imaging, Medicine Services, Mental Health Services, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service, Primary Care, Radiation Oncology, Rehabilitation Services, Specialty Services, and Surgery.

Duties

• Major duties include but are not limited to: Serves as the point of contact for both outpatient and inpatient referrals requiring Telehealth services and is responsible for new Telehealth clinic set-up. Coordinates with clinic set up and monitoring of workload capture and issues for all Telehealth clinics and sites, to include interfacility workload. Develops programs and processes to ensure telehealth modalities are timely, efficient, and appropriate to the needs of the patient. Trains providers on the use of video telehealth (VTEL) equipment, and administratively supports clinic set-up for scheduling. Serves as an administrative point of contact for clinical and scheduling aspects of Connected Care applications, encounters and consults. Troubleshoots and determines problems with any connectivity issues relating to video teleconferencing equipment and directs the efforts to resolution. Completes special projects as directed by the Clinical Telehealth Manager or service leadership. Uses standard approaches to perform a variety of duties related to special projects involving administrative or support issues related to all aspects of Telehealth and Connected Care activities. Promotion Potential: None. Work Schedule: M-F 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. 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#: Program Specialist/PD01219A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/14/2026. 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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7.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 and/or education as described below: GS-09: Specialized Experience (GS-9): You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Advise staff on procedural requirements; Use administrative concepts and practices to recommend changes in administrative policies, devise and install procedures and office practices affecting subordinates, and foresee administrative problems and requirements; Interpret new instructions and procedures to communicate and disseminate to staff; Prepare documents on behalf of Supervisor; Analyze and summarize information, files and other documents for use in preparing reports and correspondence. OR; Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. 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 1 full year of graduate level education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Hardware Project Management 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 may involve some degree of physical effort in testing, installing and operating equipment. The incumbent may be subjected to stressful situations, as video teleconferencing and telemedicine systems can require immediate responses to unpredictable problems. Work hours may vary at times to accommodate clinical staff on irregular shifts. Work is primarily sedentary.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/.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Education

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

How to apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/14/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13054053. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.To verify your application is complete, log into your USA JOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Application page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USA JOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USA JOBS account or your application will be incomplete.