Program Specialist

This position serves as a critical resource for the Chief of Surgery and the Surgery Service line throughout Perioperative Services by maintaining a list of all Medical Service Contracts and related financial costs associated with the contracts. He/she is responsible for every aspect of the Medical Services contracts from development of performance work statement through auditing the performance of established contracts ensuring the contracts are kept current ensuring all extension and modifications are in place so services can continue without any disruption to patient of the duties include but are not limited to;

• The incumbent is fully responsible for initiating completing and maintaining contracting packages in urgent/non-urgent or emergent situations.
• Service Chiefs and Administrative Officers have primary responsibility for identifying the needs for each contract under their domain the incumbent will work independently he/she will provide technical expertise in translating clinical and organizational needs into a Performance Work Statement he/she will utilize National pay surveys used by VA in order to conduct market salary research and Independent Government Cost Estimates he/she prepares required procurement packets for sole source solicitations or Federal Supply Schedule services (FSS) and or temporary agencies and are submitted to the VISN1 Contracting Office.
• The incumbent will track and ensure mandatory training by using the VA-level programs such as Talent Management System ensures background checks are cleared though the VHA Security Center tracks ID badges and expiration dates. He/she Ensures quarterly reports completed required by Contracting are entered into the eCOR Contracting System.
• The contracting officer representative approves invoices and maintains administrative records related to the performance agreements conducts compliance inspection reports by keeping these records to ensure or prevent waste and fraud. If a dispute arises between a contractor and the government regarding the quality of services and if needed the incumbent is responsible for informing and working directly with the Contracting Officer within the VISN1 Contracting Office.
• VA Connecticut is a 1A complexity facility and has a high volume of trainees including residents and medical students the Contracting Officer Representative works in collaboration with the Administrative Officers and serves as the liaison for clinical contracted services in planning with the Affiliated academic partner to ensure the education and training program for health professional trainees that further enhances the quality of care provided to Veteran patients within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) this is accomplished by ensuing the contracts are put in place for the medical services are kept current or if new put in place.
• The contracting officer representative serves as a communication liaison between the contractor and the agency. This is done by facilitating direct meetings between parties delivering written reports to his/her seniors making phone calls and sending emails to either party and agency official in order to maintain and bridge the gap between the clinical services.
• All other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Full-Time/Monday-Friday/8am-430pm
Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD027590
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

This position is a AFGE Bargaining Unit position.

This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.

Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50 (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title series grade step tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.

This position is in the Competitive Service.

Time-in-Grade Restriction: 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. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service.

Veterans preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees.

• 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. In addition to the application and questionnaire this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959

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.

• 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 ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers 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 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 your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification in writing that your continued employment advances the public interest.

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 08/07/2026.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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 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 and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: Expert level pertaining to government contract processes qualitative and quantitive program assessment tools and broad knowledge on public policies laws regulation and precedents applicable in healthcare contracts and administration. OR
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D or equivalent degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D. if related.

OR

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described for the GS-11 above to qualify.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• 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 work is primarily sedentary although some slight physical effort may be required.

For more information on these qualification standards please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at

Required Experience:

IC