Supervisory Customer Service Specialist - Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration

Summary The Supervisory Customer Service Specialist serves as the Chief Experience Officer (CXO), reporting to the Executive Director, who oversees all Ambulatory Care Centers (ACC) and Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC), and the Veteran Experience Office (VEO). The position is responsible for managing all patient experience functions, including initiatives, policies and activities which may be developed at the National, VISN and VAGLAHS levels. Responsibilities The Supervisory Customer Service Specialist, GS-12/13 performs program oversight and administrative responsibilities and assignments of senior-level complexity with some supervision. Duties include, but are not limited to: Serve as a subject matter expert to other sources of the patient and employee experience and patient centered models. Enhance patient and employee experiences through proactive approaches. Responsible for translating policies, theories and strategies. Lead, coordinate, and manage the continuous improvement of patient and employee experience. Promote an organization-wide approach to patient-centeredness and employee engagement. Engage the workforce to sustain patient and employee experience initiatives. Serve as the subject matter expert on established and evolving best practices related to patient and employee engagement and experience. Educate managers and line employees in the philosophy and techniques of Patient Experience improvement. Collaborate with departments and units to operationalize Patient Experience strategy. Responsible for providing feedback on administrative matters and education/awareness affecting patient centered approaches and the patient experience. The incumbent functions as Supervisory Customer Service Specialist under the direction of the Executive Director. Develop and/or assist with communication and awareness for patients to understand their rights and processes for sharing feedback. Interpret the GLA's mission and policies and apply or relate them to patient and employee experience practices/programs and help correlate and communicate such to patients and staff. Responsible to plan, develop, support and lead resolutions of Veteran challenges. Formulate new and revise existing agency policies and procedures related to patient and employee experience as necessary to support VEO program implementation. Consult with staff and managers to identify opportunities for improvement of the Patient Experience Program, and internal customer satisfaction. Develop materials for patients and staff, including fact sheets, brochures, booklets, etc., that increase communication with the target audience to support the programs. Provide advice to managers/technical specialists in identifying business areas with potential improvement in impact on experience. Prepare and/or review reports involving trend analyses and follows-up in areas of the facility's Patient and Employee Experience Program, Patient Advocate, and Outreach activities. Prepare, analyze data and make recommendations for effective change. Resolve informal complaints and grievances. Initiate nondiscriminatory practices and affirmative action for the area under his/her supervision. Responsible for the continuous evaluation of program efforts, impact and effectiveness. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm. 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. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Customer Service Specialist/PD13053O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required 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 Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/11/2024. 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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. The GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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 GS-12: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: skill in utilizing various data resources to analyze program effectiveness; advanced knowledge and understanding of the principles of organizational change management; expertise in applying analytical and evaluation methods and techniques to improve the patient experience; skill in presenting recommendations, negotiating solutions, and articulating decisions; comprehensive knowledge of health care system operations and related policies and procedures; and experience performing administrative and personnel management tasks. Specialized Experience GS-13: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: skill in utilizing various data resources to analyze program effectiveness; advanced knowledge and understanding of the principles of organizational change management; expertise in applying analytical and evaluation methods and techniques to improve the patient experience; skill in presenting recommendations, negotiating solutions, and articulating decisions; comprehensive knowledge of health care system operations and related policies and procedures; and experience performing administrative and personnel management tasks. Preferred Experience: A minimum of three (3) years of experience in: A leadership or supervisory role in a Patient Experience and Patient Advocate office. Serving on a committee, council, or work group that monitored outreach functions in the organization in addition to participating in outreach events. Quantitative and qualitative analysis with VA data systems. Managing a budget, acquisition, procurement, and/or contracting. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Data Management Manages Human Resources Organizational Awareness Teamwork 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 regular and recurring work of this position is sedentary in nature and involves sitting at a desk, conferences, meetings, etc. and visits to facility work sites. Occasional use of automobile and public conveyances may be required. No special physical exertion is 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. Additional Information 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. 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 213.3102(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. 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/. 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. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (or the Act) prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from requesting applicant criminal history record information before extending a conditional or tentative offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S.C 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged non-compliance to VA at vacofairchanceact@va.gov. Applicant written complaints should include the following: Administration name: Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office name, employee name and contact information or contractor who made contact (if known). Date of contact. Details regarding the job opportunity announcement applied to, and copies of any documents or other evidence related to the complaint. Visit Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) (va.gov) for more information.