Supervisory Program Specialist

Supervisory Program Specialist

This position delivers seamless and integrated support to improve VA operations through contact center personnel who respond to Help Desk (HD) related inquiries from Veterans, caregivers, and VA staff. The position crosses many functional boundaries such as internal administrative processes, health systems, information technology, financial workload, and patient services in its role to develop and implement programs and techniques to improve business activities / processes and provide support services.

Responsibilities

This position assesses program goals and individual HD needs and integrates them with overall HRC strategic plan or survey needs to achieve stated program goals. Prepares reports based on studies and analysis and provides metrics and other information to the DAD, HD, and Associate Director, Contact Management (CM). Supports HD contact programs and provides SME support to facility staff regarding HD ticket escalations. Plans and accomplishes special projects within prescribed timelines. Manages special projects for major program issues of broad impact to the agency. Undertakes or participates in special projects, ongoing analyses, investigations, and initiatives that have high priority for senior management. Attends all HD Program meetings with external partners as necessary. Establishes site visits as necessary to foster and maintain rapport with external partners. Assists with negotiating new business and VA / HRC initiatives. Reviews complaints from customers, performing fact-finding as necessary to respond to the issue or make recommendations to higher level management personnel such as the Director, Assoc. Director, and DADs. Reviews and recommends changes to SOPs to higher level HRC supervisors or manager's such as the Director, Associate Director, and DADs based on feedback from Supervisory and Lead Contact Representatives (CRs) and all other HRC staff. Reviews and approves timecards for all staff supervised and is a 2nd level approver for various management staff. Serves in an intermediary role between HRC staff and MS Payroll staff. Performs administrative and HR management functions relative to all staff supervised. Recommends personnel actions, including disciplinary and performance-based actions, when appropriate. Reviews and approves or disapproves leave requests.

Work Schedule

Monday - Friday, 8-hour shift between 6 : 45 AM and 7 : 15 PM, based on organizational needs. Specific tour of duty to be determined by supervisor.

Remote Work

This position is not authorized for remote work. Telework : This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual : This position may be authorized for virtual work. Virtual eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Definition of Virtual work : Employee works outside of original hiring duty station at VA-owned or leased space. Return to Office (RTO) : RTO exemptions will be considered and a determination will be made as part of the selection and onboarding process.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment : You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12 / 31 / 1959. 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. 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11 / 03 / 2025. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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 :

• Specialized Experience : You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to : preparing reports based on studies and analyses and provided metrics and other information to program leadership; managing special projects for major program issues of broad impact to the agency; developing proposals and / or plans related to the implementation for new or modified program or projects; providing supervisory support to staff, including overseeing staff performance, establishing guidelines and performance expectations for staff, clearly communicating through the formal and informal employee performance management evaluations; developing Change Management standard operating procedures (SOPs); utilizing Lean Six Sigma managerial concepts for various Change Management processes for long term Strategic Plans.
• Education : Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related.
• Combination : Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education beyond a masters degree and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the GS-11 level. Only education in excess of 2 full years (36 semester hours) of progressively higher-level graduate education may be used to qualify. To determine if you meet combination requirements, total your qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level. Then total your graduate level education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level and add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for the GS-11 level.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position :

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 is sedentary with no special physical demands. The employee is often required to talk for some long periods of time. The work environment includes everyday risks and discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of an office environment.

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 / .

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 :