Clarification from the agency

This is a status announcement and is open to current and former Federal employees, Veterans, individuals with disabilities (Schedule A) as well as CTAP/ICTAP and qualified military spouses . Documentation is required to support all status claims.

Videos

***THIS IS AN ON SITE POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

Major duties and responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Operating multi-line telephone system to receive and connect incoming and outgoing calls utilizing complex computerized equipment and telecommunication software.
• Timely and accurate routing of incoming calls, contacting on-call staff and providing accurate information to families have a positive effect on patient welfare and public relations.
• Work is performed independently according to established guidelines and procedures. Most
• Duties are accomplished on own initiative, especially during night, weekend and holiday shifts when supervisor is not present. Maintaining a record of all calls requiring emergency interrupts, toll calls, and long-distance calls showing the time the call was place, the staff person requesting the call, and the number that was requested.
• Telephone Operator serves as a focal point of activity during his or her tour of duty and is the sole Telephone Operator during non-administrative time.
• Operating equipment such as printers, code alarms, long range paging system, desk attendance telephone console, and other monitoring equipment as needed.
• Verifies patient appointments.
• Conducts testing of Code Blue pagers and submits reports to the Code Blue Committee quarterly.
• Perform other duties assigned.

Work Schedule: Rotating shifts. Work schedule will be based on the needs of the service and will include various shifts: 6:00am-4:00pm with rotating Holidays & Weekends; 7:00am -3:30pm with rotating Holidays & Weekends; 8:00am-4:30pm with rotating Holidays & Weekends or 12:00pm-10:00pm with rotating Holidays & Weekends.

Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

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 or 2-year trial 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 or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/29/2025.

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-04 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-03. 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 and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-03 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
• Deal with multiple phone calls or situation simultaneously and still have the ability to remain calm in stressful situations and display good common sense and quick decision making skills.
• Meets the needs of customer while supporting the Medical Center Missions.
• Appropriately handles calls from mentally incompetent, alcohol or drug addicted persons who require special attention, while locating correct personnel.
• Handles calls tactfully from confused, abusive or threatening individuals.
• Maintains call roster on on-call personnel during irregular shifts and provides employee information on all shifts.
• Note: Evidence of specialized experience must be supported by detailed documentation of duties performed in positions held on your resume. You must provide work experience information such as hours per week, salary, and starting/ending dates of employment (month and year format) to establish you have one (1) full year of Specialized Experience at or comparable to the required grade.
• . OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have two (2) years of education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school.
• . OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond high school education and experience to meet the total experience requirements. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. (i.e. 6 months of general experience and 1 year of education above the high school level).
  
  .

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Communications Security Management
• Critical Thinking
• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Telecommunications

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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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.

Physical Requirements: The work involves long periods of sitting, reaching, stretching and turning while operating equipment and obtaining access to necessary information. The mental strain from continuously answering incoming calls, some from unusually disturbed people, causes extreme fatigue.

Although the work is primarily sedentary in nature in an office environment it requires a high degree of concentration and ability to work under pressure and stress. Incumbent must of a keen sense of hearing in responding to the numerous amounts of calls that are received. Additionally, there are times when the station experiences a high volume of telephone calls and callers may be irate because of long waits to receive telephone assistance.

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.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the 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.