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This announcement has been extended to close on 11/17/25. There is no need to re-apply if you have already submitted your application package. However, you may update your application during this time, if needed.

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***


Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Conduct outings with residents weekly (i.e., lunches, dinners, sports activities, etc.)
• Supervise residents during off-station activities and provide transportation using facility-provided vehicles or other modes of transportation
• Coordinate with volunteers for services that augment Veteran interaction with activities
• Individually bake/cook and garden once per week
• Conduct an individual birthday party for each resident on their birthday
• Conduct resident hand massages
• Develop regularly scheduled intergenerational programs in which children interact with residents
• Develop learning circles held twice per month for resident meetings to give each person an opportunity to share opinions
• Perform job duties as directed by the Nurse Manager to facilitate opportunities for CLC residents to engage actively in normal pursuits

Additional Activities May Include:

• Exercise programs
• Healing touch and hand massages
• Music programs
• Baking, cooking, and serving food
• Gardening
• Games
• Coordinating out-of-facility outings (i.e., lunches, dinners, sports, fishing, bowling, picnics, etc.)
• Coordinating with volunteers for services (i.e., field trips)
• Arts and crafts programs
• Conducting individual resident birthday parties
• Arranging community meetings and developing regularly scheduled intergenerational programs

General Resident Care Duties:

• Assist residents with activities of daily living (oral care, grooming, bathing, dressing, hygiene, etc.)
• Set up, serve, and assist residents with dining and maintain a home-like environment
• Turn, move, and transfer residents safely using proper techniques and lifting devices
• Prepare and transport residents as needed for tests or discharge

Transportation: The Activities Program Assistant is required to drive a GSA vehicle to transport residents to activities throughout the local community.

Work Schedule: Irregular, Varied days, 8-hour day shift
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

English Language Proficiency: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.

In addition to meeting the English Language Proficiency requirement, you must also possess one of the following:

Specialized Experience: At least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-4) in the Federal service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled.

Qualifying specialized experience includes:

• Group leader, counselor, or similar work in public and private recreation programs for adults or children such as summer camps, local playgrounds, YWCA and YMCA clubs, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, urban community centers, or resort recreational activities.
• Teacher's aid in elementary school recreation or physical education program, with emphasis on development of general recreational skills and abilities.
• Aid or assistant assignments in recreation while on active military service.
• Aid or assistant in the organization and administration of recreation activities, such as preparing activities calendars, maintaining attendance records, and providing information concerning schedules and activities.
• Summer aid in a State or national park, with duties related to the recreational activities of visitors to campsites, trails, picnic areas, nature and raft centers, and boating and fishing areas (e.g., demonstrating camping techniques and park safety, conducting nature tours, and overseeing farm animal areas provided for children).
• Sales or stock clerk in a recreation supplies and equipment shop.
• Aid or assistant in the issuance of authorized property, and in the maintenance of inventory control and accountability for such property in a recreation facility.
• Aid or assistant in a hotel or resort recreation service, with duties such as setting up areas for games, tournaments, and other organized group recreational activities.

NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week.

-OR-

Education (Transcripts required): Successful completion of a 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with the major study or at least 24 semester hours in courses related to recreation or physical education. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must show date degree conferred and must be submitted by the closing date. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

-OR-

Combination of Experience and Education (Transcripts required): An equivalent combination of successfully completed education and specialized experience as described above which meets the total requirements for this grade level. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. (e.g., One full academic year of study, or 30 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience.) This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted by the closing date. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

DRIVER'S LICENSE REQUIRED: A current, valid state-issued Driver's License is required for this position. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you will be required to provide a copy of your current, valid state-issued Driver's License.

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Accountability
• Creative Thinking
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Interpersonal Skills

IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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.

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; religious; 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.

Physical Requirements: Work requires the Activities Program Assistant to spend most of the tour (up to 10 hours per day) on his/her feet with intermittent walking, bending, pushing, and pulling. The work requires the Activity Program Assistant to be in good health and physically strong. The assistant may need to physically exert themselves in organizing the physical environment for various recreation activities and in handling the tools and materials of such activities, lifting up to 45 pounds (an effort is made to find assistance when the lifting of heavier objects is required). The employee is required to safely use mechanical devices and proper body mechanics for lifting. The use of a mechanical device is required for all lifting of residents.

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/.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Your responses to the assessment questionnaire will be reviewed along with the information provided in your resume and supporting documentation to determine if you are qualified for the position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered and/or you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

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.

Candidates who apply under All U.S. Citizens announcements will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. Qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The categories are defined as follows:

• Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
• Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;
• Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
• Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.

Application of Veterans' Preference: Category rating and selection procedures place those with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligible applicants that meet the eligibility and qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category (except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher).

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.