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Associate Director for Operations

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Baltimore, Maryland
Closing date
Feb 25, 2021
Duties

Summary

The Associate Director for Operations, together with the Associate Director for Finance, Chief of Staff, Chief Nurse Executive and Medical Center Director, make up the executive management team of the VA Maryland Health Care System. The Associate Director functions as a full partner in the day-to-day operations, management discussions, policy making and long-range planning of activities of the VA Maryland Health Care System.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The Associate Director for Operations shares accordingly in the responsibility for top management actions. The incumbent has delegated authority to assume the duties and responsibilities of the Director. This requires the ability to apply the specialized principles and practices of health care management while directing and supporting the VAMHCS. The incumbent performs duties directly contributing to the administrative management of the VAMHCS and makes administrative decisions that directly affect patient care.

The incumbent has direct and full line responsibility for a number of administrative services: Biomedical Engineering, Chaplain, Consumer Relations, Emergency Management, Facility Engineering Service, Nutrition and Food, Police, Safety and Occupational Health and others which may be assigned. As supervisor of administrative service chiefs, the Associate Director is held accountable for successful completion of all administrative reports and program objectives. The Associate Director sets priorities and delegates authority to subordinates to carry out day-to-day operations. The Associate Director monitors the work output of his subordinates through staff meetings, program reviews and individual meetings.

The incumbent is responsible for making and implementing decisions directly affecting patient care and has the final line decision-making authority under the Medical Center Director. Incumbent must adapt management principles, practices, processes, and techniques common to any situation to the specialized requirements of the VAMHCS. Considerable knowledge of general clinical and administrative systems, programs, and practices, and of how these principles and practices relate to the unique characteristics and needs of the VAMHCS is required.

Establishes and maintains good relations with various groups and organizations such as other hospitals, medical societies, medical schools and other colleges and universities, accrediting agencies, public health officials and organizations, volunteer work groups, news media and the community at large.

Incumbent represents the agency and medical center in a larger number of external bodies and agencies. This function includes providing information concerning benefits and medical treatment, negotiating for sharing agreements and coordinating medical center efforts with local and state programs.

The Associate Director for Operations must have knowledge of regulations and standards of various regulatory and other professional crediting groups, such as the Joint Commission (JC). The incumbent establishes policy for the organization with regards to the methods, criteria, and other critical considerations associated with Accreditation. Ensures that the VAMHCS corrects deficiencies identified by JC and other crediting groups by initiating corrective actions and proposing long range plans to correct safety and structural deficiencies.

The Associate Director for Operations establishes minimum standards for quality and productivity. Directs program implementation. Provides leadership and direction to promote the development and productivity of all employees supervised. Develops and maintains effective relationships with the medical staff and strives to earn their trust and respect. Supports an environment that enhances employee's morale and sense of pride in the organization.

Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm, Monday through Friday
Compressed/Flexible: Not available
Telework: Not available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Associate Director for Operations/PD08868O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Relocation/Recruitment MAY BE authorized.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Travel Required

25% or less - Occasional travel across the health care systems and for meetings and conferences may be required.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process


Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/22/2021.

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-15 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-14. 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.

Individual Occupational Requirement: The 0670 series requires specific education or experience to be met in order to be appointed into a position of this series. You must meet the pre-determined Education or Experience Individual Occupational Requirement below as set by Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Undergraduate and 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.

or

Experience

Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5):
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.

Applicants must also possess:
  • Management ability to delegate authority, evaluate and oversee people and programs, recognize and adapt to changing priorities; and
  • Knowledge of the interrelationships and interdependencies among various medical and administrative services and programs.
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.
Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-14 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Qualifying Specialized experience includes:
  • In-depth knowledge as well as special skills in administration and health care systems management which have enabled him/her to effectively carry out various management aspects of as Associate Director position.
  • Developing and presenting recommendations and actions that contribute to the development of the functional efficiency of a healthcare system.
  • Analyzing and competing executive demands on resources.
  • Maintaining abreast of new and existing health care technology and administrative concepts and analyze them with the overall needs of the healthcare system in mind.
  • Expert knowledge of computer operations and specific knowledge of computer applications used within the VA.
  • Must be able to analyze complex problems and present both written and oral recommendations and reports.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Creative Thinking
  • Interpersonal Effectiveness
  • Organizational Stewardship
  • Systems Thinking
  • Technical Competence


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, but may involve periods of walking, bending, stooping, lifting, carrying, moving (up to 30 pounds) components and supplies, reaching, pulling, and working at a keyboard and monitor. Subject to call back outside tour of duty.

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/ .

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ . If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed..

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and 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/ .

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview.Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
  • Resume
  • SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action


The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

*Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all the questions by addressing your work experience in detail.

* Even though we don not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we can fully evaluate your qualifications.

* To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title.

* If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications.

  • Cover Letter
  • DD-214/ Statement of Service
  • Disability Letter (Schedule A)
  • Disability Letter (VA)
  • License
  • OF-306
  • PCS Orders
  • Performance Appraisal
  • Professional Certification
  • Proof of Enrollment
  • Proof of Marriage Status
  • Resume
  • Separation Notice (RIF)
  • SF-15
  • SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
  • Transcript


SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):
  • Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
  • An SF-50 showing 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
  • Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
  • Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
    • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
    • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
    • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.
Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

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