Senior Clinical Nurse Program Management Officer (O-5 Billet) Non-Supervisory

Summary

The incumbent serves as a Senior Clinical Nurse Program Management Officer, coordinating administrative, operational, and clinical initiatives. Responsibilities include policy development, training, process improvement, and system management for a multidisciplinary workforce. This non-supervisory position reports to the Chief Nurse. This position is only open to USPHS officers who are currently IHSC employees. USPHS Call to Active Duty (CAD) candidates are not eligible for this position.

Duties

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Clinical Care and Support: completes required nursing orientation and training to maintain clinical competency to support NSU's mission. Practices nursing in accordance with national, state, and local laws and regulations, IHSC policies, directives, guidelines, and accreditation standards. Practices in accordance with IHSC Nursing Service Unit (NSU) Clinical Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics, nursing competencies, orientation/training, and nursing post orders. During clinical temporary duty assignments (TDY), provides comprehensive care and treatment plans; evaluates/collaborates as needed for patient care interventions with other health care professionals, using in-depth knowledge of the specific patient's status, anticipating physiological and/or psychological appropriate or adverse responses, to facilitate optimal clinical outcomes. Performs multiple complex tasks requiring advanced levels of proficiency and independent functioning. Maintains non-involvement in correctional security and custody responsibilities. Program Management and Administrative Support: applies professional nursing theories, concepts, and principles to improve healthcare quality, patient safety, workload management, operational efficiency, and program effectiveness in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, standards, and IHSC policies. Evaluates nursing operations, analyzes health data, conducts special studies, reports findings, and develops strategies or solutions to address healthcare challenges and improve performance. Coordinates and contributes subject matter expertise to the creation of policies, procedures, processes, clinical nursing guidelines, and other documents related to or impacting nursing care and operations as well as periodic (often annual) review and update of such documents. Provides clinical advisory expertise, including developing and evaluating clinical health outcomes and quality measures, reviewing clinical cases for care adequacy, assessing compliance with clinical and regulatory guidelines, and supporting audit recovery activities. Serves as a NSU representative or operational liaison for nursing administrative, programmatic, and data systems, including government timekeeping, NSU databases, SharePoint, learning management systems, and other electronic tools. Advises NSU leadership on system processes, data management, and operational improvements. Collaborates with NSU leadership, IHSC units, regional stakeholders, unit chiefs, program leaders, mid-management personnel, governance bodies, medical staff, and clinical leaders to plan, assess, implement, and monitor policies, programs, quality improvement activities, risk management efforts, audits, deficiency analyses, and corrective actions aligned with organizational goals. Provides support to regional nurse managers and nurse managers by identifying and recommending operational procedures, program plans, and enhancements to complex clinical programs that improve patient care efficiency. Leads or supports integrated programs (e.g., temporary duty assignment nursing support) across services or disciplines that impact IHSC's mission and healthcare delivery. Conducts nursing site visit evaluations at IHSC-staffed facilities, including clinical or administrative program reviews, accreditation reviews, and other assessments as directed. Reports findings and recommendations to the CN. Leads NSU efforts to manage, develop, update, and present IHSC nursing education curricula. Oversees the contracted nursing-specific learning management system, serves as the primary instructor for the IHSC TRAIN curriculum, and ensures training complies with department and agency guidance. Develops and conducts nursing in-service training sessions in person, via teleconferencing, or via recorded presentation to strengthen adult learners' understanding of clinical skills, policies, and procedures. Ensures training aligns with best practices, accreditation standards, and IHSC policies and procedures. Develops, maintains, and uses records systems to document completion of new employee orientation, annual mandatory training, classroom and online training, and other needs based training requirements. Reviews and maintains the NSU SharePoint site to support agency staff access to nursing-related resources, policies, and guidance. Collaborates and coordinates with agency information technology specialists to enhance the NSU SharePoint site, ensuring alignment with system upgrades, technical changes, and organizational requirements. May serve as Nurse Manager during temporary duty assignments, providing guidance and oversight to federal and contracted nursing personnel on daily clinical and nursing procedures ensuring compliance with established standards.

Qualifications and evaluation

We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements. You may be selected for an interview at the hiring authority's discretion. You will be notified of selection or non-selection.

