Summary In this role, you will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of major acquisition programs through program analysis, data analytics, strategic planning, and acquisition management. You will evaluate program performance, develop innovative solutions, and advise senior leadership and acquisition stakeholders. This position is within the Acquisition Innovation & Integration Service (AlIS), Enterprise Procurement Office (EPO), Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Construction (OALC). Duties ***THIS IS NOT A REMOTE POSITION. YOU MUST BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE RETURN TO OFFICE POLICY AND BE ABLE TO WORK ON SITE AT VA-OWNED OR VA-LEASED SPACE***
Duties include, but are not limited to:
- Briefing the AIS Director on progress, conclusions, and recommendations throughout the acquisition lifecycle process;
- Assesses current approaches and outcomes for process improvement and recommends future program objectives and improvements;
- Strategizes and develops a comprehensive innovation plan for acquisitions in collaboration with the program specialist supervisor and Director;
- Plans, organizes, and completes special studies;
- Provides analyses of programs, policies, and procedures to ensure efficiency and efficacy;
- Establishes and leads the requirements elicitation activity stream to ensure effective capture and translation of customer needs and expectations;
- Obtains and/or develops databases and models for managing and implementing innovative ideas and identifies and resolves problems that are barriers to achieving innovation objectives; and
- Isolating, identifying, and recommending solutions to critical problems affecting the administration of important national health care acquisition programs and the attainment of the Secretary's priorities, goals, and objectives.
Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Compressed/Flexible: May be authorized
Return to Office (RTO): RTO mandates are in effect and selectees will be required to report to in person work unless they have an approved exemption.
Telework: Ad Hoc telework (situational telework) may be authorized as determined by the agency policy.
Virtual: This is a virtual position, candidates will be expected to work on site at a VA-Owned or VA-Leased space.
Position Description/PD#: PD20442A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not AuthorizedQualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/13/2026.
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-13 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 grade level. 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 some former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade.
You may qualify based on your experience as described below:
Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
- Analyzing acquisition program processes to identify operational problems and opportunities for improvement;
- Participating in acquisition planning activities for major or long-term acquisitions;
- Presenting acquisition progress, findings, or recommendations to management officials; and
- Using databases or analytical models to support acquisition program improvement or innovation activities.
- Contributing to the development of strategic initiatives to improve acquisition processes and promote innovation.
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; religious; 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: Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list the grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 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 is sedentary. Some work may require walking and standing in conjunction with travel to and attendance at meetings and conferences away from the work site. The work does not require any special physical effort.
For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides 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 found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications:
Applicants will demonstrate direct experience leading acquisition planning activities for major, high-value, or long-term acquisitions; independently briefing senior leadership on acquisition progress, findings, and recommendations; evaluating complex acquisition program processes and developing solutions to critical operational problems; developing comprehensive strategic plans for acquisition innovation; and developing databases or analytical models to support the implementation of program innovations.
Among applicants who meet minimum qualifications and the Best Qualified standard, the strongest will demonstrate sustained leadership of major acquisition planning efforts; responsibility for advising senior leaders throughout the acquisition lifecycle; independent resolution of critical problems affecting significant acquisition programs; a leading role in developing comprehensive acquisition innovation strategies; and direct experience creating databases or analytical models used to implement innovative acquisition practices.
Information about 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/.
Local Commuting Area: This is a virtual position. The selected applicant will be required to work from a VA-owned or VA-leased facility at an approved duty station. The local commuting area will be determined based on the approved official duty station and will include locations within a 50-mile driving distance of that facility.
Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level.
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
- You may be required to serve a probationary period
- 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.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a one-year probationary period or two-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 one year probationary period or two year trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.How you will be evaluated IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.
You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. 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:
- Accountability
- Analysis and Problem Solving
- Attention to Detail
- Communication
- Customer Service
- Decision Making
- Flexibility
- Influencing/Negotiating
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Learning
- Organizational Performance Analysis
- Planning and Evaluating
- Reading Comprehension
- Reasoning
- Self-Management
- Stakeholder Management
- Stress Tolerance
- Systems Thinking
- Teamwork
- Technology Application
Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.
Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be contacted for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.
The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position. Area of Consideration: Eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
- All current, permanent VA Employees in the Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Construction
- All other current, permanent VA employees
Applicant Count: This announcement will remain open until the closing date, 11/13/2026, or when the applicant count is reached, whichever is earlier. The applicant count is the point at which the first 75 applications are received. All applications submitted that day up to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the date the applicant count is reached will be accepted and considered.
During the application process, you will 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.
Benefits
VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. Ad Hoc telework (situational telework) may be authorized as determined by the agency policy. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. How to apply Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
- To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents.
- Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
- Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 11/13/2026.
- If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
- Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
- Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
- Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
- Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at: https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us
Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.
Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.
Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open Sans Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume:
- Prioritize most relevant and recent experience
- Use concise, results focused language
- Align language from the job announcement
- Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies
- Remove outdated or unrelated experience
- Use the USAJOBS resume builder
Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at:
https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit and
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.Other 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 (HRA) at The Fair Chance Act.
Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.
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 here:
https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information
