Program Applications Specialist

Program Applications Specialist

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Louisville, Kentucky

Salary Range: $61722 - $97087 Per Year

Job Summary: Vacancy Identification Number (VIN): 12899915. Please read this announcement in its entirety before beginning the application process to ensure you submit all the required documents. See Required Document sections in this announcement before applying. Please read the application questionnaire before applying:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12899915. Federal Resume Tips, Please READ

Major Duties:

• This job opportunity announcement (JOA) will be used to fill one (1) full-time and permanent Program Applications Specialist, GS-0301-09 Target 11, vacancy with Business Office Service at the Louisville, KY VA Medical Center. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Knowledge can be gained and expanded on during the initial GS-9 period but will be expected to be fully gained prior to recommendation to GS-11. The Program Applications Specialist (PAS) serves as the integrator that coordinates the business process and software functions. The PAS provides continuous business oversight for a variety of software programs integral to the overall administration and operations of the business and effects programmatic changes at the facility level. The PAS coordinates ongoing data collection and analysis and uses knowledge of System Redesign principles to determine organization performance. The PAS conducts business process modeling, projects and studies that will impact on the overall functions of the services in such areas as, policy development and implementation, work methodology, processes, streamlining, etc. Major duties include but are not limited to: Skill with MUMPS/File Manager Applications Sufficient to Develop and Create Data Extract Templates, Rules, and Printouts. Oversees the coordination, planning, implementation, and training for service and facility staff in business and functional areas for various information technology VISTA packages. Serves as the functional "expert" for matters relating to the Patient Information Management System (PIMS) core package. Plans initiatives for hardware and software needs for the service. Assesses individual needs to determine appropriate level of menu access for staff, Regional Office employees, and employees from VISN VA facilities. Identifies system inefficiencies and develops studies or data collection techniques related to specific identified problems. Coordinates ongoing data collection and analysis and uses knowledge of System Redesign principles to determine organization performance. Conducts business process modeling, projects and studies that will impact on the overall functions of the services in such areas as, policy development and implementation, work methodology, processes, streamlining, etc. Performs a continuing evaluation and analysis to assess program effectiveness and to identify areas requiring management attention. Analyzes utilization trend data on a monthly/quarterly basis to verify the accuracy of the data, identify problem areas, provide objective assessments, prioritize identified problems, analyze variances, and recommend appropriate actions and/or alternatives. Establishes administrative qualitative standards; the objective of which is intended to improve programs, facilities, and operations. The incumbent develops and implements standards that affect the service. Develops initiatives which will enable the facility to provide quality health care to its population while operating in a more effective and efficient manner. Designs and develops dissemination and training materials, local standard operating procedure manuals, develops and utilizes monitoring tools, and provides for the implementation of BO programs through on-site education and training. Recommends and implements amendment of business office programs where necessary. Communicate in a clear, logical, and concise to explanation of information, both orally and in written format. Preforms the coordination, planning, implementation, and training for service and facility staff in business and functional areas for various information technology VISTA packages. Develops and presents both formal lectures and on-the-job sessions to those employees who will be entering, changing, and extracting data. Designs and develops dissemination and training materials, local standard operating procedure manuals, develops and utilizes monitoring tools, and provides for the implementation of BO programs through on-site education and training. Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Telework: Adhoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Applications Specialist/PD05324A and PD403700 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/09/2026. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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. The full performance level of this position is GS-11. The incumbent may be noncompetitively promoted to the next level when all the requirements are satisfied, including satisfactory performance, qualifications requirements, and the continued availability of duties at the higher grade. You may qualify for the GS-09 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: Knowledge of health care systems and delivery systems, management principles, practices, methods and techniques, and skill in integrating management services with general management of the organization is needed. Applies knowledge and abilities to analyze, evaluate and make recommendations on major aspects of all assigned VISTA and commercial off the shelf computer packages. Incumbent works with OI&T to troubleshooting computer packages, which require developing specifications and business process models. Ability to retrieve, track and trend information for analysis and reporting. Management analysis techniques and methods are needed to develop and refine information for comprehensive reports, addressing elements such as cost analysis, work measurement, trend analysis, efficiency, effectiveness, productivity, and assess the success or failure in attaining program goals/objectives. Knowledge of the service software is required to train employees, identify inconsistencies, discuss with management the capabilities of software feasibility toward meeting objectives, validate new programs/options, recommend changes in existing programs and modify programs to meet future needs. A comprehensive knowledge of software programs of other services (i.e. Radiology, Dietetics, Health Summary, OE/RR, CPRS, Laboratory and Pharmacy) is needed due to the interrelation of the VISTA programs to train staff. Knowledge of, and skill in applying user acceptance testing principles, methods, and approaches sufficient to test, debug and maintain software applications that meet functional requirements. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a related Master degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree (TRANSCRIPTS REQURIED). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and related graduate level education (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). You may qualify for the GS-11 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-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of health care systems and delivery systems, management principles, practices, methods and techniques, and skill in integrating management services with general management of the organization is needed. Applies knowledge and abilities to analyze, evaluate and make recommendations on major aspects of all assigned VISTA and commercial off the shelf computer packages. Incumbent works with OI&T to troubleshooting computer packages, which require developing specifications and business process models. Ability to retrieve, track and trend information for analysis and reporting. Management analysis techniques and methods are needed to develop and refine information for comprehensive reports, addressing elements such as cost analysis, work measurement, trend analysis, efficiency, effectiveness, productivity, and assess the success or failure in attaining program goals/objectives. Knowledge of the service software is required to train employees, identify inconsistencies, discuss with management the capabilities of software feasibility toward meeting objectives, validate new programs/options, recommend changes in existing programs and modify programs to meet future needs. A comprehensive knowledge of software programs of other services (i.e. Radiology, Dietetics, Health Summary, OE/RR, CPRS, Laboratory and Pharmacy) is needed due to the interrelation of the VISTA programs to train staff. Knowledge of, and skill in applying user acceptance testing principles, methods, and approaches sufficient to test, debug and maintain software applications that meet functional requirements Possess an expert degree of knowledge of Patient Information Management System (PIMS) software to create entry transactions on simple data needs and provide reports about any of the clinical or administrative data elements contained in the PIMS package. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a related Ph. D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). 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 the first two years of graduate level education (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Organizational Performance Analysis Performance Measurement Planning and Evaluating Problem Solving Teaching Others Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations. 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. 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/.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/09/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12899915. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-09