The incumbent serves as a Program Support Assistant in the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Patient Advocacy Office aligned under Associate Director. The incumbent will support the Office of Patient Advocacy and patient experience efforts for Veterans who are receiving care and support at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. The incumbent will manage and execute phone calls and face to face interactions from Veterans seeking assistance from the Patient Advocate Office.
Summary
The incumbent serves as a Program Support Assistant in the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Patient Advocacy Office aligned under Associate Director. The incumbent will support the Office of Patient Advocacy and patient experience efforts for Veterans who are receiving care and support at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. The incumbent will manage and execute phone calls and face to face interactions from Veterans seeking assistance from the Patient Advocate Office.
ALL US CITIZENS.
DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (COVID-19 - VA 005) in-accordance with 5 U.S.C. 3304(a)(3) and 5 CFR 337.205(b)(1)-(4).
The major duties of the Program Support Assistant position include:
Program Support:
The Program Support Assistant utilizes PATS-R to assist the patient advocates in handling Veteran complaints that come through a variety of avenues. The Program Support Assistant aligns the PATSR, Report of Contact (RoC), to the appropriate Patient Advocate who forwards the inquiry on to the service line for service recovery. Many times, the Program Support Assistant is the one to reach out to the service line for additional input that it added to the PATSR RoC. The incumbent retrieves data from Veteran Signals (VSignals) and enters all VSignals comments into a useable data excel software in order to then manually transferred into the PATSR system. The information assists in identifying opportunities for departmental growth and satisfaction related to improved customer experience.
Program Support Assistant conducts monthly service line email group reviews which results in identifying Service Line Advocates (SLA) and Service Line Users (SLU) that are not granted credentials (license/provisions) within the PATSR system. Each quarter an audit is performed that requires the service line to commit to the following: 1) SLA/SLU's have a process for addressing PATSR concerns that come from the Office of Patient Advocacy; 2) SLA/SLU email owner has certificated email group; and, 3) confirm that all SLA/SLU's are appropriate individuals for addressing PATSR concerns. The importance of these reviews/audits is critical to the National OPA timelines in which customer concerns are to be addressed.
The incumbent will use the VA Medical Center's established initial intake responsibilities-to include receipt of information from veterans and appropriate investigatory and resolution alpha numeric assignment to patient advocates.
Customer Service:
The incumbent will also help assess Veteran's needs; identifies problems; help resolve problems; identifies solutions, and tracks concerns raised by Veterans.
Incumbent serves as the initial intake when Veteran's present (virtually or in person) with an inquiry related to their (Veteran) treatment/care experience. The dialogue is accurately captured within the data system of PATSR where all Report of Contact's are maintained. This new system, Patient Advocate Tracking System, Replacement (PATSR) is the sole database for entering and tracking customer inquiries (concerns, compliments and recommendations). This involves incumbent having to engaged with customers in order to capture all details surrounding their inquiry.
Outreach:
Incumbent also serves as a Program Support Assistant conducting internal outreach for the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. The incumbent will periodically manage a call list of Veterans to reach out to and follow up with to educate and support the efforts to maintain Veterans active enrollment in VA health care at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center.
Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 4:00pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant (Office of Patient Advocacy)/PD914700 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.
Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
May serve a probationary period
Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
GS-6 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-5 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes:
Serves as the initial point of contact, manages and executes phone calls and face to face interactions with Veterans through various forms of communication.
Provides clerical and administrative support.
Conducts monthly/quarterly audits of service lines and mail groups.
Conducts internal outreach for the VA Medical Center, which may include managing a call list.
There is no educational substitution for the GS-6 level.
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.
Additional information
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 well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/.
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.
If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
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. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application.Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).You will not be contacted for additional information. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.
Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.
Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 02/15/2023 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11819392.
1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
Cincinnati VA Medical Center
3200 Vine Street
Cincinnati, OH 45220
US
Next steps
After the vacancy announcement closes, applicants are evaluated to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application.Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).You will not be contacted for additional information. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.
Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.
Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 02/15/2023 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11819392.
1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
Cincinnati VA Medical Center
3200 Vine Street
Cincinnati, OH 45220
US
Next steps
After the vacancy announcement closes, applicants are evaluated to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
