Section Chief of Podiatry (Surgical Rearfoot/Ankle)

Summary

The Chief of Podiatry, Durham VA Health Care System has supervisory responsibility over the staff podiatrists and assigned health professions trainees located across North Carolina at the Durham VA Medical Center, the Greenville Health Care Center, the Garner Community Based Outpatient clinic and the Clayton Community Based Outpatient Clinic and the Telehealth program.

Duties

FUNCTIONS: The position exercises full operational responsibility as first level supervisor over other podiatrists in the surgical service. Plans and adjust daily assignments for supervised staff assigned to the clinic and operating rooms. Evaluates competencies of newly assigned personnel and others as required and orients staff to policies and procedures of the clinic and operating room. Conducts staff meetings and coordinates in-service training. Executes all facility and departmental policies. Promotes sound management principles, initiates and/or recommends personnel actions, develops employee work standards, observes and evaluates employee performance, identifies training needs and ensures that training is provided. Counsels employees and takes disciplinary measures such as warnings and reprimands, referring more serious complaints to a higher level supervisor. Investigates and resolves formal and informal patient and staff complaints and grievances. Approves and disapproves leave. Provides clinical counseling as needed. Serves as a role model emphasizing caring leadership. Provide technical oversight; interviews candidates for subordinate positions; and recommend hiring, promotion or reassignments. Serves as a fully credentialed, expert, Board Certified Podiatrist with clinical privileges, performing diagnoses and treatment for the full range of cases, problems, and injuries encountered in the specialty. applying extensive knowledge and understanding of medical sciences underlying the field of podiatry; pharmacology, and lower extremity biomechanics to perform various routine and complex medical and surgical procedures. Serves as a consultant to other podiatrists on difficult or unusual cases in podiatric specialties, and as a Subject Matter Expert in Diabetic Wound Care. Facilitates access to medical care by making appropriate referrals to other health care providers in accordance with applicable policies and regulations. Directs efforts of podiatric health promotion and disease prevention and participates in the Prevention of Amputation for Veterans Everywhere program and Limb Preservation Initiatives. Creates referral consult templates that promote disease prevention. Directs efforts of the Director of Podiatric Medical Education to stand up training programs: the podiatry post-graduate Limb Preservation Fellowship, and other graduate and post-graduate training programs to increase access to podiatric services. Directs efforts to develop research initiatives that will serve veterans. Oversees telehealth podiatry programs, including Clinical Video Teleconferencing (CVT), Store and Forward Technology (SFT), VA Video Connect (VVC), Telephone, and the Remote Temperature Monitoring (RTM) programs. Responsible for all administrative activities normally associated with patient care in a timely manner, such as consult review and triage, completion of patient medical records, encounters, and other documents necessary in the operation of an inpatient/outpatient treatment clinic. Maintains an unrestricted podiatric medical license and completes the required continued Medical Education through conferences, reading programs or other approved CME events. Completes all mandatory education in TMS and training and competency validation. Demonstrates the ability to establish effective working relationships with co-workers, patients support service staff, nursing staff, physicians and other DVAHCS staff. The Chief will display a cooperative attitude and will effectively work together to implement the organization's missions and goals. Follows applicable regulations and instructions regarding access to patient privacy and HIPAA regulations. Completes all medical records in accordance with Bylaws, Rules, and Regulations of the medical staff. Collaborates with other departments and sections, including, but not limited to, medical and surgical specialists, primary care providers, nursing staff, social services, utilization management, and other members of the interdisciplinary care team to coordinate care. Coordinates transfer of specialty-specific patients from/to other hospitals or clinics if necessary. Develops and maintains good working relationships with other hospital departments and administration. A offers a comprehensive total rewards package. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

All qualified candidates encouraged to apply. Open to U.S. Citizens but non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. 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. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). You may be required to serve a probationary period. Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Qualifications and evaluation

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment. NOTE: A formal pay-setting process will be used to determine your salary. The salary may be at any point in the range listed for this vacancy. 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. 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. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. 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.

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/.

How to apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/14/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13048429. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. During the application process you may 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.

Required documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: Resume Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field. Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field. The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc. Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (Schedule A) Disability Letter (VA) License Other (1) PCS Orders Performance Appraisal Professional Certification Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript Veterans' Preference Note: Preference eligible candidates and other Veterans will be given preference when qualification of candidates are approximately equal for Title 38 positions in VHA. When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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. 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. 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.