Secretary (OA) - Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration

Summary This position is located in the Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), Office of the Director, in Hampton, Virginia. The primary purpose of the position is to function as principal secretarial/office management support, performing a variety of secretarial, administrative, and coordination duties which are auxiliary to and support the work of the Medical Center Director and executive staff. Only current VISN 6 employees of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) are eligible to apply. Responsibilities Major Duties: Public Contact Work Receives, schedules, refers, and contacts members of the staff, agency, and persons outside the agency ranging from other government agencies to the general public. Personal contacts include officials, representatives, stakeholders, patients and their families. In many instances exact purpose of contact may be unclear. Responds to administrative problems brought to the supervisor's attention by members of the staff or management officials within or outside the agency. Screens all calls and visitors, answering most questions and completing most business involving established policy or routine matters without referring people to the supervisor. Notifies the appropriate subordinate management official of the need for information or recommendation, and either prepares the response or follows up to ensure a timely response by others. The position involves the performance of non-supervisory office automation work, which requires a strong knowledge of general office automation software and is typically performed using a personal computer. Coordinates orientation of all new secretarial and program clerical support staff to ensure the administrative and clerical practices and procedures used throughout the facility is consistent with agency policy and the Executive Office procedures. As principal administrative professional, the incumbent is responsible for conducting annual refresher training for facility secretarial and clerical support staff. Mail, Correspondence and Reports Processes incoming and outgoing materials such as correspondence, reports, memoranda, and other forms of written communication. Performs the following types of duties: edits letters, composes letters and reports; reviews correspondence for accuracy and completeness; prepares public presentation outlines; develops standard or form letters and replies to inquiries. Proofreads all correspondence prepared for signature of the Medical Center Director, checking for spelling, typographical, and conformance to format errors. Advises correspondence preparers of identified errors. Signs correspondence and certain procedural authorizations in the name of the supervisor when previous instructions have covered the matter. Reviews all publications, directives, and periodicals,, and brings those of significance to the supervisor's attention. In the supervisor absence, maintains a file of correspondence and events of which the supervisor should know and, upon the supervisor's return, brings such matters to the supervisor attention. Maintaining Appointments, Calendars. & Schedules Schedules appointments, coordinates meetings, and/or schedules conferences for the Medical Center Director, bringing potential conflicts to the attention of the supervisor. Exercises exclusive control over the supervisor's appointments, with complete authority for commitment of time. Performs a number of administrative support duties, such as making extensive travel arrangements, arranging schedules of visits, making reservations, notifying organizations and officials of planned visits and submitting appropriate travel vouchers and reports. Serves as timekeeper for staff assigned to the Medical Center Director and alternate timekeeper for the Office of the Director. Office Supplies and Equipment Obtains and monitors the use of services, supplies, equipment for the office. Provides general office supply and equipment support services such as obtaining standard office supplies and services, procuring or justifying the full range of office services, or answering questions concerning policies and procedures related to support of office services. Consolidates equipment or service requests from various offices. Ascertains the needs of subordinate offices and coordinates the purchase of equipment and services to meet the organization's needs. Studies the various offices to determine usages and needs and, merges needs into one recommendation for the organization as a whole. Subsequently, acquires the equipment and services using procedures to procure, authorize, control, and justify these purchases. Purchases office supplies for office personal using the Integrated Funds Distribution, Control Point Activity Accounting (IFCAP) program. Maintains and reconciles necessary fund control points. Performs other directly related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm 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 may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD021610 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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, 10/24/2024. 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-09 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 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 of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: receiving, scheduling, referring, and contacting members of the staff, agency, and persons outside the agency ranging from other government agencies to the general public; responding to administrative problems brought to the supervisor's attention by members of the staff or management officials within or outside the agency; screening all calls and visitors, answering most questions and completing most business involving established policy or routine matters without referring people to the supervisor; notifying the appropriate subordinate management official of the need for information or recommendation, and either prepares the response or follows up to ensure a timely response by others; coordinating orientation of all new secretarial and program clerical support staff to ensure the administrative and clerical practices and procedures used throughout the facility is consistent with agency policy and the Executive Office procedures. TYPING PROFICIENCY: This position requires the skills of a qualified typist. In addition to meeting the experience requirement described above, you must be able to type at least 40 words per minute. Preferred Experience: 1. Experience as principal Secretary/Office Manager supporting a Executive Leader. 2. Experience managing a correspondence suspense system. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Attention to Detail Conflict Management Speaking Technology Application Writing 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. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary, however, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items like papers or books. 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 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.