Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) & eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application. Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply.

Duties

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The pharmacist serves as an Associate Service Chief of Inpatient Pharmacy Operations and is responsible for providing leadership, direction, organization, planning, and implementation of pharmacy programs and services at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, a 900-bed, multi-division Health Care System with specialties in Medicine, Surgery, Psychiatry, Spinal Cord, Intensive Care, Sub-Acute, Hospice, and Geriatrics. This Associate Chief has 9 FTEE direct reports, including 3 Inpatient Pharmacy Supervisors, 2 Pharmacy Program Managers (Investigational Drugs & USP Compliance), 2 Floating Inpatient Clinical Pharmacy Specialists, 1 Floating Inpatient Pharmacy Technician, and 1 Inpatient LEAD Pharmacy Technician. This Associate Chief has 47 FTEE second-level reports, consisting of highly trained Inpatient Clinical Pharmacy Specialists and Pharmacy Technicians who are located at the Palo Alto (Acute Care) campus. We have well-established PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and PGY-2 Psychiatric Residency programs. Particular emphasis is placed on customer satisfaction, compliance with VHA directives and regulatory agencies, and managing performance improvement initiates system wide.

FUNCTIONS OR SCOPES OF PRACTICE INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

• Leading Change: Ability to develop and implement the organizational vision that integrates program goals, priorities, values, and other factors.
  
  • Leader ensures DMS effectiveness in support of becoming a High Reliability Organization (HRO). Utilizes DMS processes to improve the flow of communication involving the connections from front-line staff to the Executive Leadership team. Leader engages staff and actively supports, develops, and empowers staff in solving problems through DMS huddles.
• Leading People:
  
  • Leaders will actively engage employees to strengthen ownership and participation in the VAPAHCS All Employee Survey (AES) Enterprise Strategy. FY 2026 focuses on Investing in People and Building a Stronger Workplace to align efforts with the facility's multi-year AES and Employee Engagement strategies. These efforts enhance organizational culture, support continuous improvement, and promote a resilient, high-performing workforce. Leaders should continue to focus on their service line to identify key opportunities from AES results that promote a culture of trust, accountability, occupational well-being, and professional growth. Action plans will be SMART-based and address AES Strategic Objectives:
    
    • Strengthen co-worker relationships and communication.
    • Promote growth and professional development through training, mentoring, and leadership programs.
    • Support workload integration and overall occupational well-being.
    • Enhance accountability and recognition of staff contributions.
• Business Acumen: Relates to assessing, analyzing, acquiring, and administering human, financial, material, and information resources in a manner that places a high priority on a culture of compliant business integrity, instills public trust, and accomplishes the organization's mission.
  
  • Ensures employee performance plans are aligned with the organization's mission and goals, that employees receive constructive feedback, and that those employees are realistically appraised against clearly defined and communicated performance standards. (VA Priority - Business Transformation). Inherited delinquencies are not counted against the measure.
• Building Coalitions: Ability to solicit and consider feedback from internal and external stakeholders and/or customers. Coordinates with appropriate parties to maximize input from the widest range of appropriate stakeholders to facilitate an open exchange of opinions and strengthen internal and external support.
  
  • Leader demonstrates positive collaboration with internal stakeholders solving systems-level problems, achieving strategic plan objectives, and enhancing the overall improvement of business and administrative operations.
• Results-Driven: Specific performance results are expected from the employee during the appraisal period and, where applicable, reflect key opportunities for improvement that support VISN and facility measures relevant to VHA Modernization, identified in authoritative VA reporting and analytic systems (i.e., SAIL or its components), Access, Environment of Care, or VA/VHA priorities.
  
  • Leader produces specific measurable performance results and shows improvement, focusing on responsible programmatic elements and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). There should be clear, transparent alignment to relevant agency or organizational goals/objectives.
• Other Duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: M-F 7:30 am - 4:00 pm or as determined by the supervisor.

Compressed/Flexible: This may be authorized at the supervisor's discretion.

