Health Systems Administrator (Associate Director)

at Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration in White River Junction, Vermont, United States

Job Description

Summary Shape the future of Veteran care in New England This temporary promotion for an Associate Director is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), White River Junction VA Medical Center, a facility nationally recognized for leadership in mental health, whole-health integration, innovation, and community-based Veteran support. Responsibilities As the Executive Director’s principal partner in driving operational excellence, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring that the care we deliver is accessible, Veteran-centered, and consistently high-quality. This is a high-visibility role with the opportunity to influence strategy, strengthen organizational culture, and lead transformative initiatives that shape the next era of healthcare for Veterans across Massachusetts and beyond. What You’ll Lead – Oversight of daily administrative and operational services across a complex healthcare system – Leadership of major performance-improvement, access, and modernization initiatives – Strategic planning and execution in collaboration with clinical and administrative chiefs – Stewardship of resources, capital planning, and operational readiness – A culture of accountability, innovation, and compassionate service What We’re Looking For – A servant-leader who thrives in a mission-driven environment – A strategic thinker who can execute with discipline and operational clarity – Experience managing large, multidimensional healthcare operations (VA or non-VA) – A collaborator who builds trust, empowers teams, and sets a high standard of excellence – A commitment to advancing a high reliability organization, whole-health culture, employee engagement, and Veteran experience Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Sharing with the Executive Leadership Team a level of responsibility for the direction and management of the Medical Center and is directly responsible for all facilities operations. A direct line authority and leadership responsibility for all administrative operation support services. May serve as the Acting Medical Center Director in the absence of the Director. Taking an active leadership role in coordinating and developing customer and stakeholder support and resourcing to meet Medical Center objectives. Determining operational services and programs goals and objectives, develop short-and long-range plans for achieving them in conjunction with the overall plans of the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) and consistent with the strategic planning process. Directing a comprehensive evaluation of operational services goals and objectives and makes necessary adjustments to improve delivery of patient care services. Establishing local policy in such areas impacting facility operations as program emphasis and operating guidelines. Administering and ensuring compliance with a system designed for the development and communication of program policies and procedures in accordance with new or existing rules and regulations. Administering a management reporting system which provides appropriate data for decision making for facility operations, impacting organizational improvements. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Telework/Virtual/Remote Work: Not authorized. Position Description/PD#: Health Systems Administrator (Associate Director) /PD99902S Relocation Incentives: Authorized Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Notifications: This position is in the Competitive Service. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. May be required to attend conference at other facilities or other VA sites on occasion. 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. 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. Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment. Selectee required to serve one year supervisory/managerial probationary period. 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 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 dentification 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) Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/06/2026. 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. Individual Occupational Requirements Education: Undergraduate and Graduate Education with Major study in hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration, OR Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): 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: Applicants must also possess: Management ability to delegate authority, evaluate and oversee people and programs, recognize and adapt to changing priorities; and Knowledge of the interrelationships and interdependencies among various medical and administrative services and programs Grade Determination: Specialized Exper