Program Analyst (Technical Career Field Trainee)(Managerial Cost Accounting)

Company: Department of Veterans Affairs
Location: Ann Arbor
Posted on: June 7, 2021

Job Description:

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Summary

The Technical Career Field (TCF) is a national workforce development program within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). VHA that was designed to replenish technical staff in critically identified positions. The incumbent is considered a trainee and is a vital member of the project team, which is charged with the responsibility of implementing, processing and ongoing management of the VISN 10 Managerial Cost Accounting (MCA) program, organized under the VHA.

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Responsibilities

The TCF career fields represent those technical fields where VA-specific knowledge and experience is desirable for success in the field. Individuals selected follow a formal training plan for two years during which they are trained, coached, and supervised by a preceptor. Preceptors are selected annually, through an extensive application process, for their technical expertise, their commitment to training and the suitability of their facility as a training location. *Selectees will be required to sign Mobility, Training, Continued Service, and Recent Graduate Participant Agreements.

This is a developmental position leading to a GS-11, performing assignments intended to broaden skills and provide practical experience leading to progressively more complex assignments performed under progressively less supervision. The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Trainees must remain in hiring grade for one year prior to being promoted, even if the individual meets qualification/time-in-grade requirements for a higher grade prior to one year.

The incumbent will rotate through all V10 MCA areas; Processing, Analytics and Reporting. They will spend time working with each Lead and/or Manager and learning the duties of each position in MCA throughout the course of their internship. The incumbent reports directly to the VISN 10 MCA Operations Manager.

General Responsibilities (50%)

• Provides operational support to MCA in the VISN 10 Network. Under the direction of the supervisor, performs the monthly data processing tasks associated with the operations and maintenance of the DSS (Decision Support System) database, ensures processing procedures are completed reliably and in a timely fashion, adheres to current policies and procedures, and maintains accurate records of all processing activities.
• With approval and coordination through senior Program Analysts and the direct supervisor, performs DSS structure maintenance for the VISN and/or medical centers. Such maintenance activities may include but are not limited to changes to the structural framework; the enhancement of cost and/or product identification; and the enhancement of relative value units (RVUs; ensures the accuracy of the data being processed by performing routine and non-routine audits. The audits may be performed on source data (from VistA or VHA financial systems); MCA data, or end-user reports displaying MCA data. Incumbent will begin with smaller projects and move on to larger, more complex projects with the approval of the supervisor.
• Provides knowledgeable, effective, and courteous service related to MCA to VISN and medical center management and/or staff and works effectively with his/her colleagues within the MCA community.

Resource Utilization (50%)

• Utilizes various electronic tools to prepare reports, set up files, collect data and audit information.
• Audits input data, i.e. source documents, in order to validate the raw data.
• Extracts a variety of data from medical information systems. Collects and compiles statistical data from automated reports and a variety of automated medical data systems to support specific health care cost analysis.
• Processes and audits data in the MCA system as assigned by the MCA Operations Manager. Specifically, responsible for providing input to tasks that require coordination with the Analytics Team and medical centers, including but not limited to: mapping tables, contract labor rates, variable/fixed labor splits, identification of rejects, allocation structure changes, maintaining the clinic worksheet and determining data structure changes.

Work schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

Telework: Available

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized

Position Description Title/PD#: Program Analyst (Technical Career Field Trainee)(Managerial Cost Accounting)/91155-A

The entire period served under the Recent Graduates Program is a trial period. Upon conversion to the competitive service from these programs, the employee is not required to serve a probationary period in accordance with 5 CFR 315.802. Furthermore, prior Federal civilian service is credited toward the completion of the required trial period in the same manner as prescribed in 5 CFR 315.802.

Applicability of VA Time-in-Grade Restrictions for Pathways Programs. VA Handbook 5005, Staffing, Part III, Chapter 2, paragraph 5b, and Appendix III-B, extends time-in-grade (TIG) restrictions to VA title 5 excepted service GS positions; however, TIG restrictions do not apply to promotions or appointments of a Pathways Programs Participant. A current and former competitive service federal employee is not required to meet TIG requirements to be appointed into any Pathways positions in the excepted service.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status

No

Promotion Potential

11

• Job family (Series)

0343 Management And Program Analysis

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• Requirements

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to a background/security investigation
• Training-Service Agreement and Mobility Agreement required
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/31/2021.