Telework: Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #: 09939-F

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing-designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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.
• Must pass a pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1- 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. (Noncitizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.)
• Education: Graduate of an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited College or School of Pharmacy with a baccalaureate degree in pharmacy (BS Pharmacy) and/or a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. Verification of approved degree programs may be obtained from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, Illinois [redacted]; phone: [redacted], or through their website at: http://www.acpe-accredit.org/. (NOTE: Prior to 2005, ACPE accredited both baccalaureate and Doctor of Pharmacy terminal degree programs. Today, the sole degree is Doctor of Pharmacy.)
  
  • Graduates of foreign pharmacy degree programs meet the educational requirement if the graduate is able to provide proof of achieving the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Commission (FPGEC) Certification, which includes passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT).
• Licensure. Full, current, and unrestricted license: To practice pharmacy in a State, Territory, Commonwealth of the United States (i.e., Puerto Rico), or the District of Columbia. The pharmacist must maintain current registration if this is a requirement for maintaining full, current, and unrestricted licensure. A pharmacist who has, or has ever had, any license(s) revoked, suspended, denied, restricted, limited, or issued/placed in a probationary status may be appointed only in accordance with the provisions in VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Chapter 3, section B, paragraph 16.
• Failure to Obtain License: In all cases, pharmacists must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure starting from the date of their appointment. At the time of appointment, the supervisor will provide the unlicensed pharmacist with the written requirement to obtain licensure, the date by which the license must be acquired, and the consequences for not becoming licensed by the deadline. Failure to become licensed within 2 years from the date of appointment will result in removal from the GS-0660 Pharmacist series and may result in termination of employment.
• Physical Requirements: The work requires standing, light carrying and lifting (under 15 pounds); walking, bending, reaching above the shoulder, and ability to distinguish basic colors. The work also involves working around machinery with moving parts and working closely with others
• English Language Proficiency: Pharmacists must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

GRADE REQUIREMENTS:

• Creditable Experience:
  
  • Knowledge of Professional Pharmacy Practices: To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with professional pharmacy practice. Professional practice means paid/non-paid employment as a professional or unlicensed graduate pharmacist as defined by the appropriate licensing board.
  • Residency and Fellowship Training: Residency and fellowship training programs in a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice may be substituted for creditable experience on a year-for- year basis. The pharmacy residency program must be accredited by the American Society of Health- System Pharmacists (ASHP). A fellowship program that is not accredited by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) will need to have comparable standards for experience to be creditable (Professional Standards Board refers to the Deputy Chief Consultant for Professional Practice for the determination).
  • Quality of Experience: Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to pharmacy experience at the next lower level. Experience as a Graduate Pharmacist is creditable provided the candidate was used as a professional pharmacist (under supervision) and subsequently passed the appropriate licensure examination.
  • Part-time Experience: Part-time experience as a professional pharmacist is credited according to its relationship to the full-time workweek. For example, a pharmacist employed 20 4 hours a week, or on a 1/2-time basis, would receive 1 full-time workweek of credit for every 2 weeks of service.

Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

GS-14:

• Experience: In addition to the GS-13 requirements, must have 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
• Assignments: Candidates at this grade level are to be in one of the assignments listed below. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
• Associate Service Chief/ Associate CMOP Director: Responsible for coordinating multiple programs in pharmacy service in a medical facility. Serves as the Acting Service Chief in the absence of the Service Chief. Develops and maintains a system of internal reviews that ensure service programs operate at a satisfactory level of performance and in compliance with regulatory and accrediting bodies. Responsible for pharmacy utilization of resources and budget. Makes selections, assigns personnel, and serves as a mentor to help employees develop their full potential. (NOTE: Associate Service Chief/ Associate CMOP Director positions should be graded one grade below the grade of the Chief of Pharmacy Service or CMOP Director.)
• Demonstrated KSAs: The KSAs shown below apply to all assignments at this grade level.
  
  • Skill in persuading others and gaining cooperation to accomplish goals.
  • Ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing regardi