Summary The incumbent serves as Policy Analyst within VHA Office of Finance, Payment Operations and is organizationally aligned under the Supervisory Internal Control Specialist. The incumbent serves as a Payment Operations representative in the field and is responsible for identifying issues or policy areas to explore, collecting, and analyzing information, then reporting findings and proposing new policies for addressing problems. Responsibilities Major Duties: Serve as a Policy Analyst within the VHA Office of Finance, Payment Operations. Provide Payment Operations with data required for planning, policy, and operating decisions. Prepare a variety of analytical reports, memoranda, and written materials on public policy issues within the healthcare profession to support Payment Operations decision making. Assist staff with the consideration of legislative issues by providing information and analysis and applying professional subject-area knowledge. Interpret the laws, regulations, policies, and guidelines governing the health care delivery system and relate to the working situation. 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. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm (TBD with Supervisor) Telework: 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. Position Description/PD#: Program Analyst/PD53000A and PD53005A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required *Applicants MUST must live within 50 miles of one of the payment center locations listed in the announcement.* Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job 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 Applicants MUST must live within 50 miles of one of the payment center locations listed in the announcement. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/02/2024. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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. GS-7 Specialized Experience: You may qualify based on your experience or education as described below: You must possess at least one (1) full year of specialized experience, which equips you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Program Analyst, GS-07 position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, this specialized experience must have been equivalent to the GS-5 level in Federal service to qualify at the GS-07. Examples of specialized experience include: 1) Conducts regular reviews to assess VHA effectiveness and compliance with legal and regulatory provisions and the achievement of VHA organizational objectives. 2) Participates in the development of VHA policy, including the creation of directives, regulations, and operational handbooks. 3) Ensures VHA programs are administered efficiently, cost-effectively, and in compliance with appropriate regulations and laws OR; GS-07 Substitution of Education for Experience (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): You must possess 1 full year of graduate level education from an accredited college or university which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work if related, One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. OR; GS-07 Superior Academic Achievement (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): You may qualify for S.A.A on the following: S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2years of the curriculum. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies listed here General Schedule Qualification Standards (opm.gov) OR; GS-07: Combination of Education and Experience (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIED): You must possess combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience. GS-9 Specialized Experience: You may qualify based on your experience or education as described below: GS-9 Specialized Experience: You must possess at least one (1) full year of specialized experience, which equips you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Program Analyst, GS-09 position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, this specialized experience must have been equivalent to the GS-7 level in Federal service to qualify at the GS-09. Examples of specialized experience include: 1) Conducts regular reviews to assess VHA effectiveness and compliance with legal and regulatory provisions and the achievement of VHA organizational objectives. 2) Participates in the development of VHA policy, including the creation of directives, regulations, and operational handbooks. 3) Ensures VHA programs are administered efficiently, cost-effectively, and in compliance with appropriate regulations and laws. 4) Assists staff with the consideration of VHA legislative issues by providing information and analysis, and applying professional subject-area knowledge. 5) Provides Payment Operations (104P) with data required for planning, policy, and operating decisions OR; GS-09: Substitution of Education for Experience (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): You must possess 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. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. OR; GS-09: Combination of Education and Experience (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): You must possess equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the Program Analyst, GS-09 position, which may be substituted to meet the experience requirements for GS-09 position. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Analytical Reasoning Analytical Thinking Quality Management 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: Long periods of sitting in one location are required in completing transactions utilizing a computer with standard office equipment. 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 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information 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 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/. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.