Administrative Officer

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The Administrative Officer (AO) at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System provides leadership across diverse administrative areas, analyzes operations, develops procedures, and prepares reports for executive leadership.

The role requires coordinating policies, managing recruitment activities, maintaining records, and guiding process-improvement projects using Lean and Six Sigma in a fast-paced health care environment.

Qualifications

• Specialized experience equivalent to GS-9, e.g., creating reports and coordinating meetings.
• Time-in-grade eligibility documentation and SF-50 requirements.
• Education or combination of education and experience as alternative qualifications.

Responsibilities

• Plan and develop complex administrative activities for the organization.
• Provide administrative management and guidance for the Office of the Director and its services.
• Review, track, and coordinate responses to complaints, inquiries, and audits.
• Coordinate review, revision, and implementation of policies and SOPs.
• Coordinate recruitment and hiring for executives and Title 5 employees.
• Maintain personnel records and support performance management and telework agreements.
• Develop and facilitate process-improvement projects using Lean, Six Sigma, and PM techniques.

Skills

Report writing

Meetings scheduling

Timekeeping

Financial controls

Policy interpretation

Education

Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree

3 years progressively higher level graduate education

Combination of education and experience

Tools

Office automation (Word/Excel)

Job description

Summary

The Administrative Officer (AO) - serves in the Executive Director Office at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. The position encompasses many diverse areas and requires in-depth knowledge of the entire health care system. The AO is responsible for performing analytical studies - developing procedures - facilitating organizational process improvement activities - assisting in organizing policies for administrative managers - and preparing reports for organizational leadership.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 11/09/2026. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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: Creating reports - coordinating and scheduling meetings - and submitting requests/work orders using a personal computer and office automation programs (such as word processing - spreadsheets - etc.); maintaining and updating department or service-level databases and shared computer drives; accurately preparing timecards for submission and processing; resolving timekeeping issues related to overtime - holiday pay - unscheduled hours - and various types of extended leave; managing and balancing financial aspects of general fund control points and purchase procedures; and preparing and submitting requests for recruitment - promotion - reassignment - and disciplinary actions. OR - Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have ???????successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree - or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree - or an LL.M. in a field related to this position that demonstrates the knowledge - skills - and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. 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 graduate level education. 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/.

Duties

• The Administrative Officer (AO) is responsible for planning and developing complex administrative activities
• Duties include but are not limited to: Provides administrative management and guidance for the Office of the Director and its operational services - interpreting policies - laws - and regulations and recommending solutions to administrative issues
• Reviews - tracks - and coordinates responses to patient complaints - patient advocate requests - congressional inquiries - Office of Inspector General reports - issue briefs - and other time-sensitive correspondence
• Coordinates the review - revision - and implementation of policies and standard operating procedures
• reviews facility policies requiring executive concurrence and recommends corrective actions
• Coordinates recruitment and hiring activities for service chiefs - executives - and Title 5 employees - including developing position descriptions and functional statements - initiating personnel actions - assisting with vacancy announcements - and arranging interview panels
• Maintains personnel-related records and prepares documentation for performance management - incentives - awards - telework agreements - organizational changes - and other personnel matters
• supports implementation of approved All Employee Survey action plans
• Serves as the Automated Data Processing Applications Coordinator and Personal Identity Verification sponsor - coordinating user access - basic technical troubleshooting - access reviews - equipment and software needs - and PIN resets
• Develops and facilitates process improvement projects using Lean - Six Sigma - and project management techniques to improve administrative workflows and ensure timely completion of action plans
• Supports leadership committees - councils - and workgroups by coordinating assigned activities - participating in meetings - and documenting proceedings and action items
• Conducts qualitative and quantitative analyses of program operations - resource needs - and performance trends
• investigates deviations and recommends improvements to program efficiency and effectiveness
• Prepares studies - reports - executive decision memoranda - and briefings that present findings - implementation strategies - and recommendations to the Director - Health System Specialist - and other management officials
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4;30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Administrative Officer/PD01447O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized