[Hiring] Health System Specialist @Office of Suicide Prevention, Veterans Crisis Line

Role Description

The employee will serve as the Health Systems Specialist, located in the National Care & Peer Support Department of the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL), Veterans Affair (VA). The VCL is a 24-hour, 7-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year service aimed at connecting callers worldwide to a caring, qualified Veterans Administration employee. The VCL's mission is to provide 24/7, world-class suicide prevention and crisis intervention services to Veterans, Service Members and their family members.

• Facilitates seamless integration into, and ongoing collaboration with, the established VCL system of care.
• Collaborates with agencies within and outside VA, and across VCL programs/departments, to ensure program content and practices remain current, compliant with VHA/VCL and external regulatory standards, and consistent with service fidelity.
• Provides expert-level consultation across all areas of program development and continuous improvement, including policy, SOPs, training curriculum, service delivery, program evaluation, and recruitment/hiring.
• Integrates program evaluation data and synthesizes information from multiple sources to inform decisions and extend or develop new techniques.
• Collaborates with external leaders in research and practice to create, execute, and evaluate innovative practices.
• Maintains up-to-date knowledge of evidence-based and innovative practice to advance the field.
• Develops and delivers communications and information-dissemination tools (presentations, job aids, other materials) to educate and spread information about services at all VCL levels.
• Applies strong command of English grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Provides expert-level consultation and coaching to team members.
• Plans specific training, program evaluation, and quality assurance programming consistent with VCL regulations.
• Ensures excellence and consistency in supervision quality and overarching practice.
• Collaborates with researchers and program evaluators to move forward work products on behalf of VCL.
• Collaborates with leadership and external leaders in the field of research and practice to create, execute, and evaluate innovative practices to advance the field of services.
• Maintains gold standard Veteran safety practices.

Work Schedule

• Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-4:30pm EST. Tour is subject to change based on program needs.
• Compressed/Flexible Work Schedule: Not available.
• Remote: This is a remote position. Selectees will work 100% of the time in a non-VA-owned space outside of the local commuting area of a parent station.
• The employee's workspace must be suitable for conducting business and provide a secure, distraction-free home-based worksite with reliable high-speed internet connectivity.
• The employee will be required to travel to the closest VA Medical Center or VA Outpatient Clinic for issuance of equipment, and as needed for technical support.
• Selectees will be required to self-certify that their remote workplace meets all safety, privacy, and internet speed requirements.

Position Description/PD#

Health System Specialist/PD35205A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives

• Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI)

• Not Approved

Permanent Change of Station (PCS)

• Not required

Financial Disclosure Report

• Not required

Education Requirements

• A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
• Transcripts must depict the name of the college to determine accreditation, and your name must also be displayed on the transcripts.
• If qualifying based on a degree, or for positions requiring a degree, the transcript must show the date the degree was conferred.
• If selected, you must provide official transcripts.
• Copies of official transcripts are accepted and are the best way to ensure your education is interpreted correctly in accordance with OPM qualification standards.
• Unofficial transcripts are accepted if they contain all the required information.

Qualifications

• To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/09/2026.
• Time-In-Grade Requirement: In addition to the Basic Requirements, 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.
• For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11.
• Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): The Health System Administration Series, 0671, has an Individual Occupational Requirement.
• Applicants must meet at least one of the requirements below:
• Undergraduate and Graduation Education: Major study - Hospital Administration, Public Health Administration, or related fields such as Business or Public Administration with course work in Health Care Administration.
• Specialized Experience: Progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care field.

GS-12 Qualification Requirement

• In addition to Time in Grade and the IOR, applicants must meet the following to qualify for this position:
• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-11).
• In order to meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet 3/5 of the following examples of specialized experience:
• Delivered health care, behavioral health, crisis or psychosocial services directly to Veterans, or to a comparable population with complex needs.
• Developed, wrote, or revised behavioral health, crisis-response, or suicide-prevention policies, standard operating procedures (SOP), quality-assurance standards, reports, or program documentation.
• Planned, developed or delivered training, and coached or consulted with staff or supervisors to improve consistency and quality of practice.
• Evaluated a health care program using data or other measures of effectiveness and efficiency.
• Worked with leaders, other departments or outside agencies to keep program practices in line with behavioral health, crisis or psychosocial VA directives and/or SOP directives and policies.