Summary
The Program Specialist position is located in the Dental Service at the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System (VASLCHCS). The incumbent provides comprehensive program, analytical, and administrative support for the full life-cycle of dental community care consults; coordinates communication and information exchange among Veterans, Dental Service staff, Community Care personnel, and dental providers.
Duties
Duties Include but are not limited to: Coordinate Dental Community Care/Care in the Community (CITC) consults, including tracking consult status, obtaining required documentation, coordinating with Veterans and community dental providers, and supporting timely administrative closure. Use VA clinical, administrative, and office-automation systems such as CPRS, VistA, CTM, DRM, PATS, VATAS, Microsoft Excel, Power BI, Outlook, and Adobe Pro to manage records, analyze workload data, prepare reports, and protect sensitive information. Support dental or healthcare program operations through patient service recovery, process improvement, supply/equipment or contracting support, timekeeping, and effective communication with interdisciplinary staff and external providers. Serve as a timekeeper or alternate timekeeper, including reviewing timecards; entering and correcting work schedules, leave, overtime, and premium-pay actions; resolving routine discrepancies; and maintaining accurate, confidential time-and-attendance records in VATAS or a comparable system. Knowledge of dental inventory and procurement processes, including monitoring stock levels, initiating supply and equipment requests, maintaining records, and coordinating with vendors and Supply Chain Management. Independently manage dental referrals or community-care consults, including documentation review, authorization tracking, records retrieval, provider coordination, Veteran communication, and timely closure of care episodes. Proficiency use VA systems or comparable electronic health records, consult-management, scheduling, tracking, and reporting tools to maintain accurate records, protect sensitive information, and monitor workload or access metrics. Developing trackers, analyzing workflow or performance data, identifying barriers to access or timeliness, and recommending or implementing measurable process improvements. Success resolving complex patient, Veteran, provider, or stakeholder concerns involving access, scheduling, documentation, authorizations, or service recovery while using sound judgment and appropriate escalation. Support dental inventory and procurement, supply/equipment tracking, dental laboratory or invoice review, contracting support, and/or time-and-attendance functions in a healthcare, dental, or comparable regulated environment. Dental Community Care/Care in the Community (CITC) consult coordination, including reviewing consults for completeness, obtaining required clinical documentation and radiographs, tracking consult status, resolving routine barriers, and supporting timely closure of authorized dental treatment episodes. Electronic health record, consult-management, scheduling, reporting, and office-automation systems to manage referrals, records, workload data, correspondence, and sensitive patient information. Customer service and service-recovery experience involving Veterans, patients, family members, staff, and external dental providers; including researching concerns, communicating clearly and tactfully, coordinating corrective actions, and escalating complex issues appropriately. Data collection, analysis, reporting, and process-improvement experience, including development of consult trackers, workload logs, dashboards, spreadsheets, standard templates, and recommendations that improve access, timeliness, workflow efficiency, or continuity of care. Dental inventory, procurement, supply-chain coordination, equipment tracking, dental laboratory invoice review, or basic contracting support in a healthcare or dental setting. Protect protected health information, personal identifiable information, payroll information, and other sensitive administrative records in accordance with privacy, security, and records-management requirements. Promotion Potential: 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. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD148540 and PD148550 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Requirements
You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Education
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
How you will be evaluated
Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed 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 Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.