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Secretary (OA)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Central Alabama VA Medical Center - Montgomery

Summary

The Secretary (OA) position is located within the office of the Associate Director of Patient Care Services (ADPCS) at the Montgomery VA Medical Center in Central Alabama.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/18/2026 to 03/24/2026
Salary
$55,882 to - $72,644 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 8
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Montgomery, AL
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
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
CBTB-12907712-26-KS
Control number
861647000

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current, permanent employees of the Montgomery, AL VA Medical Center, its associated CBOCs, and Veterans Canteen Service employees.

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Duties

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Major Duties (not limited to):

  • Provides clerical and administrative assistance to the organization by determining nature of call or business of visitors, if business requires the attention of technical or staff specialists, decides whether the importance of business such as to require personal attention of superiors or if the visitor should be referred to another appropriate organizational component.
  • Maintains managers daily calendar, making appointments and arranging conferences and meetings without specific prior approval, based on a knowledge of the manager's schedule.
  • Independently makes arrangements for meetings by reserving space, setting the specific time, and contacting all personnel expected to attend.
  • Arranges for transportation and lodging.
  • Transmits agenda and all necessary background materials to participants of meetings and conference.
  • Gathers material for use in reports, presentations, and speeches of the manager.
  • Uses variety of word processing applications, databases, and office software/hardware to perform daily functions.
  • Uses variety of office automation systems and software to accomplish work such as drafting and proofreading correspondence, text editing, file creation, file maintenance and retrieval. Uses judgement in selecting spacing, arranging materials, and ensuring proper punctuation, grammar, spelling, and capitalization.



Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm. Work schedule subject to change based on agency needs.
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework on an ad hoc basis. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD09306A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Requirements

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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
  • Physical Requirements & Work Environment: Work is sedentary. Typically the employee may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying, of light items such as papers, books, small parts and driving a vehicle. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. Work is performed in an office setting. Incumbent may have to travel from one location to another to conduct meetings.
  • 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, 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, 03/24/2026.

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-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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.


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-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

- Provide support for inquiries and directs inquiries to the appropriate individual or department
- Maintains the manager's daily schedule: makes appointments and arranges meetings and/or conferences including shifting schedules, preparing travel, and prioritizing actions
- Gathers information and materials for use in reports or presentations
- Knowledge of office hardware and software: Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), fax, copier, etc
- Draft and provide proofreading of correspondence and other materials for grammar, accuracy, and completeness


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 & Work Environment: Work is sedentary. Typically the employee may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying, of light items such as papers, books, small parts and driving a vehicle. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. Work is performed in an office setting. Incumbent may have to travel from one location to another to conduct meetings.

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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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.


This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Cut Score:
The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

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