Program Applications Specialist

Veterans Health Administration • Los Angeles, CA

18d • Onsite

About The Position

The Program Applications Specialist serves as an integrator coordinating business processes and software functions, and provides continuous business oversight for software programs that support the administration and operations of the Greater Los Angeles VA Health Care System. The specialist uses data analysis to assess organizational performance, establish local performance measures, identify improvement opportunities, and develop initiatives that improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of Business Office operations.

The role evaluates program effectiveness, identifies issues requiring management attention, and develops studies or data-collection methods to address inefficiencies. It coordinates information needs with staff, organizes and analyzes collected data, and produces reports that describe activities, trends, and opportunities for improvement. The specialist develops training and dissemination materials, standard operating procedure manuals, and monitoring tools, and provides on-site education and training.

The specialist coordinates planning, implementation, and training for business and functional applications, serves as the functional expert for the Patient Information Management System (PIMS) core package, and provides training and troubleshooting for clinical and administrative staff. The position also plans hardware and software needs and prepares and implements business-contingency plans for system failures, including manual backup procedures for short- and long-term outages.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship.
• Meet the applicable time-in-grade requirement for GS-09 applicants who are current or former Federal employees seeking a covered appointment: 52 weeks at GS-07.
• For GS-09 qualification through experience, one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-07, such as experience with reports, performance improvement, data processing, VISTA, software programs, program operational decisions, VA policies and directives, PI, MS software, or business metadata.
• Alternatively, qualify through a master's or equivalent graduate degree, two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.B. or J.D.
• Alternatively, qualify through a combination of specialized experience and education beyond one full year of graduate-level education.
• Submit a transcript if education is used to qualify.
• Complete the application, questionnaire, and required online assessment.
• Meet applicable background and security investigation requirements and complete the online onboarding process.
• Register for Selective Service if applicable to males born after December 31, 1959.
• Participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program as a Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel requirement.
• The position may require a one-year probationary period or two-year trial period.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate ongoing data collection and analyze results to determine optimal organizational performance.
• Use available data to assess current performance and develop and implement local performance measures.
• Develop initiatives to improve health care quality and the effectiveness and efficiency of Business Office practices.
• Continuously evaluate program effectiveness and identify areas requiring management attention.
• Design and develop dissemination and training materials, local standard operating procedure manuals, and monitoring tools.
• Implement Business Office programs through on-site education and training.
• Identify system inefficiencies and develop studies or data-collection techniques to address specific problems.
• Coordinate with staff to identify information needs and develop data-collection methods and report formats.
• Organize, compile, summarize, and analyze data; develop reports describing activities, trends, and improvement opportunities.
• Research problems affecting the quality and efficiency of Business Office operations, ensure requirements and planned actions are fulfilled, and assess their effectiveness.
• Recommend and implement amendments to Business Office programs when necessary.
• Coordinate planning, implementation, and training for service and facility staff in business and functional areas involving information technology.
• Serve as the functional expert for the Patient Information Management System (PIMS) core package.
• Train and troubleshoot for clinical and administrative staff on business processes and supporting software.
• Plan hardware and software needs for the service.
• Prepare and implement business-contingency plans for system failures, including manual backup plans for short- and long-term outages.
• Apply database management system and software knowledge to support the organization, storage, retrieval, security, and integrity of data.
• Identify and analyze problems, assess the relevance and accuracy of information, evaluate alternative solutions, and make recommendations.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package available to employees and their families; specific benefits depend on position type.
• VA may, subject to approval, credit job-related non-federal experience or active-duty uniformed military service toward the annual-leave accrual rate.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level