Government Information Specialist

Summary

This position is located at the William 5. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, a Level 1b Complexity VHA Facility, and is organizationally aligned under the Office of the Director. Government Information Specialists formulate policy, advise agency and facility management, and ensure compliance with all Federal and State laws governing the collection, maintenance and disclosure of information as well as the safeguarding of Government information while supporting accountability and transparency.

Duties

• Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Implements, manages and monitors the Privacy and FOIA programs in the facility by distributing information; preparing facility-specific policy guidance; reviewing facility processes and workflow to ensure information is appropriately safeguarded, used and disclosed; reviewing all contracts and other facility agreements for privacy and other appropriate language; and assessing the facility privacy posture through evaluation of the facility's collection, use, storage and maintenance of sensitive personal information. Advises management and staff on Title 38 U.5.C. Sections 5701, 5705 and 7332, PA, FOIA and, where appropriate, HIPAA requirements, policies, and procedures and ensures that facility managers and staff understand and fulfill their responsibilities. Coordinates program implementation and management with higher organizational levels and prepares reports and information. Keeps abreast of recent developments in the field of disclosure, including, current legislative resolutions or problems encountered within the FOIA and Privacy program. Researches, analyzes, and responds to all facility FOIA requests for agency information applying FOIA exemptions as required. Reviews and analyzes appeals from denials of access to records requested under FOIA and recommends final agency decision on release/non-release of records. Prepares responses to privacy inquiries from Congressional Offices, Human Resources, News Media, and the Dept of Health and Human Resources Office for Civil rights (HHS OCR). Investigates HHS OCR requests related to HIPAA-privacy complaints in conjunction with the VHA Privacy Office. Provides assistance with the investigation of privacy-related inquiries from the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) by the VHA Privacy Office and VHA Office of the Medical Inspector (OMI), and provides any required information or materials, as necessary. Processes complaints and investigates allegations of inappropriate activities related to facility privacy practices, using or accessing individually-identifiable health information, or disclosing or release of individually-identifiable health information. Investigates data breaches, and suggest appropriate remediation. Enter all privacy complaints, incidents and data breaches into the Privacy and Security Event Tracking System (PSETS). Represents the facility on committees, teams, and work groups and provide guidance on issues related to the use and disclosure of information and privacy related functions. Develops facility privacy and FOIA policies and procedures in compliance with VA/VHA privacy policies and procedures and ensures appropriate implementation within the facility, including all Community Based Offsite Clinics within the Hospital's geographical catchment area and operational reach. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Government Information Specialist/PD18158O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/09/2026. 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. 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 as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: advise management and staff of polices and procedures and ensures that facility managers and staff understand and fulfill their responsibilities; researches, analyzes, and responds to all facility FOIA requests for agency information applying FOIA exemptions as required; prepare response to privacy inquires; provide assistance with investigation of privacy-related inquires from the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) by the VHA Privacy Office and VHA Office of the Medical Inspector (OMI), and provide any required information or material, as necessary; investigates data breaches, and suggest appropriate remediation; enter all privacy complaints, incidents and data breaches into the Privacy and Security Event Tracking System (PSETS); conduct privacy assessments by going on Administrative rounds on a regular basis and visiting the local Business Associate place of business; develop facility-specific privacy and FOIA training materials, as needed and provide training within the facility staff which includes: employees, students, contractors and volunteers; conduct quarterly focused monitoring in the Facility Self-Assessment (FSA) and submits it to PCA at the end of each quarter; review and analyze appeals from denials of access to records requested under FOIA and recommends final agency decision on release/no-release of records; represent the facility on committees, teams, and work groups and provide guidance on issues related to the use and disclosure of information and privacy related functions.. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.