Pharmacist (Facility Program Manager - Pharmacy Benefits Manager)

Veterans Health Administration • Palo Alto, CA

5d • Onsite

About The Position

The VA Palo Alto Health Care System is hiring a Pharmacist Program Manager—Pharmacy Benefits Manager for its Palo Alto Division. This is a leadership role within Pharmacy Service focused on managing programs rather than people, with responsibilities specific to VA formulary and fiscal management. The health care system is a teaching facility affiliated with Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy.

The role leads pharmacoeconomic and pharmacy benefits management programs. It oversees a team of three Pharmacoeconomic Pharmacists and works with pharmacy and clinical service staff, performance-measure champions, pharmacy informatics pharmacists, and clinical applications coordinators. The position also serves as Executive Secretary of the health care system’s Medication Management Committee, also known as the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.

The work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telework is unavailable, and the position is not virtual. Relocation and recruitment incentives are authorized; Permanent Change of Station is not authorized. The full performance level and grade for the vacancy are GS-13.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated VA policy exception for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• A baccalaureate degree in pharmacy (BS Pharmacy) and/or Doctor of Pharmacy degree from an ACPE-accredited College or School of Pharmacy; transcripts must be submitted with the application.
• For foreign pharmacy-degree graduates, FPGEC certification, including the required examination and English-language testing; a copy of the certification must be submitted with the application.
• A full, current, unrestricted pharmacy license in a U.S. state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia; a copy of the current license must be submitted with the application.
• For GS-13 Facility Program Manager: one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, in addition to GS-12 requirements.
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
• Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for the program area.
• Ability to solve problems and coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in the program area or area of clinical expertise.
• Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or pharmacy specialty.
• Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing drug-therapy outcomes, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.
• Pass occupational health requirements.
• Meet VA pre-employment conditions, including applicable background/security investigation, drug testing for testing-designated positions, seasonal influenza vaccination, onboarding, and trial-period requirements.

Nice To Haves

• Previous VA work experience in formulary management, pharmacoeconomics, or drug-file management is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a resource throughout Pharmacy Service and other clinical services, using interpersonal, systems-thinking, organizational, technical, leadership, and communication skills.
• Facilitate and conduct process-improvement activities within Pharmacy Service.
• Lead three Pharmacoeconomic Pharmacists in designing, coordinating, implementing, and managing pharmacy-based programs to optimize the cost efficiency of selected medications and pharmacotherapy.
• Lead monthly Pharmacoeconomic team meetings.
• Track cost-savings initiatives through completion and monitor clinical and financial outcomes one year after implementation.
• Track prior authorization drug consults, decision-support order sets, and medication-use criteria for annual review and updates.
• Conduct medication-use evaluations, including extracting data with SQL.
• Precept PGY1 and PGY2 pharmacy residents.
• Track, trend, and report monthly pharmacy budget expenditures; project and submit the next annual pharmacy budget proposal.
• Coordinate, track, and trend attainment of National and VISN performance measures and metrics with performance-measure champions, and provide guidance and mentoring to support achievement of those metrics.
• Lead monthly Pharmacy Performance Measure Council meetings.
• Serve as Executive Secretary of the Medication Management Committee by preparing agendas, minutes, and summaries; coordinating presentations; advising on proposals; and following up with requestors.
• Lead Pharmacy Leadership pre-Medication Management Committee meetings to support alignment and operational input.
• Collaborate with Pharmacy Informatics Pharmacists and Clinical Applications Coordinators to maintain the drug file, medication order sets, and progress-note templates; retrieve data using SQL or FileMan; and develop dashboards where applicable.

Benefits

• Federal employees and their families have access to a comprehensive benefits package; specific eligibility and benefits depend on position type and should be confirmed with the hiring agency.
• Selected applicants may request credit for prior work or military service toward annual-leave accrual, subject to approval and not guaranteed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree