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Summary This position is located at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital. The position functions as an educator/staff development specialist and is responsible for provision and coordination of customer-focused, performance-based educational services. Responsibilities As a training instructor as an educator/staff development specialist and is responsible for provision and coordination of customer-focused, performance-based educational services. This role includes assessing educational and staff development needs, developing and implementing educational/staff development activities to meet those needs; and evaluating outcomes of these activities, as evidenced by improvement of patient care, staff performance or work product. Educational activities will be conducted through traditional, multimedia, and teleconferencing/videoconferencing modalities. You will need to be familiar with the Adult Learning Theory and Accelerated Learning techniques as appropriate to the audience and educational medium. Duties Include but are not limited to: The incumbent serves as backup for New Employee Orientation and contributes to teaching core mandated topics and medical-center wide training. Plans, develops and implements New Employee Orientation (NEO) activities in conjunction with the NEO coordinator. Reviews local, national, and VA policies to gather information on education requirements, on a frequently regular basis. Assures learning is strategically aligned with organizational goals and objectives. Develops policy and procedure to use TMS tracking to correlate facility needs with national/federal laws and accrediting agency’s requirements. Applies extensive familiarity with all TMS Administrative roles and program functions: Assignment Manager, Scheduling Manager, Registration Manager, and Item Manager. This includes entering all course pre-requisites into TMS; utilizing TMS to manage and track facility training compliance. Manages Administrators within own TMS Domain. Creates Competencies and Competency Profiles within their Domain and then assign them to Users in the Domain. Applies extensive familiarity with all the fields and functions within the Talent Management System and the specific data within those files for their Domain. Applies extensive familiarity with nationwide offering, mandatory and required training, and an understanding of the local target audiences. This includes running reports training status to managers and service-level TMS Administrators to keep them up to date, as needed and assisting supervisors with resources available for developing employee education plans. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday- 7:30am-4:00pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: PD18032O Requirements Conditions of Employment 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 dentification 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. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/04/2026. 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 the 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. 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: Individual Occupational Requirements Education Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study — education or a subject area related to the position to be filled. or Experience Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience that demonstrated a practical knowledge of the subject area of the position and of the methods and techniques of instruction. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Teaching or instructing in an adult education program, secondary school, college, military installation, or industrial establishment in the appropriate field(s). Supervising or administering a training program. Development or review of training/course materials, aids, devices, etc., and evaluation of training results. Work in the occupation or subject-matter field of the position to be filled that required training or instructing others on a regular basis. In addition to the IOR above, applicants must meet the grade requirements GS-07: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: assessing educational and staff development needs, developing and implementing educational/staff development activities to meet those needs; and evaluating outcomes of these activities, as evidenced by improvement of patient care, staff performance or work product. This developmental position, located in the Employee Education Department, at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital a Level 1b Complexity VHA Facility, Madison, WI, composes a career ladder structure to the full performance level of Training Specialist GS-1712-09. Advancement to the full performance level will be recommended only after it has been determined that the incumbent meets all regulatory and statutory requirements, is satisfactorily progressing in the training, is successfully performing the currently assigned range of duties as outlined in the target position of Training Specialist GS-1712-09. OR Education: Have 1 full year of graduate education in a related field to the position. Or I have completed a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree in any field and I have superior academic achievement (S.A.A). S.A.A. is based on I graduated in the top third of my class. Class is defined as the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration. I graduated with a Grade-point average of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0. This grade point average could have been determined based on 4 years of education or based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. I graduated with a grade-point average of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on courses required for my major field or courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. I am a member of a national scholastic honor society. (MUST PROVIDE TRANSCRIPTS). OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-7 level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-7. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position. GS-09: 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: assessing educational and staff development needs, developing and implementing educational/staff development activities to meet those needs; and evaluating outcomes of these activities, as evidenced by improvement of patient care, staff performance or work product. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Master’s or equivalent graduate degree; or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.B. or J.D., if related. OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail, Customer Service, Integrity/Honesty, Interpersonal Skills, Reading Comprehension, Self-Management, and Teamwork 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. 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. Physical Requirements: The work required is generally sedentary in nature, but also includes standing bending, and carrying light or medium loads of paper, office supplies, supplies and equipment. Walking, sitting for extended period of time at a computer terminal, and standing at length while instructing are involved in this position. 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 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/. Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant’s criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee’s credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM’s Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
