Clarification from the agency

Current students enrolled in accredited educational institutions from high school to graduate level. Includes internships, pathways and other student programs.

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This position is being filled under the Pathways Internship Program. The program is designed to provide students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions, from high school to graduate level, with paid work opportunities in agencies to explore Federal careers while still in school. The Internship provides managers a ready source of student employees and potential permanent employees upon completion of the program requirements. It also provides the student with work experience directly related to the curriculum studies or career goals while offering eligibility for non-competitive conversion to permanent employment upon completion. For more information on Internship opportunities within the Department of Veterans Affairs, please visit: https://www.va.gov/EMPLOYEE/pathways-internship-program/.

Duties include but not limited to:

• Performs selected tasks and phases of routine studies and projects that require application of basic occupational field theory and principles in the technical area of the service.
• Performs a variety of work assignments consisting of established, specific, and related tasks that have been selected to orient the employee in the practical application of basic principles, concepts, and techniques of the occupational field.
• Attends training classes and activities as directed.
• Participates with senior personnel in conducting non-routine projects.
• Studies Veterans Affairs requirements for the projects and researches and studies the current body of precedents and technical knowledge.
• Analyzes information or data gained from project results, documents project findings, and prepares reports findings.
• Searches technical literature, reports, and other reference material to locate information requested by senior personnel.
• Provides assistance in planning, monitoring, and conducting special studies, projects, and initiatives.
• Attends meetings to observe interactions and understand working relationships with customers, specialists, clinicians, nurses, doctors, and other organizational points of contact.
• Assists in the collection and analysis of information and data, the documentation of findings, and the development of reports.
• Uses computers/computer software, such as email, word processing, spreadsheets, presentation programs, and project tracking programs to assist senior personnel.
• Sets up and maintains logs showing the status of actions and correspondence.
• Maintains records incident to the department's function, assembles and complies information and data from available records for various reports, briefings, etc.
• Receives visitors and telephone calls to the office,
• Takes requests for appointments with Chief/Assistant Chief, checks availability, and confirms appointments.
• Responds to routine and nontechnical requests for information.
• Receives incoming correspondence, screening material prior to distribution for suspense dates, establishing controls, and following-up for supervisor.
• Prepares and distributes minutes of staff and other meetings at the direction of the Chief/Assistant Chief.
• Assists in posting and maintaining Fund Control Point for the service, to include accounting, disbursement, and expenditure of funds.
• Independently prepares personnel actions and training requests and related documentation and indicated.
• Creates, copies, edits, calculates, revises, retrieves, stores, and prints a wide range of documents in final form from handwritten drafts.
• Serves as principle timekeeper.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm CST

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• You must be at least 16 years old (by closing date of this vacancy announcement)
• Selective Service Registration-required males (over 18) born after 12/31/59
• Must be accepted for/currently enrolled in a qualified educational institution
• 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, 03/16/2026.

Internship Program: To be eligible, applicants must be accepted for enrollment or currently enrolled and seeking a degree (diploma, certificate, etc.) in a qualifying educational institution, on a full or half-time basis as defined by the institution in which you are enrolled.

You may qualify based on education and/or experience as described below:

To qualify for the GS-5 level:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Basic administration and clerical work; customer service; data entry and computer software programs . OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed four full academic years of post-high school leading to a bachelor's degree or equivalent degree. 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 education stated above.

To Qualify for the GS-6 level:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Conducting routine studies and projects; research technical literature and reference material; collect and analyze data; prepare reports; use of computer programs; maintain record systems and maintain logs OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed 6 full months of graduate level education 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 the education stated above.

To qualify for the GS-7 level:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Conducting non-routine studies and projects; budget; analyze information and document findings; development of reports; make recommendations for improvement of studies/projects OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed 1 full academic year of graduate level education; or Eligibility under the Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) provision and completion of a bachelor's degree. S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. Please see the following link for more information, General Schedule Qualification Policies (opm.gov) 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 the education stated above.

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

• Administration and Management
• Clerical
• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Learning
• Manages and Organizes Information

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.

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/.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required.

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.