Supervisory Program Specialist

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; California; On-site; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in California seeks a Supervisory Program Specialist to lead a team and manage health care administrative programs. You will supervise staff, hire personnel, and ensure compliance with laws and internal policies while coordinating with clinical partners.

The role requires strong analytical, communication, and leadership skills. Telework may be discussed; normal duties require on-site presence with occasional travel to site locations within the VA network.

Qualifications

• One year specialized experience at or above GS-7 level in healthcare administration or similar.
• Knowledge of healthcare management principles and regulations.
• Experience interviewing staff to gather information and improve operations.

Responsibilities

• Supervise staff, communicate performance standards, and conduct evaluations.
• Interview and hire new employees for the unit.
• Monitor health administrative programs for compliance with applicable laws.
• Provide public and internal inquiries with policy interpretations.
• Draft responses to congressional inquiries and patient complaints.
• Present program performance and staffing updates to leadership.
• Review Call Center operations to ensure timely access to care.
• Maintain confidentiality of records and utilize MS Office suite.
• Analyze Referral Coordination metrics to align with organizational priorities.
• Deliver operational briefings on staffing and performance metrics.
• Ensure facility meets national performance measures.

Skills

Accountability

Communication

Computer Skills

Customer Service

Decisiveness

Flexibility

Human Resources Management

Interpersonal Skills

Organizational Awareness

Performance Measurement

Problem Solving

Resilience

Education

Master's degree or 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Microsoft Access

Outlook

Cisco Unified Call Center

Job description

Summary

The Veterans Affairs Northern California Health Care System (VANCHCS) is a Level 1b facility and ranks as complex system in the VA serving the VA Sierra Pacific Network. The VANCHCS offer 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 10/19/2026. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: Skilled in applying analytical and evaluative techniques to the identification - consideration and resolution of issues or problems of a procedural or factual nature. Knowledge of the theory and principles of healthcare management and organization including administrative practices and procedures. Skill in conducting interviews with supervisors and employees to obtain information about the organizational missions - functions and work procedures to ensure a productive work unit. Knowledge in pertinent laws - regulations - policies and procedures that relates to all aspects of healthcare administration and benefits. Skilled in the use of Microsoft Word - PowerPoint - Excel - Microsoft Access and Outlook - to prepare written reports - manuals - standard of operation procedures and/or presentations that is essential to completing work assignments. 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 (transcripts required). OR - Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described above above which totals at least one year. [To compute the percentage - divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one year by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.] . You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Communication Computer Skills Customer Service Decisiveness Flexibility Human Resources Management Interpersonal Skills Organizational Awareness Performance Measurement Problem Solving Resilience 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 primarily sedentary - although some slight physical effort may be required. The duties and responsibilities of the position require some mobility between various clinic areas in separate building location sites - but generally the job is sedentary with some standing - stooping - reaching and lifting up to 20 pounds; driving an automobile to site locations within the VANCHCS will be necessary. The employee is required to work with computer equipment at least 75% of the time which impacts on hand and wrist motions. 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

• Ability to evaluate and make recommendations for improvement for both individuals and work units
• Provide direct and indirect supervision of staff - including communication of performance standards - conducting performance evaluations - counseling employees - recommending performance awards - initiating disciplinary actions when necessary
• Responsible for interviewing and hiring new employees
• Ability to monitor Health Administrative programs and ensure they remain in compliance with applicable laws - regulations - policies and procedures
• Provide customers and visitors with information and assist them with interpreting policies - procedures and/or regulations
• Review and draft responses to congressional inquiries and patient complaints and responses in the allotted time
• Communicate information to management regarding effective evaluation of assigned programs - operations - and milestones
• Conduct reviews of Call Center functions and effectiveness of assigned programs to ensure timely access to care for patients
• Maintain security and/or confidentiality of records or files
• Use a variety of computer software such as Microsoft Excel - Word - PowerPoint - and Microsoft Access - etc
• Analyze how the Referral Coordination Team's functions support the broader VA mission by reviewing program goals - performance metrics - and regulatory requirements - then adjusting staffing - procedures - or communication plans to maintain alignment with organizational priorities
• Deliver concise operational briefings to supervisors and clinical partners and leadership regarding staffing levels and performance metrics
• Review and analyze Referral Coordination metrics
• Ensure the facility is meeting national performance measures
• Knowledge of working with Cisco Unified Call Center telephone system or similar software
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday
  7:00pm - 3:30pm Telework: This position may be authorized for Ad-hoc telework
• Ad-hoc Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Program Specialist/PD01817-O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized