Education Program Specialist

Responsible for all education and training throughout the organization to include New Employee Orientation, annual mandatory trainings, library services, the Talent Management System (TMS), leadership and development programs, coaching and mentoring programs, simulation, Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support education, and other trainings required by the facility, VISN or VA Central Office.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/26/2026.

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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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 Requirement:

To meet the basic qualification of the 1720

Education Program Specialist Occupational Series:

Possess a degree that includes or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position to be filled, of which at least 9 semester hours must have been in education courses; OR, Possess a combination of education and experience with at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position to be filled, of which at least 9 semester hours have been in education courses, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience must reflect the level and kind described in the next bullet below; OR, Possess four years of experience that demonstrate a thorough understanding of the principles and practices underlying the work of this series. This experience must have been of such character and diversity to demonstrate that the I possess an understanding of the field comparable to that normally acquired through successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university; OR, Possess at least 1 full academic year of professional teaching experience. This experience is defined as full and primary responsibility, under general supervision, for instruction of assigned students in an accredited school or institution. This includes responsibility for preparing and presenting lessons and for evaluating students' progress, including a determination of the students' success or failure according to established criteria. Serving in an assistant capacity to a professor without the authority to determine the students' success or failure to meet course requirements does not meet this criterion. In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR), you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-09

Experience/Education:

Possess 2 (two) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR, Possess a combination of education and experience. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond one (1) year of graduate education. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first year of graduate education). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify; OR, Possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07. Specialized experience includes but are not limited to: plan, direct, organizes, coordinate administrative service; data collection, researching standard practices; basic management analysis process; conducting analytical studies; provide program support. GS-11

Experience/Education:

Possess 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR, Possess a combination of education and experience. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond two (2) years of graduate education. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first year of graduate education). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify; OR, Possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09. Specialized experience includes but are not limited to: plan, direct, organizes, coordinate administrative service; data collection, researching standard practices; develop and evaluate programs; project management; regulations and precedents; management analysis process; conducting analytical studies; provide program support.

Preferred Experience:

Experience with TMS, SharePoint, ADPAC, and/or IT. 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:

This position requires visual acuity, keen hearing, clear distinctive speech, and manual dexterity. This position is primarily sedentary, but may require potentially long periods of continued walking, standing, stooping, sitting, bending, pulling, and pushing. Work also involves some carrying and transporting of books, library materials, files and/or office supplies, driving an automobile, etc. Fieldwork may involve traveling to outlying Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), meetings and sources of information. Transferring objects, supplies and program materials throughout the Medical Center may be required. Work is usually performed sitting at a desk, in conferences and meetings. Some light physical exertion is necessary. The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on program needs. 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/ .