Clarification from the agency

Current, Permanent employees of the Milwaukee VA Medical Center (includes CBOCs & VCS).

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Major Duties:

• Independently plan, direct, and manage the Medical Center's VTS program
• Develop, adapt, and implement policies and plans to support the mission of the VTP
• Promotes the enhancement and facilities of access to transportation services
• Critical judgment is required in designing and managing day-to-day operations to ensure unplanned, urgent and emergent patient care situations are handled appropriately by staff and community resources
• Management of program operations to identify and define requirements for the use of automated systems when dispatching routing drivers. Provide training for VTS staff on a variety of transportation management and patient related software
• Develop education programs such as rider training materials, travel trainer program and community forums
• Provides direct supervision and guidance to VTS staff (Transportation Assistants (Coordinators), Motor Vehicle Operator Lead, and Motor Vehicle Operators
• Establishes guidelines and performance expectations for staff
• Survey and evaluate transportation program operations to access compliance with applicable regulations, policies, procedures, and sound management practices for VTS operations, drivers and vehicle compliance
• Must be familiar with timekeeping procedures, both manual and electronic and pay regulations for Title 5 employees
• Initiates nondiscrimination and affirmative action for the area under supervision in promotion of employees, fair treatment of employees, encouragement and recognition of employee achievements, and career development
• Provides direct on-the-job training for employees, broaden employee training, and provide backup skills by cross training
• Establishes and maintains knowledge of various groups and organizations, such as stakeholders, other hospital, public health officials and organizations, volunteer work groups, and the community at large
• Communicates and interacts with patients in a manner which is appropriate to cognitive, emotional, and chronological maturation needs of the adult and/or geriatric patient
• Meets the needs of customers while supporting the Medical Center and Service missions
• Provides the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures and handles conflict and problems constructively and appropriately
• Responsible for arranging transportation for Veterans using VTP services
• Available to counsel and assist Veterans and their caregivers in the identification of non-VA transportation resources
• Work involves establishing criteria to measure and/or predict the attainment of program or organizational goals and objectives
• Correspond with physician, traveler, and transportation drivers to determine the transportation plan that best suits the Veteran
• Prepares appropriate documentation and/or scheduling for traveler according to VTP program guidelines
• Makes special arrangements for Veterans per physician documentation according to Veterans medical condition and is responsible for securing reservations on one of the VTS vehicles or sourcing alternative transportation when VTS lacks the capability to support the Veteran
• Responsible for forwarding all correspondence to appropriate department via itinerary or stated preferences with destination and time
• Keep in communication with VTS drivers enroute to Veteran's pickup location and Medical facilities to resolve potential problems and will maintain communications regarding Veterans return travel arrangements
• Acts as point of contact for VTS drivers in the event of emergencies and thus is responsible to ensure appropriate response to safeguard everyone on the vehicle in the likelihood of an accident or other emergency
• Performs other related duties and tasks

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, First Shift, Flexible
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant/PD20226O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

NOTE: Selectee may be required to serve a Supervisory Probation Period

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, 02/11/2026.

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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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 at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 level in Federal Service. Specialized experience is defined as experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to filled. Specialized experience for this position would consist of: experience in positions which required knowledge of laws, regulations, directive, policies, procedures, performance measures and guidelines relating to medical travel and/or transportation such as processing claims for reimbursement of ambulance bills and/or arranging public medical transportation via air travel, ambulance, etc.; skill in the use of computers that demonstrates knowledge of electronic medical records and medical software programs to include MS Word, Excel and Office, or other compatible software; skill in oral and written communication and interpersonal relations, to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers; working knowledge of consult management, scheduling, admissions, discharge, transfer, and administration, and patient processing; and ability to meet and deal effectively with a wide variety of staff from many educational and skill levels, for the purpose of communicating clear instructions.

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

• Administration and Management
• Computer Skills
• Manages Human Resources
• Oral Communication

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: Incumbent will be exposed to stressful working situations that will require a mature approach and collective reasoning to overcome. The incumbent is subject to a great deal of stress because of the high volume of work, the need for accuracy, frequency of interruptions, and ever-changing demands due to program changes

Duties will be predominantly performed in the VTS office with intermittent trips to various locations throughout the Medical Center's catchment area both in and near patient care areas where there is potential risk of exposure to disease. The incumbent must follow standard requirements for personal protective equipment where necessary.

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.