SUPERVISORY HEALTH TECHNICIAN PROGRAM COORDINATOR (OPHTHALMOLOGY)

SummaryThe incumbent of this position is responsible for providing a variety of management/supervisory services and knowledge of technical services essential to the direction and operation of the VA Eye Care Service, Surgical Service, VA Medical Center, Sacramento, California. The incumbent works collaboratively with the Ophthalmology and Optometry staff, resident physicians, nurses, students and eye technicians in all functional areas.ResponsibilitiesThe incumbent serves as the direct supervisor for up to twelve Eye Health Technicians 0640/GS-06, GS-07, GS-08 and GS-09 as applicable. The scope of the duties includes, but it is not limited to the following: The incumbent oversees the daily operation of the unit, ensures that agency policies and priorities are being followed; Develops performance standards; competencies and evaluates work performance of subordinates; The incumbent gives advice, counsel, and instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters; The incumbent hears and resolves minor complaints from employees; refers group grievances and more serious unresolved complaints to a higher-level supervisor or manager; effects minor disciplinary measures such as warnings and reprimands and recommends action in more serious cases; The incumbent interviews candidates for positions in the unit; recommends appointments, promotions, and reassignments to unit positions; identifies and provides for training needs; and finds ways to improve production or increase the quality of work within the area of authority; The incumbent carries out Equal Employment Opportunity policies and program activities; The incumbent must coordinate work assignments between the Eye Health Technicians and the Physicians to coincide with the eye clinic team and the service line goals. In this role, the incumbent provides technical and administrative supervision and support to the Eye Care Service which comprise of health technicians (both ophthalmic technicians and optometric technicians), Optometrists, Ophthalmologists, and trainees in both Optometry and Ophthalmology; The incumbent oversees the daily operation of the eye clinic and all clinical and administrative support staff; The incumbent will create daily work schedules, monitor breaks, monitor efficiencies of the clinic and work flow throughout the day, and evaluate and assess technician skill and efficiency daily; The incumbent will be responsible for approving time and leave and shifting staff as needed to fulfill clinic needs and flow daily. The incumbent ensures agency policies and procedures are followed and works in collaboration with the Chief of Eye Care, Clinic Manager, and the Chief Nurse Perioperative Services as needed; The incumbent provides leadership and mentorship to the Eye Care Team, and is responsible for the organizational culture and growth of the entire team; The incumbent assists in providing direct team leadership and management of clinical staff, ophthalmic assistants and technicians, pathways interns and students assigned to eye care clinics, volunteer staff, and administrative staff including eye care program specialist and/or support assistants; The mission of the Eye Clinic is aligned with VA goals and missions and strives to provide the highest level of customer service for the internal and external customer; Additional duties are assigned and delegated by the Chief of Eye Care, Clinic Manager and Chief Nurse Perioperative Services as needed. The incumbent demonstrates knowledge of theory and principles of management and organization, including administrative practices and procedures common to the Sacramento VA Medical Center, such as those pertaining to areas of responsibility, channels of communication, delegation of authority, routing of correspondence, various inspection organizations and safety of patient records; The incumbent oversees/maintains all stock levels of ophthalmic mediations and supplies necessary for the function of the clinic. This includes delegation of duties and working with pharmacy to ensure all medications are available to providers on the floor and assisting providers in creating easy access to equipment for minor procedures and lasers; Assistance in evaluation of stock of inventory and in ordering of new instruments and equipment will be part of their responsibilities. They will work with the other techs and Surgery department to do routine inventory checks of equipment and make sure proper procedures and policies are being followed; The incumbent trains other health technicians, instructs and orients student trainees/new Eye Clinic employees in VA policy, computer usage (with the various order/entry packages), and in utilization of eye clinic equipment; works with Chief of Eye Care to create educational opportunities for the technicians. Work Schedule: Will be negotiatedFinancial Disclosure Report: Not requiredRequirementsConditions of EmploymentQualificationsApplicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS; Citizenship: Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified candidates in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part. Experience and Education Experience. One year of experience in a health care field, such as but not limited to nursing, medical assistant, or health technician. OR Education. Two years above high school with a minimum of six semester hours directly related to a health care field or associate's degree in a health care related degree. OR Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combinations of experience and education are qualifying. Creditable Experience Knowledge of Current Health Technician (Ophthalmology) Practice. To be creditable, the experience must have demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with a health care field or knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the current occupation. Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid or non-paid employment in the health care field. Quality of Experience. Qualifying experience must be at a level comparable to Health Technician (Ophthalmology) experience at the next lower grade level of the position being filled. Part-time Experience. Part time experience as a Health Technician (Ophthalmology) is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time work week. For example, a Health Technician (Ophthalmology) employed 20 hours per week, or on a ½ time basis, would receive one full-time work week credit for each two weeks of service. Certification: All applicants must be certified as a Certified Ophthalmic Assistant (COA) with the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (JCAHPO). The COA certification is JCAHPO's entry-level certification examination for a Health Technician (Ophthalmology). Grade Determinations: Supervisory Health Technician (Ophthalmology), GS-10 (a) Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. (b) Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Supervisory Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) at the GS-10 grade level generally are found in Complexity Level 1 (High Complexity) facilities, or in facilities of lesser complexity levels where large ophthalmology services are found. Supervisors may perform other complex assignments and program management duties such as overseeing the integration between ophthalmic medical devices and the electronic medical record system. The Supervisory Health Technician (Ophthalmology) is responsible for the supervision, administrative management, direction of ophthalmology staff, and supervises interactions of Health Technicians (Ophthalmology) with affiliate ophthalmology residents. May be delegated full administrative and professional responsibility for planning and directing the ophthalmology staff activities for the service or equivalent unit at an independent outpatient clinic. Has full supervisory responsibility over a section or equivalent work unit. Typical duties include preparing work assignments, monitoring clinical performances of ophthalmology staff, volunteers, and/or students, conducting performance appraisals, and other clinical and administrative responsibilities to ensure that the mission of the service and the medical center has been satisfied. Assures compliance with accrediting agency and regulatory requirements, and the quality management program, assuring corrective action is initiated as needed. Assures orientation and competency assessment of assigned staff. Develops policies and procedures; manages document control; develops performance standards, position descriptions and functional statements; and is responsible for professional and administrative management of an assigned area to include budget execution. Maintains interdepartmental relations with other services to accomplish medical center goals. May have overall responsibility for planning, assessing, and evaluating programs to ensure proper coordination between care delivered by the program and overall delivery of healthcare within the facility, or coordination of non-VA care as appropriate. (c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA). In addition to meeting the all KSAs for the GS-10 grade level, the candidate must demonstrate the potential to acquire the assignment-specific KSA designated by an asterisk (). 1. Ability to work independently to set priorities, delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze organizational problems, and develop and implement effective solutions to optimize quality, efficiency, performance, and productivity within the service; 2. Ability to develop policy, manage equipment requests, and provide workload analysis in Ophthalmology Service; 3. Demonstrated leadership and managerial skills including skill in interpersonal relations and conflict resolution to deal with employees, team members, managers and other departments; and 4. Ability to perform the full range of supervisory duties which includes responsibility for assignment of work to be performed; competency assessments; performance evaluations; selection of staff; and recommendation of awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary actions. References: Title 38 or Hybrid Title 38 Occupation official qualification standards of the position as stated in VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.EducationIMPORTANT: 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 InformationReceiving 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. 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. If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.