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Secretary (OA)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
VA North Texas Health Care System (VANTHCS)

Summary

The Primary Purpose of the Position is: To serve as the personal assistant performing various administrative and clerical duties in support of the Associate Director with management responsibility for a multi-'mission Health Care System's subordinate organizations' functions and activities: logistics, fiscal, engineering, human resources, medical records/information, pharmacy and prosthetics.

The Organization Location of the Position is: Office of the Director, VA North Texas Health Care System

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
01/20/2026 to 01/30/2026
Salary
$60,751 to - $78,974 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 8
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Dallas, TX
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Monday - Friday, 7:30am to 4:00pm or 8:00am to 4:30pm
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CAZM-12869336-26-SR
Control number
854914800

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Duties

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Duties include but are not limited to:
Receives telephone calls, greets visitors for the Associate Director; ascertains the nature of the calls or visits; and, screens those that can be handled without supervisor's help. Based on detailed knowledge of the VA North Texas Health Care System, its programs and operations, receives, screens refers calls to the Executive office telephone calls to appropriate staff o:r office. Personally handles many matters and answers substantive non-technical requests for information which can be provided based on information from records and files or personal knowledge of the Health Care System.

Prepares a wide variety of recurring and nonrecurring personal and executive correspondence, reports, minutes for a variety of committees, and other documents from information obtained from the staff, files, and other sources. Routinely composes non-technical correspondence, such as office procedures, requests for information concerning the organization's programs, letters of acknowledgment, commendation, or notification. Develops standard or form letters for responding to inquiries and requests for information.

Reviews and processes incoming and outgoing correspondence, reports, circulars and other materials received in the Executive office and/or submitted for the Associate Director's signature. Screens incoming mail, including email, to identify what needs to be brought to the attention of the supervisor, referred to appropriate staff, rerouted to another executive leadership staff, a Service Chief, or handled personally.

Maintains supervisor's calendar, coordinates meeting arrangements, and schedules meetings and/or conferences including those involving dignitaries and/or distinguished Department of Defense (DOD) visitors, members of Congress and Congressional representatives, foreign dignitaries, high ranking personnel from other government agencies, representatives of news and information media; local, civic, state and federal officials; other hospital officials; Veterans Affairs Committee officials; service organizations, congressional staff officials, etc. and the general public.

Performs other clerical and administrative work in support of the Associate Director's office. Develops, establishes, updates, and maintains records/files of various types for the Associate Director's office. Serves as liaison between the Associate Director, subordinate Services and the other Health Care System Services in terms of-receiving, relaying and passing information on non-technical issues and/or policy.

Uses multiple office automation software with varied functions to produce a wide r:mge of· documents that often require complex formats, such as graphics or tables within text, editing and reformatting electronic drafts, and updating or revising existing databases or spreadsheets.



Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am to 4:00pm or 8:00am to 4:30pm
Telework: This position may be authorized for AD HOC telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD045490
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
  • 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, 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, 01/30/2026.

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-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: INTERPERSONAL SKILLS - Assist in all types of correspondence to different customers in a professional manner ; SELF-MANAGEMENT - Such as: personally review and responding to requests for information and preparing reports within established time frames ; TECHINICAL COMPETENCE - Such as: uses various functions of several types of office automation systems, reviewing correspondence, utilizing computer systems, thoroughly screening materials, and reviewing data for accuracy.

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.

Additional information

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.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

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

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

Competencies:

  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Self-management
  • Technical Competence

Your 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. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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.

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.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

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