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Recreation Assistant

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Miami VA Medical Center

Summary

This position is in the Geriatrics & Extended Care Service at the Miami VA Medical Center, within Recreation & Creative Arts Therapy in the Community Living Center. The role delivers therapeutic and diversional programs that support and improve physical, mental, cognitive, social, and emotional functioning for residents, while providing meaningful leisure opportunities.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/23/2026 to 05/04/2026
Salary
$48,361 - $62,869 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 6
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Miami, FL
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
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
Yes
Announcement number
CBTC-12936194-26-RRM
Control number
866389500

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Duties

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The Recreation Assistant supports Recreation Therapists, Music Therapists and Art Therapists in the Community Living Center by planning, organizing, advising, and administering recreational activities and programs to restore, remediate, and/or rehabilitate functional capabilities for Veterans with injuries, chronic illnesses, and disabling conditions, under the therapist or supervisor's direction.

Major duties and responsibilities will include:

  • Prepares areas for recreation activities and programs;
  • Assists in preparations for community outings away from the facility, which are used to meet therapeutic goals;
  • Arranges for equipment or supplies, checking them out to participants, ensuring they are returned, and checking the condition of supplies on their return;
  • Takes inventory of authorized recreation supplies and equipment;
  • Provides training for proper use of equipment and facilities and ensures compliance of rules of use for the facility;
  • Assists with a wide variety of therapeutic recreation treatment, modalities, and procedures that are care planned and recommended by therapist, or by the Recreation & Creative Arts Therapy Supervisor as part of the total plan of care of patients;
  • Follows treatment plan to carry out recommended treatment;
  • Evaluates the activity to determine if the treatment is causing an adverse effect and recommends changes or modifications of treatment procedures to the therapist or supervisor to determine appropriate modifications;
  • Works with participants on an individual basis, in small groups, or large groups depending on treatment goals;
  • Uses a variety of modalities such as art, music, hobbies, social recreation, creative communication, games, adapted sports, physical fitness, yoga, tai chi, special events, etc.;
  • Documents progress towards the goals in the medical record of the participants;
  • Performs related duties as required.
Work Schedule: Thursday - Monday, 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Compressed/Flexible: Candidates must work weekends, federal and non-federal holidays, irregular work hours and extended hours as determined by the needs of the service. Furthermore, candidates must be willing to be placed, detailed, or temporarily assigned to other related services and/or locations, as assigned.
Position Description/PD#: Recreation Assistant/PD08469-0
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Bargaining Unit: Yes

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, 05/04/2026.

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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05.
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.

Specialized Experience/Individual Occupational Requirement: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in Federal service that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: group leader, counselor, or similar work in public and private recreation programs for adults or children such as summer camps, local playgrounds, YWCA and YMCA clubs, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, urban community centers, or resort recreational activities; teacher's aid in elementary school recreation or physical education program; aid or assistant assignments in recreation while on active military service; aid or assistant in the organization and administration of recreation activities, such as preparing activities calendars, maintaining attendance records, and providing information concerning schedules and activities; summer aid in a State or national park, with duties related to the recreational activities of visitors to campsites, trails, picnic areas, nature and raft centers, boating and fishing areas, etc.; aid or assistant in the issuance of authorized property, and in the maintenance/accountability of inventory control for such property in a recreation facility; or aid or assistant in a hotel or resort recreation service, with duties such as setting up areas for games, tournaments, and other organized group recreational activities. This experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit. ~OR~

Education:
Half a year of graduate education (usually 9 semester hours) that is directly related to the work of this position. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. Transcripts required. ~OR~

Combination of Experience and Education:
An equivalent combination of specialized experience and graduate education as described that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position. Experience must be detailed, and transcripts required.

NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

Preferred Experience:
Working with patients in a nursing home setting who have diagnoses such as dementia, physical and cognitive limitations, amputations, mental health diagnoses, mobility limitations and use of assistive devices such as wheelchairs and walkers.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:
Work involves regular and recurring physical exertion when walking, standing, sitting, bending, lifting or moving equipment, pushing wheelchairs, positioning/transferring severely disabled patients, and assisting patients in ambulation. The work requires driving vehicles, tying down wheelchairs, propelling wheelchairs, loading/unloading equipment and supplies, etc.

The work involves the regular risks and discomforts associated with clinics, wards, offices, conference rooms, gym, pool, bowling alley, and in the community. The Recreation Assistant is exposed to infectious diseases, odors and/or flammable gases and medical emergencies and must wear protective clothing as needed. Many patients encountered are emotionally disturbed and may demonstrate assaultive/aggressive behaviors secondary to chronic schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, unaffected mental disorder, dementias, delirium, adjustment disorders, etc.

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

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

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

  • Attention to Detail
  • Clinical Data Collection/Documentation
  • Communication
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Patient Care
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
  • Technical Competence


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.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

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 Miami VA Healthcare System provides health care services at 9 locations in south Florida. Facilities include our Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center in Miami and 8 community-based outpatient clinics in Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, Homestead, Key Largo, Key West, Miami, Pembroke Pines, and Sunrise. The Miami VA Healthcare System also includes an AIDS/HIV center, a prosthetic treatment center, a spinal cord injury rehabilitative center, and a Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center. VA Miami health care is recognized as a center of excellence in spinal cord injury research and substance abuse treatment and is a recognized chest pain center. In addition to serving south Florida, VA Miami health care is the tertiary referral facility for the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center and provides open-heart surgery and other specialty services to VA facilities in Florida and nationwide.

Agency contact information

Rita Mclaughlin
Phone
202-461-7754
Email
rita.mclaughlin2@va.gov
Address
Bruce W Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
1201 Northwest 16th Street
Miami, FL 33125
US

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