Clarification from the agency

Open to current, permanent employees of the James H. Quillen VAMC Only

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The incumbent performs program support for the administrative, program, and technical assistance in the day-to-day operations of the Domiciliary program. Duties of the Program Support Assistant will be varied, routine and consist of handling data, supporting departmental processes, and assisting with coordination of schedules.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Serves as a point of contact for patients, medical center staff, VISN staff, pharmaceutical representatives, and various others.
• Responsible for the administrative handling of all forms and documents, retrieval, and dissemination of data relating to the Residential Recovery section, which are required by the Mental Health Service, VISN, and VACO.
• Coordinates the acquisition of supplies and equipment.
• Reviews requests for equipment, supplies, and services for the program.
• Types, edits, and maintains current copies of forms relating to program documents, letters,
  memos, reports and summaries, evaluations, program brochures, letters of introduction, and other types of written communication.
• Assembles records to correct sequential and chronological order, assures required forms, reports and suspense items are completed and signed by professional staff, and notifies various departments of the action.
• Assists in the acquisition, development, and/or scheduling of program resource materials and personnel, such as hard copy and computer-based brochures and reports, agency staff and/or volunteer personnel, and/or needed program equipment such as telephones, computers and printers, fax machines, etc.
• Monitors the timeliness of documentation by performing weekly and monthly workload checks to ensure accuracy of reports, program summaries, and surveys.
• Utilizes knowledge of the program and computer skills to provide data/reports related to the
  administrative, clinical, and technical aspects of the program initiatives to the Mental Health
  Service as appropriate, as well as create PowerPoint slides and other educational materials
  related to the initiatives.
• Compiles and provides statistical information needed for administrative and patient care
  monitoring and reporting within programs.
• Uses Microsoft Office computer programs in their daily work to include Word, Excel, and
  Publisher.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 7:45am- 4:30pm or Monday through Friday 7:30 am to 4:00 pm
Telework: This position may be authorized for adhoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant (OA)/PD605790 and PD60085A
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, 04/07/2026.

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. Candidates may be advanced without time restriction to positions up to GS-5 if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade the employee held within the preceding 52 weeks under his or her latest nontemporary competitive appointment. 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-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: Experience such as served as program assistant, secretary, administrative assistant responsible for providing administrative services to mid-level managers; Knowledge of medical/psychiatric terminology, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and required formats to prepare correspondence and reports; Knowledge of the medical records, evaluation forms, filing, and distribution systems; able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with all employees and community contacts; serves as Technical knowledge of computer software applications including Outlook, Word, Excel, Publisher and PowerPoint, etc. gather, interpret and analyze information to arrive at a logical conclusion; working concept of fiscal procedures including budget policies, OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4 years of education above high school. NOTE: Successfully completed education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite is creditable at grades GS-3 through GS-5 for all positions. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university. 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 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of undergraduate education.

Typing Proficiency: You must be proficient in typing at least 40 words per minute

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

• Clerical
• Computer Skills
• Written Communication

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 sedentary. Incumbent works in assigned office and clinic areas, with some stooping, walking, bending, and lifting.

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.