Secretary (OA)

Summary This position is located in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Fayetteville VA Medical Center (FVAMC) under the Associate Director Clinical Business Operations Office. This position performs public contact work, administrative and clerical support, maintains appointments, schedules and calendars, prepares special reports, coordinates travel arrangements, takes minutes and performs other duties in support of the Associate Director Clinical Business Operations. Responsibilities Prepares a wide variety of recurring correspondence, reports, and other documents and reviews and finalizes correspondence or documents prepared by others in handwritten or electronic drafts. Composes routine non-technical correspondence, such as instructions on office procedures, requests for information, and letters of acknowledgement or notification. Proofreads and edits documents for correct grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and format. Uses multiple office automation software with varied functions to produce a wide range of documents that often require complex formats, such as graphics or tables within text, editing and reformatting electronic drafts, and updating or revising existing databases or spreadsheets. Reviews outgoing correspondence prepared by others for procedural and grammatical accuracy, conformance with general policy, and factual correctness. Returns incorrect material prepared by others with revisions marked. Provides advice and guidance on clerical and procedural requirements and instructions to other clerical personnel and staff members Establishes and monitors suspense dates and brings to supervisors attention those that cannot be met by requested date or when there is a conflict. Serves as a liaison between supervisor and subordinate units. Consolidates and finalizes information for various reports in accordance with established reporting procedures. Gathers and summarizes information from a variety of files and documents for supervisors use in responding to inquiries. Receives telephone calls, greets visitors, and ascertains the nature of the calls or visits. Refers telephone calls and visitors to appropriate staff or office. Sponsors employees for identification cards and appropriate access badges. Functions as the ADP Coordinator for the service, which includes troubleshooting PC, telephone, and fax problems, and submits wort orders, as appropriate, for problems that employees cannot resolve. Personally answers non-technical requests for information such as status of reports, suspense dates for matters requiring compliance, and similar information readily available from files or from knowledge of organization. Provides follow-up requests for information. Maintains supervisors calendar, coordinates meeting arrangements, and schedules meetings and/or conferences. Takes minutes of staff meetings and compiles them info final form. Makes travel arrangements, such as: scheduling transportation, making reservations, and preparing travel orders and vouchers. Prepares, consolidates, submits, and maintains time and attendance records in accordance with established procedures. Performs other directly related duties as required. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position is authorized for ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD084090 Requirements 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 Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) – See “Additional Information” below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/18/2024. 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-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples may include but are not limited to: receiving and processing all correspondence and documents transmitted through the Executive office for review, approval, and signature, establishing controls on certain items (to include Medical Advisory Opinions and Board of Veteran Appeal Claims, performance appraisals, and awards). Reviews communications and develops standard paragraph and form letters. Composes and types, in final form, official correspondence such as personal acknowledgements, Congressional inquiries, and report transmittals. Initiates personnel actions such as Board Actions, recruitment, appointments, promotions, special advancements, transfers and separations, for personnel aligned to the supervisors office. Exercises control over supervisors appointments with complete authority for commitments of time; establishing priorities at own discretion; setting up, rearranging and coordinating meetings. Makes appointments for the supervisor, cancels and accepts invitations; checks requirements for engagements; I.e., necessity for speech, etc. – Maintains a calendar of future events for up to the next 12 months, on a monthly, bimonthly, and weekly basis. Makes arrangements for travel, meetings, and community activities. Arranges schedules of visits and transportation, prepares orders, arranges hotel reservations, equipment requirements, speaking topics, notifies organizations and officials to be visited; and submits travel vouchers. Provides general office supply and equipment support services such as procuring or justifying the full range of office services; obtaining and monitoring the use of services, supplies, or equipment for the office. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clerical Computer Skills Customer Service Reading Comprehension Reasoning 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. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements 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 Receiving Service Credit or 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. 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 applicants 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.