You may qualify based on the minimum qualification criteria as described below:

• Eligible candidates must be recent graduates who have obtained a qualifying associates, bachelors, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from an accredited, qualifying educational institution, within the previous 2 years. An individual must meet one of the following criteria to receive consideration for eligibility requirements:

(1) An individual may apply for a position in the Recent Graduates Program only if the individual's application is received not later than 2 years after the date the individual completed all requirements of an academic course of study leading to a qualifying associates, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from an accredited, qualifying educational institution.

(2) A Veteran, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 2108, who, due to a military service obligation, was precluded from applying to the Recent Graduates Program during any portion of the 2-year eligibility period described in the paragraph above shall have a full 2-year period of eligibility upon his or her release or discharge from active duty. In no event, may the individual's eligibility period extend beyond 6 years from the date on which the individual completed the requirements of an academic course of study.

AND

• Eligible candidates must have completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying curriculum in one or more of the following major fields of study: Finance, Accounting, Business Administration/Management, Organizational Management, Economics, Statistics, Data Analytics, Healthcare Administration, Computer Science, Database Management, Information Technology/Informatics, Decision Support Systems, and/or Managerial Cost Accounting.

AND

• Eligible candidates must possess at least one year of specialized experience at the GS-5 level or equivalent for this position. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. The incumbent demonstrates skill in applying analytical, auditing, and evaluative techniques to the identification, consideration, and resolution of issues or problems of a procedural or factual nature. The issues or problems deal with readily observable conditions, written guidelines covering work methods and procedures, and information of a factual nature. Included at this level is knowledge of the theory and principles of management and organization, including administrative practices and procedures common to organizations, such as those pertaining to MCA processing, auditing, and source systems. Assignment involves using qualitative and quantitative analytical techniques such as: literature search; work measurement; task analysis; organization design; auditing; flowcharting; graphing; and calculations using statistical measures. Knowledge of spreadsheet and database applications are needed to accomplish many of the tasks. Requires skill in obtaining information about organizational missions, functions, and work procedures.

OR

• Eligible candidates must possess at least one full year of graduate-level education. Education at the graduate level in an accredited college or university meets the requirements for positions at GS-7 through GS-11. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. One year of fulltime graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended.

OR

• Eligible candidates must possess a bachelors degree with Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.), which recognizes students who have achieved superior academic standing as evidenced by one of the three methods described below. In order to be creditable under this provision, superior academic achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled. S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership: (1) Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. (2) Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of: a.) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 (''B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or, b.) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 (''B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9. The G.P.A should be credited in a manner that is most beneficial to the applicant. For example, applicants may list their G.P.A. as recorded on their final transcript, or they may choose to compute their G.P.A. The specific provisions are detailed below: G.P.A. as recorded on the final transcript. The final transcript must cover the period being used to determine G.P.A., i.e., all 4 years or last 2 years; applicants who cannot claim credit under the G.P.A. requirements may claim credit for superior academic achievement only on the basis of class standing or honor society membership. (3) Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies. These honor societies are listed by the Association of College Honor Societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision.

OR

• Eligible candidates must possess equivalent combinations of specialized experience and education that meets 100 percent of the requirements for this position. Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for all grade levels for which both education and experience are acceptable. Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. When crediting education that requires specific course work, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.

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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application to support qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

What constitutes a valid certificate program for purposes of eligibility under the Pathways Programs?

The Pathways Programs regulation (see 5 CFR 362.103) defines certificate program as "post-secondary education, in a qualifying educational institution, equivalent to at least one academic year of full-time study that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational, or business school curriculum."

Since the early days of the Cooperative Education Program (more recently called the Student Career Experience Program), a predecessor program to the Pathways Internship Program, certificate programs were included in the educational requirements to accommodate technical, trade, and vocational schools where individuals learn a trade that does not necessarily require a 2- or 4-year degree from a college or university. Generally, these occupational fields require licensure for an individual to practice his or her trade or craft. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management did not intend the use of certificate programs to allow agencies to appoint individuals enrolled in short term "certificate programs" that are not required for the position or which lacked sufficient academic rigor.

Keywords: Department of Veterans Affairs, Ann Arbor , Program Analyst (Technical Career Field Trainee)(Managerial Cost Accounting), Other , Ann Arbor, Michigan