Program Specialist

This Program Specialist position is located in the Surgical Service at the West Haven, CT VAMC location. This position is a Full-Time position at 40 hours per week.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/14/2026.

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-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 must qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
Specialized

Experience:

You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Understanding of applicable fellowship programs
• Ability to analyze and evaluate techniques specific to trainee programs
• Strong communication skills to coordinate among various affiliated educational programs, internal departments and outside organizations
• Organizational skills to schedule and maintain educational activities
• Ability to offer technical support to various customers
• Developing and maintaining annual budgets in coordination with affiliate training faculty

OR,

Education:

Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a masters or equivalent graduate degree OR have completed two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. Education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of a Program Specialist.

Transcripts must be supplied at the time of application in order to be considered.

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 a bachelor's degree.

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.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, Ameri Corps) 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.

Physical Requirements:

The work is primarily sedentary, although physical effort to meet the other employees at their worksites is required. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..