Clarification from the agency

This announcement is only open to current, permanent employees of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) including Title 38, Hybrid Title 38, and VCS employees covered by VA/OPM Interchange Agreements and those eligible under CTAP. This does not include temporary, term, or intermittent appointments. CTAP eligibles are current Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees that are surplus or displaced from the VA. All others (including ICTAP) will NOT receive consideration.

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Major Duties:
Receives telephone calls and greets visitors to the office. Uses judgment and initiative to screen or refer as appropriate. Screens callers/visitors by ascertaining name, affiliation, and purpose of call/visit, and based upon subject matter, determines whether matter should be referred to supervisor or other appropriate staff members, or whether information can be supplied personally. Obtains needed background information before referring calls to supervisor, and uses independent judgment in referring, initiating, or disposing of Inquiries and requests. Arranges for personal interviews and receives applicants reporting for interviews.

Acts as liaison to other managers and staff within the organization and provides accurate advice on procedures, reports, requirements, and other matters necessary to implement the supervisor's policies, directives, and Instructions. Informs them of the supervisor's views on current issues and programs.

Maintains a master chronological list containing the names and background information of recurrent civilian dignitaries, Federal, state, and county community leaders, and local affiliated organizations· correspondents in the surrounding communities. Information is available to the staff for the planning of special hosted events, activities, and programs at the Medical Center, to prepare guest lists, invitations, and related data for official functions.

Receives and processes all correspondence and documents transmitted through the Executive office for review, approval, and signature, establishing controls on certain items (to Include Medical Advisory Opinions and Board of Veteran Appeal Claims, performance appraisals, and awards).

Ensures correspondence conforms to regulations and special policies of the Medical Center, is in proper format, contains correct grammar, and if applicable, that staff coordination has been completed. Returns Inadequate transmissions to the sender; attaches previous correspondence and background information to incoming correspondence; selects material that requires the attention of superiors; determines the appropriate staff activity for action; forwards correspondence; uses tracking system; follows up to assure action is taken; enforces rigid timelines; and assures receipt of pertinent information. Composes and types, in final form, official correspondence such as personal acknowledgements, Congressional inquiries, and report transmittals, based on a knowledge of supervisor's views, desires, and past precedent cases; and from verbal instructions, prepares special reports, data, or correspondence using a personal computer with a wide variety of software.

In the absence of the supervisor, the incumbent assumes responsibility for ensuring requests for action or Information from the Executive Office are made known to the personnel responsible to satisfy the request. Monitors resulting activities for the purpose of briefing the supervisor and deciding whether matters should be brought to the supervisor's attention. Serves as liaison between the management staff and supervisor by providing accurate, timely information and advice on procedures, reports, requirements, and other matters necessary to implement policies, directives, and instructions for the VAMC.

Reviews communications and develops standard paragraph and form letters. Develops Internal routing and flow patterns for communications. Establishes Executive Office secretarial policies and procedures and provides guidance for subordinate clerical staff. Incumbent conducts regular meetings with subordinate functional secretaries to advise them of required administrative changes. Plans and directs office procedures and formulates instructions for implementation of new office procedures. Conducts training sessions for clerical and administrative personnel.

Take notes and transcribe personal and telephone conversations. Assumes full responsibility for clerical functioning of all committees/boards of which the Executive Team member Is the chair. Records, transcribes, and edits the minutes of various meetings (staff meetings, boards and councils); prepares the minutes for distribution, singling out the action items, and follows up as required.

Initiates personnel actions such as Board Actions, recruitment, appointments, promotions, special advancements, transfers and separations, for personnel aligned to the supervisor's office. Maintains competency folders and training flies, and ensures appraisals, standards, etc., are done on a timely basis for the supervisor's subordinate staff.

Other duties as assigned.


Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Executive Secretary (OA)/PD081010
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
• 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: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• 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)

• 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.

Qualifications

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

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-0318-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-0318-07. 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. 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-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:

• Coordinating administrative support across executive and subordinate offices.
• Preparing reports, correspondence, and responses based on leadership priorities.
• Communicating effectively with medical staff and addressing patient-related concerns using medical terminology.
• Assisting with accreditation activities, including report preparation for The Joint Commission.
• Managing office systems using computers and software; performing advanced typing and document preparation.
• Ensuring proper grammar, formatting, and guiding clerical staff on office procedures and correspondence standards.
• Processing timekeeping in compliance with federal rules and regulations.
• Coordinating official travel arrangements in accordance with VHA/VISN policies.
• Supporting community relations by coordinating with local organizations and dignitaries.

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
• Administration and Management
• Attention to Detail
• Computer Skills
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Planning and Evaluating
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork
• Writing