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Secretary

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration

Summary

This position is located within the Clinical Neurosciences Division (CND) of the National Center for PTSD at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Orange Campus. The mission of the National Center for PTSD is to advance the clinical care and social welfare of America's Veterans and others who have experienced trauma or who suffer from PTSD, through research, education, and training in the science, diagnosis, and treatment of PTSD and stress-related disorders.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/14/2026 to 04/24/2026
Salary
$59,465 - $77,306 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Orange, CT
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
7
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
CBTD-12933873-26-EF
Control number
865036300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Open to Permanent Current Veterans Administration Employees Only

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Duties

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Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Maintaining a perpetual inventory of office supplies and arranges for equipment purchasing, moving and disposal.
  • Receiving information from office personnel for needed supplies or services and prepares GSA quick order requests for office supplies and prepares service and work order requests.
  • Preparing requests for replacement or new equipment with appropriate justifications and ensures that new equipment is properly identified, tagged and logged in department files.
  • Maintaining office equipment, prepares requests for repair, and processes documents necessary for payment.
  • Preparing estimates for supplies and equipment to be used by the Health Science Officer in projecting operating budgets, processes pay estimates on equipment contracts, and prepares justifications for new office equipment and supplies.
  • Tracking spending and contract modifications for supplemental funding research projects.
  • Assisting the Health Science Officer in budget management and execution by transaction data entry, modification, and monitoring on a routine basis in order to accurately and in real-time track actual expenditures versus planned throughout a fiscal year. Performs this duty with ongoing assistance from management as required.
  • Assisting management and technical SMEs within the combined organization, with particular emphasis on telecommunications, by owning an ongoing effort of outreach to vendors, industry, and the marketplace to obtain innovation, trends, and information.
  • Sharing of information resources within the combined organization.
  • Serving as the departmental Ad-Pac and performs administrative duties for computer systems and telephone services as assigned.
  • Providing onboarding services for all new employees for computer assignments, telephone extensions, directory listings and sponsoring of personnel badges.
  • Acting as the work order owner for the service submitting all electronic work orders through the engineering data file, tracking all orders to assure completion in a timely manner.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible Work Schedule: Not Authorized
Telework/Virtual/Remote Work: Ad-Hoc telework is authorized.
Position Description/PD#:Secretary/PD689-00613-0
Relocation or Travel Incentives: Not Authorized
Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Notifications:
  • This position is a Bargaining Unit position.
  • Selectee may be required to work at any VA Connecticut Healthcare System campus, as needed.
  • May be required to attend conference at other facilities or other VA sites on occasion.
  • The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's.
  • Selectee may be required to work at any VISN 1 Healthcare System campus, as needed.
  • Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50 (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
  • This position is in the Competitive Service.
  • Time-in-Grade Restriction: 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. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service.
  • Veterans' preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees.

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: 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)
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, 04/24/2026.

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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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.

Selective Placement Factor: Experience with using government purchase cards. This experience must be reflected on your resume to receive credit.
Preferred Experience: Experience with government purchase cards, purchasing regulations, timekeeping and duties associated with contracts and office management.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

GS-7 Grade Requirements
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 includes, but is not limited to: Assisting the Health Science Officer in budget management and execution by transaction data entry, modification, and monitoring on a routine basis in order to accurately and in real-time track actual expenditures versus planned throughout a fiscal year. Performing this duty with ongoing assistance from management as required. Assisting management and technical SMEs within the combined organization, with particular emphasis on telecommunications, by owning an ongoing effort of outreach to vendors, industry, and the marketplace to obtain innovation, trends, and information. Enabling sharing of information resources within the combined organization. Serving as the departmental Ad-Pac and performs administrative duties for computer systems and telephone services as assigned. Providing onboarding services for all new employees for computer assignments, telephone extensions, directory listings and sponsoring of personnel badges. Acting as the work order owner for the service submitting all electronic work orders through the engineering data file, tracking all orders to assure completion in a timely manner. Serving as the focal point for collecting and entering division data (publications, presentations, grants, appointments, etc.) into the center's productivity database for VA Central Office review, ensuring accuracy in formatting and reporting requirements. Note: Experience must be fully demonstrated and documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month & year starting and ending dates and hours worked per week.

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.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

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. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

  • Accountability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


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.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

The VA has adopted Core Values and Characteristics that apply universally across the Department. The five Core Values define "who we are," our culture, and how we care for Veterans, their families and other beneficiaries. The Values are Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect and Excellence ("I CARE").

As a VA professional, your opportunities are endless. With many openings in the multiple functions of VA, you will have a wide range of opportunities and leadership positions at your fingertips. Not only is it the largest, most technologically advanced integrated health care system in the Nation, but we also provide many other services to Veterans through the Benefits Administration and National Cemeteries. VA professionals feel good about their careers and their ability to balance work and home life. VA offers generous paid time off and a variety of predictable and flexible scheduling opportunities. For more information on the Department of Veterans Affairs, go to http://www.vacareers.gov.

Agency contact information

Edward Ford
Phone
203 626-1806
Email
EDWARD.FORD2@VA.GOV
Address
VA Connecticut Healthcare System
950 Campbell Avenue
West Haven, CT 06516
US

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Learn more about what it's like to work at Veterans Health Administration, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

http://www.va.gov/jobs

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