Health System Specialist

Veterans Health Administration; West Haven (CT); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

VA Connecticut Healthcare System seeks a Health System Specialist (GS-0671-12) to assist the Group Practice Manager and CBOCs in improving access to care. Must meet education or specialized experience requirements with transcripts.

Role emphasizes administrative excellence, program coordination, and adherence to health care regulations. The successful candidate will analyze processes, implement improvements, and align local practices with higher-level policies.

Qualifications

• Must meet 1 of the following bullet points: Undergraduate or Graduate Education: Major study -- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)
• Specialized Experience: 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: Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement.
• Special Provision for Inservice Placement: Successful completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program may be substituted for qualifying experience, provided it included a formal individualized training plan.

Responsibilities

• Reviewing and evaluating assigned processes and procedures to determine areas of effectiveness, efficiency, and improvement for proposal through local GPM group and supervisor.
• Reporting to incorporate best practices to help improve patient access to care and that standards are met within assigned services.
• Aligning local processes with planning and policies at higher levels.
• Identifying, defining and prioritizing customer service tools with assignments.
• Implementing process improvement and training opportunities that support frontline employees in providing predictable, consistent and comfortable customer service experiences for Veterans, their caregivers and beneficiaries.
• Utilizing advanced principles and strategies for access improvement to review and provide recommendations to Clinical Leads (CLs), including identifying strategies to reduce backlog.
• Monitoring Information Technology (IT) usage and issues and providing information or assistance to CLs as needed.

Skills

Specialized Experience

Education

Undergraduate or Graduate Education: Major study -- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration.

Job description

This position reports to the Group Practice Manager (GPM) for the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. The primary purpose of the position is to provide assistance and support to the GPM and related Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) as it relates to access to care as applicable.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/15/2026. 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.

Health System Specialist GS-0671-12 Individual Occupational Requirements

MUST MEET 1 of the following bullet points: Undergraduate or Graduate Education: Major study -- hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR Specialized Experience: 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: Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. OR Special Provision for Inservice Placement: Successful completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program may be substituted for qualifying experience, provided it included a formal individualized training plan. Such a training program must have been conducted in an operating health care system and included: Assignments providing a knowledge of basic health system administration philosophies, practices, and procedures, and basic government administrative policies and requirements; Practical assignments providing an opportunity to apply health system administration skills and principles (as the individual progresses, work assignments must be characteristic of the grade level to which he or she is assigned); and Oversight by an experienced health system administrator with periodic evaluation of the individual's progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program.

GRADE REQUIREMENTS

You may qualify based on your experience as described below: GS-12 Grade Requirements 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: Reviewing and evaluating assigned processes and procedures to determine areas of effectiveness, efficiency, and improvement for proposal through local GPM group and supervisor. Reporting to incorporate best practices to help improve patient access to care and that standards are met within assigned services. Aligning local processes with planning and policies at higher levels. Identifying, defining and prioritizing customer service tools with assignments. Implementing process improvement and training opportunities that support frontline employees in providing predictable, consistent and comfortable customer service experiences for Veterans, their caregivers and beneficiaries. Utilizing advanced principles and strategies for access improvement to review and provide recommendations to Clinical Leads (CLs), including identifying strategies to reduce backlog. Monitoring existing or emerging workflow issues; monitoring consult management issues and providing guidance to CLs and Administrative Leads (ALs) when required. Monitoring Information Technology (IT) usage and issues and providing information or assistance to CLs as needed. Preferred Experience: Ex