Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to current, permanent VA San Diego Healthcare employees only.

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Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Plans, analyzes and implements administrative support functions for staff.
• Manages reviews and updates information, policies and procedures to ensure compliance with mandated initiatives/directives.
• Adheres to budget and space allocations.
• Provides support to the Chief of Mental Health, and subordinate staff on policies and procedures relative to the Medical Center. Orients new hires and trains staff in various tasks.
• Interprets regulations & directives, analyzes impact on the Service and assures development of internal methods, procedures and controls.
• Assists supervisors in projecting staffing needs, develops job analyses, prepares performance appraisals and strategic plans, processes training (travel/tuition) requests and chairs staff meetings.
• Reviews incoming requests, recommends appropriate action or suggests appropriate alternatives based on knowledge of internal operations, agency policies, budgetary constraints and work priorities.
• Maintains good working relationships with other Services & seeks ways to improve coordination and integration of patient care processes.
• Assures clerk's timekeeping accurately reflects hours worked and certification by the supervisors is submitted promptly.
• Conducts surveys within service on a wide variety of activities.
• Obtains, organizes, files and retrieves data for reports, briefings & presentations.
• Analyzes workflow to determine potential problem areas and makes recommendations to correct errors, improve coordination between various services and coordinate integration of several Services with Mental Health for continuity of care.
• Provides for the budgeting of supplies and provides information/recommendations to MHCG management on budgetary issues.
• Briefs managers of schedules and data requirements, participates with managers in reviewing office needs, plans, and goals, monitors balances and status of projects and recommends redistributions of funds as needed.
• Prepares procurement requests, evaluates work proposals, acts as a Contracting Officers Technical Representative (COTR) for procurements and maintains procurement and contracting records.
• Initiates contracts to secure adequate resources.
• Initiates paperwork for supplies and non-expendable property such as equipment, to include personal computer hardware and software and other specialized equipment necessary to the effective functioning of the office.
• Performs other duties and special projects as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, between the hours of 7:30am - 5:00 pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Administrative Officer/PD148770
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

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, 02/23/2026.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: ensuring all aspects of adequate supervision, staffing, workload, and patient satisfaction; providing the technical and administrative guidance necessary to achieve the optimum use of support services resources including supervision, training, and problem-solving; creating reports, coordinating and scheduling meetings, and submitting requests/work orders using a personal computer and office automation programs (such as word processing, spreadsheets, etc.); maintaining and updating department or service-level databases and shared computer drives; accurately preparing timecards for submission and processing; resolving timekeeping issues related to overtime, holiday pay, unscheduled hours, and various types of extended leave; managing and balancing financial aspects of general fund control points and purchase procedures; and preparing and submitting requests for recruitment, promotion, reassignment, and disciplinary actions; providing continuous monitoring of administrative duties to ensure timely office operations and internal customer satisfaction. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a Ph. D. or equivalent doctoral degree, OR, 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree . OR, LL.M. in a field related to this position that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. 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 graduate education(in excess of the first two years or 36 semester hours).

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

• Administration and Management
• Financial Management
• Managing Human Resources
• Organizational Awareness

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 is primarily sedentary with occasional walk, bending, stooping, and standing while resolving problems throughout the Medical Center and within the Service. Employee is responsible for accomplishing all his/her assigned duties in compliance with VA safety policies.

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.