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Telephone Operator

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Alexandria VA Health Care System
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Telephone Operator will provide comprehensive telephone and telecommunications support to all VISN 16 facilities and customers, and is part of the Alexandria VA Medical Center Centralized Call Center located at the Alexandria VA Medical Center, Alexandria, LA.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
09/08/2025 to 09/12/2025
Salary
$36,825 to - $46,868 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 4
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Alexandria, LA
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
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
CARZ-12795152-25-AKJ
Control number
845117200

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Duties

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***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

Duties may include, but are not limited to:

  • Assists in the development of methods to improve the program.
  • Provides information of a routine nature and receives and directs callers to the appropriate are.
  • Interviews incoming callers and routes the calls to their proper destination.
  • Provides telephone and organizational information to callers.
  • Maintains a record of toll and long-distance calls, showing the time the call was placed, the staff person requesting the call, and the number that was requested.
  • Modifies and maintains operation manuals, reference books, and/or software.
  • Performs other duties as assigned.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 10:00am - 6:30pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility.
Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized

Requirements

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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
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation
  • 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)

Qualifications

Experience: At least one (1) year of general experience - progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates ability to acquire the particular competencies needed to perform the duties of the position to be filled (Telephone Operator). This may be paid or non-paid experience. NOTE: 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.
OR
Education: Two (2) years of successfully completed education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college, or university. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted on or before the closing date of the announcement. Education cannot be credited without documentation.
OR
Combination: An equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education and experience as described above which meets the total qualification requirements for this grade level. NOTE: Your experience must be documented in your resume and transcripts must be submitted on or before the closing date of the announcement.


You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

  • Clerical
  • Organizational Awareness
  • Technical Competence
  • Technology Application
  • Telecommunications


IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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.

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; religious; 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.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. The employee sits comfortably to do the work. There is some moving around to adjust equipment; carrying of light items such as papers, books. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. The work involves the common risks or discomforts (requiring normal safety precautions) typical of offices, meeting rooms, libraries, and the like. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. Work areas in or near computer rooms may be environmentally controlled and, although cool, require only normal clothing to compensate for minor discomfort.


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

IMPORTANT: 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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.

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.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Your responses to the assessment questionnaire will be reviewed along with the information provided in your resume and supporting documentation to determine if you are qualified for the position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered and/or you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

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.

Candidates who apply under All U.S. Citizens announcements will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. Qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The categories are defined as follows:

  • Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
  • Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;
  • Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.
Application of Veterans' Preference: Category rating and selection procedures place those with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligible applicants that meet the eligibility and qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category (except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher).

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.

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