Summary

The Deputy Director is the VA Northern California Health Care System's principal extension of the Director's authority, with responsibility for assisting the Director and staying abreast of those tasks and issues the Director is working on, while focusing on guiding and coordinating operational elements of the Health Care System.

Duties

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The Deputy Director's managerial duties and responsibilities involve final decisions which have a direct and substantial effect on the health care organization and programs. These include, but are not limited to, decisions affecting the nature, scope, and quality of, and emphases in the facility's/system's patient care programs and activities.

Major duties for the position may include but are not limited to:

• Oversees and has full line authority and responsibility for the clinical, administrative, and operational functions, to include Fiscal, Strategic Planning, Facility Management Service, Patient Experience and Northern Tier Site Management as direct reports
• Directs a comprehensive evaluation of program goals and objectives and makes necessary adjustments to improve delivery of patient care services
• Establishes local policy in such areas as program emphases and operating guidelines
• Administers a system for the development and communication of program policies and procedures in accordance with new or existing rules and regulations, and ensures adherence to them
• Administers a management reporting system which provides appropriate data for decision making in such areas as: organizational improvements; changes in delegations of authority; position management; and coordination among the center's programs and services
• Develops with the participation of administrative and clinical managers and chiefs, plans for fiscal year plans that meet the objectives of current and proposed programs
• Develops a balanced financial plan designed to meet realistic needs of the facility and the network; makes important decisions substantially affecting economy of operations by limiting operating expenses without impairing patient care activities through management assessment, cost effective position management techniques, reorganization, methods improvements, and automation
• Deals with general personnel management policy matters affecting the facility, involving such matters as: initiating appropriate personnel actions when indicated; resolving differences between key management officials at the facility; and identifying and resolving problems which may inhibit accomplishing the facility's patient care mission and public policy objectives
• Plans the work to be accomplished by subordinates; set and adjust short/long -term priorities; prepare scheduled for completion of work; approve leave; assign work to subordinates based on priorities; selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments and the capabilities of employees; evaluate work performance of subordinates; give advice, counsel, or instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters; interview candidates for positions
• Participates in public speaking engagements, meetings, and public relations events
• Serves on various facility strategic planning committees and management on-site meetings with other agencies and program officials
• Develops, evaluates, and modifies organizational structure and systems to achieve program goals; and participates in the analysis and interpretation of workload and other data used in resource planning
• Participates in the development and implementation of both long and short-range policies and plans for the facility, giving special consideration to the integration of internal administrative and clinical policies, to the standards and requirements of various internal and external regulatory and accrediting bodies, and to the impact of internal policies on outside entities such as other area hospitals and the community at large
• Other related duties as assigned

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Subject to change to meet the needs of the Agency

Telework: Ad-hoc authorized

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Health Systems Administrator (Deputy Director)/PD019213O

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized for highly qualified candidates

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): May be authorized for highly qualified candidates

PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. This position requires the application, assessment, and questionnaire to be fully completed. The assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/02/2026.

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-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.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• 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 is defined as 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: (1) Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems; (2) Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups; and (3) Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement. Applicants must also possess: (1) Management ability to delegate authority, evaluate and oversee people and programs, recognize, and adapt to changing priorities; and (2) Knowledge of the interrelationships and interdependencies among various medical and administrative services and programs. At this level, applicants would provide executive leadership with insight in establishing organizational structures that are efficient, cost effective, support desired grade levels, and facilitate career development; work on the development of a balanced financial plan designed to meet realistic needs of the facility and the network; establish and maintain public relations with a variety of institutions and groups; apply performance standards to measure program performance and health care activities are meeting established goals and objectives; and develop long and short term policies, plans and standards for a Health Care System.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following

Supervisory Situational Judgment Test. Applicants will be required to complete a Supervisory Situational Judgment Test (SSJT) as part of the assessment process for this position. The SSJT evaluates judgment and decision-making skills that align with relevant competencies, organizational values, and best practices. Assessment results may be used as part of the evaluation, ranking and referral process. This is not a timed test, however, the assessment is expected to take approximately 45 minutes or less to complete. The assessment for this application does not include a cut score for a minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. However, you must answer each item in the assessment.

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 required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.

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.

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

Receiving Service Credit for 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR [redacted](u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.