Program Analyst

The Program Analyst position supports heath system decision-making and management functions as a member of Surgery Services at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit, Michigan. The incumbent is responsible for providing substantial staff support for each of the surgery sections under the broad supervision of the Administrative Officer.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/14/2026.

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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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 and/or education as described below: GS-7:

Specialized Experience:

You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: coordinating with others between various units and offices to accomplish work related projects; analyzing work flow to determine potential problem areas and making recommendations to correct; proofreading documents for grammatical errors; notifying others of pending appointments and meetings; advising others on processes or procedures; using a computer to enter and maintain data for programs; and sorting and processing incoming correspondence.

OR, Education:

Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one year of full-time graduate education or a Bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) in a course of study that directly relates to the position. The education must be in a course of study that directly reflects the job-related KSAs/competencies necessary to satisfy the minimum qualification and perform the duties of the position. One year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or the number determined by the school attended to represent one year of full-time study. SAA is based on class standing (upper third), GPA (3.0 or above) or honor society membership (Transcripts must be submitted).

OR, Combination:

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education to qualify. This can be determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the required experience and education as a percentage of the total required. The total percentage must equal 100 percent. (Transcripts must be submitted). GS-9:

Specialized Experience:

You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assisting with collecting, compiling, and/ or tracking data and statistical information in support of program operations; processing and analyzing data and monitoring and updating reports; identifying, analyzing, and recommending solutions to problems; making recommendations based on analysis of statistical data for process improvements; maintaining computerized databases or information tracking systems.

OR, Education:

Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree which is directly related to the Program Analyst position, or 2 full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.B. or J.D., if related to the work of this position. The education must be in a course of study that directly reflects the job-related KSAs/competencies necessary to satisfy the minimum qualification and perform the duties of the position. (Transcripts must be submitted).

OR, Combination:

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond GS-07. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level, GS-07, may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade GS-9.

For example:

The position to be filled is a Management Analyst, GS-343-9. An applicant has 6 months of specialized experience equivalent to GS-7 and 1 year of graduate level education. The applicant meets 50 percent of the required experience but none of the required education, since he or she does not have any graduate study beyond that which is required for GS-7. Therefore, the applicant meets only 50 percent of the total requirement and is not qualified for the position. (The applicant's first year of graduate study is not qualifying for GS-9.)

Preferred Experience:

Experience utilizing automated data systems and standard office software to collect, manage, and analyze information. Experience applying fact-find, analytical, and problem-solving methods to identify complex problems and their root causes. Experience analyzing and summarizing information for the supervisory and upper management staff. •

Note:

Current, permanent John D. Dingell VA Medical Center employees and employees of other VA's or other Federal agencies MUST submit their most recent SF-50 dated 01/11/2026, or later to receive consideration as a federal employee. Failure to provide your most recent SF-50 dated 01/11/2026, or later, will result in you not receiving first area of consideration and may result in your disqualification. Note to current federal employees applying: You must submit a copy of a recent SF-50 (must provide an SF-50 dated 01/11/2026 or later; FWS/WG employees must provide one dated within the last year) to provide proof of eligibility.

ATTENTION

You may need to submit more than one SF-50 if we cannot verify you meet time-in-grade (TIG) by your most recent SF-50. For example, if your most recent SF-50 is a General Adjustment or change in data element, we need your most recent SF-50 dated 01/11/2026 and another SF-50 to verify TIG. Examples of SF-50s for TIG verification include your last within-grade increase or promotion to highest grade held. Promotion shows when you started the grade level and a within-grade increase verifies you were at that grade level for at least one year. Failure to provide your most recent SF-50 dated 01/11/2026 or later to prove area of consideration eligibility and other SF-50s to verify you meet the TIG requirement will result in you being disqualified. We cannot verify time-in-grade based only on the grade and step you are currently on. 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/ .