Clarification from the agency

Current, Permanent VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System Employees and CTAP Eligibles - Must be a current, permanent employee of the facility listed in the announcement.

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Duties of the Lead Transportation Assistant include but are not limited to:

• Provides program and administrative support, excellent customer service to all staff and veterans, as well as other related duties as assigned.
• Responsible for Beneficiary Travel and VTS work production by assigning tasks, providing coverage, and assuring that the work is completed in a timely manner.
• Trains, instructs, and audits Program Support Assistants (Travel Pay Clerks), Program Assistants (Special Mode Clerks), and Transportation Assistants (VTS Coordinators).
• Determines eligibility for beneficiary travel, processing requests for reimbursement for travel, providing other means of transportation through VTS.
• Informs patient of Beneficiary Travel criteria and eligibility.
• Reviews requests for reimbursement of travel costs for the purpose of assuring compliance with regulations and procedures, completeness, accuracy, internal consistency, and agreement with basic authorization and reconciles vouchers against authorizations for accuracy prior to preparing certifications for payment.
• Responsible for determining the method of payment for authorized and unauthorized ambulance claims submitted for consideration.
• Investigates authorizations, orders and/or utilizes Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) to review medical records and orders the appropriate mode of special transportation.
• Approves special mode of transportation via air ambulance, commercial air, ambulance, bus and/or independent transports based on providers indicated requirement for special mode transport of the patient via electronic consult.
• Serves as a customer service representative for all matters involving Beneficiary Travel and VTS.
• Instructs and audits Travel Department staff in accurately determining and/or verifying Veteran eligibility for travel reimbursement according to rules, regulations, and standard operating procedures.
• Works closely with the Fiscal Service for quality assurance of claims processed.
• Receives telephone and written contacts from veterans and their representatives regarding questions or problems related to medical care or benefits and provides information as necessary and appropriate either orally or in writing.
• Ensures the Travel department staff are properly trained in the preparation and completion of all forms associated with patients' mileage reimbursement payments, Direct Deposit, Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT) and all other methods of payment processing.
• Maintains control of all folders and correspondence properly referred to and/or associated with activity until resolution of issues.
• Demonstrates compliance with applicable laws, regulations and industry standards and is in accordance with the highest standards of business integrity.
• Resolves simple, informal complaints of employees and refers others to the supervisor.
• Reports to the supervisor on performance, progress and training needs of employees, and on behavior problems.
• Coordinates, and prepare travel by special mode transport, VTS or other third-party, contracted or non-contracted modes of transport including Lyft and/or Uber, ambulance, wheelchair van, air ambulance, train, commercial flights, and other modes of transportation.
• Performs work in conformance with all directives, regulations, and VA policies.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am -4:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Lead Transportation Assistant/PD93246-0
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, 04/01/2026.

• 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-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.
• Applicants must be eligible under the VA Interchange Agreement, having served continuously for at least one year in the other merit system under this interchange agreement. For more information regarding the VA Interchange Agreement please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/competitive-hiring/.
• All Title 38 Veterans Canteen Service (VCS) employees must have served in their Excepted Service position for at least 90 days in order to be eligible for a position within the Competitive Service.
• Applicants who were previously selected under a Competitive Delegating Examining Office (DEO) announcement must have served in their position for at least 90 days prior to being eligible for other positions within the Competitive Service.

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-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Scheduling patient appointments; collecting, compiling, tracking and entering data into computer; experience with Microsoft Office Applications; completing patient consults; extensive knowledge of VA laws, regulations, directives, policies, procedures, performance measures and guidelines relating to V A medical benefits administration and organizational structure; entering travel authorizations; operating standard office equipment such as telephone, fax, photocopier; making or receiving telephone calls; processing incoming forms, records, or other documents; basic data analysis, generating reports and recommending solutions to complex problems.

Preferred Experience:

• Demonstrated Knowledge of specialized applications.
• Prior Lead or Supervisory Experience.
• Knowledge of VA Travel programs and procedures.

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

• Customer Service
• Problem Solving
• Technical Competence
• Written & Oral Communication
• Interpersonal Skills
• Analytical thinking

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 mostly sedentary. It typically requires sitting with sustained periods of concentration. There will be some walking, standing, bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching, reaching, and carrying of relatively light objects. The position may also require stooping, reaching, lifting, pulling, and other moderate exertion or strain. Incumbent may occasionally have to walk some distance to a meeting.

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.