Remote Program Specialist Jobs in Silver Spring, MD

Summary
This position is located in the Program Executive Director (PED), Front Office for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office (EHRM-IO), within the Office of the Deputy Secretary of VA (DEPSECVA), where the incumbent serves as a Governance Specialist.
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Duties
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This is a bargaining unit eligible position.
VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Total Rewards
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am -4:30 pm
Compressed/Flexible Schedule: May be available with supervisor approval
Telework: May be available with supervisor approval
Duty Location Status: Will work from a VA-owned or leased space
Position Description Title/PD#: Program Specialist/ PD20914A, PD20913A, and PD20915A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Physical Demands: The work is basically sedentary; however, occasional travel is sometimes required and can be physically demanding. Work may require occasional overnight travel away from the normal duty station.
This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-13. At the GS-11 and GS-12 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-13. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds. Promotion is not guaranteed and no promise of promotion is implied.
Major Duties:

• Responsible for planning, scope development and direction of complex and/or special projects
• Required to integrate sponsor/customer requirements and participation into a comprehensive management plan that is fully coordinated with all involved parties and/or organizations
• Control and manage project schedules
• Identify strengths and weaknesses and evaluate operational effectiveness

Requirements
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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 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.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be serving in a position in Schedule Policy/Career of the excepted service. You will obtain competitive status after two years of service in this position, if applicable. Your employm

Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/23/2026.
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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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 may 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-09 for the GS-11 position and GS-11 for the GS-12 position) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.
• GS-11 - specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Perform administrative and operational support duties, including coordinating meetings and organizing clinical and administrative activities; assist with program planning, management, implementation, and evaluation processes; develop program goals, objectives, and operational strategies; participate in organizational planning and daily operations to support program effectiveness; monitor and follow up on program evaluation methodologies, procedures, and outcomes; communicate and collaborate effectively with staff members, departments, and external programs; identify operational needs and provide recommendations for process improvements; coordinate daily program functions and maintain quality management procedures and compliance standards; provide excellent customer service and maintain professional communication with clients, staff, and stakeholders; collect, organize, analyze, and report data to support program performance and decision.
  Or
  Education: PhD or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related
  Or
  Combination - Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond master's or equivalent degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree.
• GS-12 - specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience applying analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to issues or functions related to office administration in order to review current procedures and to provide advice to management for improvements; quantitative and qualitative methods and principles to assess and improve on program effectiveness in order to provide advisory services. Coordinates critical sensitive activities and manages special and confidential assignments that are necessary to help support senior leadership.
  There is no educational substitution for the GS-12 level.

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, 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 is basically sedentary; however, occasional travel is sometimes required and can be physically demanding. Work may require occasional overnight travel away from the normal duty station.
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/.
Education

• GS-11 -Education: PhD or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related
  Or
  Combination - Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond master's or equivalent degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree
• GS-12 -There is no educational substitution for the GS-12 level

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.
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 (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.
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. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Receiving Service Credit or 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.
Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities, and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.
The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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 (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. 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/.
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 announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.
For "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions.
If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Benefits
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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of