Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results
 

Secretary (OA)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration

Summary

You will serve as a Secretary with the Rehabilitation Care service line with the VA Puget Sound located in Seattle, Washington.

Overview

Help
Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
02/26/2026 to 03/12/2026
Salary
$56,715 to - $73,731 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Seattle, WA
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CBSV-12883061-26-CMS
Control number
859160000

Videos

Duties

Help

Serve as principal, clerical, or administrative support position in the office, operating independently of any other such position in the office.

Compile and prepare a variety of reports and documents using a variety of computer software.

Contact with members of staff, patients with respect to questions regarding general administrative, medical center, and service policies as well as policies and procedures of the School of Medicine and the Department of Rehab Medicine.

Secure documents, regulations, specific statistical narrative program data, or other data from files of the organization.

Perform Timekeeper work for an office staff.

Maintain knowledge of the functional capabilities of different software types to select the best software type.

Draft various types of correspondence such as routine, congratulatory letters, office reports, acknowledgments.

Order office supplies and track inventory.

Perform general office work.

Perform work as a qualified typist.

Perform other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM PDT.
Telework: This position is not telework eligible.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD411070
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying light items such as papers, books, small parts, driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

Work Conditions: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, meeting and training rooms, libraries, and residences or commercial vehicles, e.g., use of work practices with office equipment.

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.

Requirements

Help

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
  • 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)
  • 5 CFR ยง 330.502 - General restriction on movement after competitive appointment applies.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 03/12/2026.

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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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.

Proficiency Requirement: In addition to meeting experience or education requirements, applicants for Office Automation (OA) - any grade- position must show possession of the following skills: 40 words per minute typing speed.

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 GS-06 level or pay band in the Federal service that includes performing the following duties: perform general office work; draft various types of correspondences; serve as principal clerical or administrative support position in the office; compile and prepare a variety of reports and documents using a variety of computer software; secure documents and all other data from files of the organization; use desk-top publishing capabilities to enhance the presentation of data; create and maintain comprehensive and orderly file system for Chief to include correspondence, travel, clinical activity, faculty matters, some budgetary and fiscal items, and suspense action items; organize, schedule, and handle logistics for conferences, meetings, and interviews; shift clerical staff in subordinate offices to take care of fluctuating workloads, as needed to complete work or respond to requests from leadership; receive and control all incoming correspondences and present the information to leadership; and knowledge of the functional capabilities of different software types to select the best software type. OR,
  • EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed one (1) year of graduate education that is directly related to the duties of the position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.
The preferred selection for this position will have experience overseeing the smooth and efficient daily operation of administrative functions for the Service Line. They will have served as the primary administrative support for the Chief, acting as liaison with staff, patients, and leadership regarding general administrative, medical center, and service policies, as well as policies of the School of Medicine and Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. They will have experience advising the Chief on important office matters during absences. Coordinating and assigning workloads to subordinate offices to meet operational needs and leadership requests. Creating and maintaining an organized filing system for correspondence, travel, clinical activity, faculty matters, budgetary items, and action items. Managing incoming and outgoing correspondence, ensuring accuracy and proper routing. Organizing, scheduling, and coordinating logistics for meetings, conferences, and interviews. Performed USAAccess Sponsor responsibilities for VA badging and ensure trainees complete required training for encrypted PIV badges. Served as ADPAC and maintained proficiency through required training. Perform TMS administrator duties. Have complete requirements for timely access to LAN and CPRS systems and facilitating trainee rotations and onboarding with UW and other sites. Acted as timekeeper for designated RCS staff. Has ordered and maintained inventory of office supplies for the RCS Executive Office. Maintained Clerical Requestor role for assigned Fund Control Points. Compiled and prepared reports and documents using various software applications. Drafted routine correspondence, acknowledgments, and office reports. Secured and retrieved documents, regulations, and program data as needed. Maintained knowledge of software capabilities to select appropriate tools for tasks. Performed typing and clerical support

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

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

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.

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.

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:

  • Accountability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


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.

Resume Reminder- Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:
  • Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible)
  • Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
  • Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
  • Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
  • Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all the questions by addressing your work experience in detail.
Recommended: Other than the 2-page resume requirement, we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications.

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.

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.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.