Education

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES: Degree required: a. Bachelor's degree in nursing from a professional nursing school approved by the appropriate state accrediting agency. Master's degree in nursing or related field preferred. Qualifications, Licenses and Certifications Required: a. Must be a registered nurse licensed by a State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or U.S. territory. b. Maintains CPR/BLS certification c. Professional credentials/certification appropriate to current job specialty recommended (e.g., CCHP). Experience Required: a. Professional clinical nursing experience: minimum of 5 years i. Two years of direct patient care (e.g. inpatient) nursing ii. Three years of leadership, management, or administrative preferred iii. One year of program management or program evaluation preferred iv. Two years of correctional healthcare experience preferred Knowledge of a wide range of complex nursing concepts, principles, and practices to perform nursing assessments of considerable diversity, including mental health, medical/surgical, ambulatory, and emergency nursing care. Knowledge of the Nurse Practice Act for the licensing state or territory and the state or territory in which one practices nursing. Intermediate or advanced knowledge of common office productivity and communication software such as email, word processing, spreadsheet and database applications. Knowledge of nursing management and leadership principles, including the ability to support clinical operations, guide staff, and contribute to effective program performance. Knowledge of team-building, staff development, and adult learning principles to support workforce engagement, training, and professional development. Ability to adapt to changing schedules, work requirements, priorities, and environments while maintaining effective performance. Ability to analyze and effectively communicate and report collected data, synthesize lessons learned, and develop mitigation strategies or corrective actions. Ability to assess, prioritize, plan, organize, complete multiple tasks and responsibilities simultaneously. Ability to independently perform the functions and duties listed above, where applicable, with minimal supervision. Advanced oral/written communication, active listening, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. A high degree of independence, initiative, and follow-through on a wide range of sensitive, complex, and program issues. Travel required at least 30% annually.

How to apply

To apply for this position, you must submit the required documentation outlined under the REQUIRED DOCUMENTS section below. The complete initial Application must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 10/09/2026. PLEASE NOTE: If your materials are not received by the closing date, your application will be evaluated solely on the information available and you may not receive full consideration or may not be considered eligible. Also, if you do not provide a valid email address, you may not be notified of the outcome of your application. To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log into your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire. Please ensure you click the Submit My Answers button at the end of the process. Note: To check the status of your application or return to a previous or incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account, select Application Status, and click on the more information link under the application status for this position. Applications and supporting documentation will not be accepted by mail or email. If you need further assistance, contact the Human Resources Office representative listed on this announcement at least one day prior to the closing date for further instructions.

Required documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position. A complete application includes: U. S. Public Health Service Officers Cover Letter/Letter of Interest. Degrees. (Place under "Diploma/GED") Professional license. (If applicable) Additional professional certificates. (If applicable) Three professional references. (i.e., name, title and contact information) Official USPHS Promotion CV - e.g., relevant experience, education, training. (Place under "USPHS Promotion CV") You may provide a civilian resume in addition to the USPHS Promotion CV to capture all relevant work experience. *Three most recent Commissioned Officer Effectiveness Reports (COER). (Place under "Performance Appraisal") A copy of your current Service Remaining Requirements Agreement. Indicate if you have an Assignment Pay (AP) Agreement and the date of the end of your AP Agreement. If you do not, please submit a memo attesting to no AP in the Assignment Pay (AP) Agreement section in the documents section of application.

Additional information

(Continued from the Duties and Responsibilities section) Reviews professional nursing literature, research developments, analyses, and proposals to identify relevant evidence-based practices for potential adoption. Collaboration and Communication: interfaces with internal and external stakeholders from local to national levels through appropriate techniques and tools, providing subject matter expertise regarding NSU operations and governance. These communications require high degrees of tact, clarity, and conciseness. Serves as a NSU liaison with multidisciplinary clinical and operational leaders across IHSC divisions and units to coordinate projects and programs. Facilitates collaboration and communication within NSU and among other disciplines, units, and divisions. Scope of work is national across all IHSC-staffed facilities and locations including all headquarters-level components and has agency-wide impact. Collaborates with the IHSC Medical Quality Management Unit and regional stakeholders to review and monitor quality improvement and risk management activities. Communicates identified areas for improvement, enumerates recognized best practices, and contributes to solutions discussions for internal and external audits and deficiency analyses. Through effective, advanced collaboration and communication, applies knowledge of nursing management, leadership, team building, staff development, and adult learning principles to support nursing operations, workforce development, and program effectiveness. Other Duties: participates in agency training as required and leadership development as recommended. Performs additional clinical and administrative duties as assigned in support of IHSC's mission and operational requirements. Commissioned Corps nurse officers only: required to support agency nursing operations via temporary duty assignments (TDY), which may include travel 30 or more days per year, and maintain U.S. Public Health Service requirements. SUPERVISORY CONTROLS: The incumbent reports directly to the IHSC CN, with the Deputy Assistant Director of Clinical Services serving as reviewing official. Assignments are usually long-term, recurring, or broadly defined. The incumbent plans and organizes his/her own work, determines the sequence of assignments, selects and develops methods, and seeks assistance from experts only rarely. Work is reviewed for feasibility, compatibility with other work, and effectiveness in meeting requirements or expected results. The incumbent analyzes results and recommends changes in guidelines and program policies. Innovations and modifications to accepted procedures must be approved and clearly documented.