This position serves as Program Support Assistant for the CWT HCHV Programs at the Albany VAMC, working under the direction of the CWT/HCHV Program Manager. The position may also receive direction from the Patient Experience Service Chief, as well as provide assistance to the other Services under the umbrella of the Patient Experience Service as needed.

Duties

The Primary goal of Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) and Healthcare for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Programs is to move Veterans into stable housing and employment, improving Mental Health and community integration. CWT/HCHV Programs are located in the Patient Experience Service Line at the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center. Patient Experience Service also includes Whole Health, Patient Advocacy, PMDB and Facility-wide Strategic Planning. Clinic Administration Manages the CWT payroll administration including developing, distributing and collecting Veteran timesheets. Coordinates with CWT Department Supervisors to ensure accuracy of timecards verifying hours worked by each Veteran. Works with community employers, assisting them with the process of acquiring a VHA DUNS number, reviewing CWT Community Transitional Work agreements and creating a billing system for the CWT Community placement. Assist the current CWT/HCHV staff and supervisor as a liaison between the CWT/HCHV Programs and VA and community CWT employers and housing agencies. Develops invoices for Grant and Per Diem (GPD) and Contract Housing agencies and facilitates monthly payments for HCHV Program. In this liaison role, the incumbent meets frequently with employers, GPD/ Contract Housing agencies and staff to address challenges in coordination and planning. Initiates and uses established confidential and secure data management systems to assure accomplishment of facility mission and goals, including compilation of data for process review and quality monitoring. As POC, provides effective and efficient communication via various platforms to address inquiries presented to the CWT/HCHV Program to include: Veterans, Interdisciplinary Teams, VA Staff, Probation Officers, VSOs, DOC, Employers and other stakeholders, while maintaining compliance with established ROI, PHI and HIPPA regulations. Prepares meeting agendas, sends invites, records minutes and forwards meeting minutes to all participants ensuring all action items and tasks are completed in a timely manner. Program Reporting Prepares, executes and tracks program specific information including: Veteran demographics, program success rates, referral sources and employer contacts. The findings of these reports are delivered to management in a regular and recurring fashion. Collects, records and analyzes Bed Days of Care for Contract and GPD Program. Completes weekly reports to ensure accurate billing using excel spreadsheet. Organizes CWT/HCHV Veteran Orientations, including calling Veterans to extend invitations to attend, organize paperwork to distribute and attend the orientation with clinical staff to assist with facilitation. Ensuring processes are in place for tracking admission criteria requirements including maintaining an updated excel spreadsheet tracking Veterans waiting for admission. Organizes Veteran Stakeholder Meetings - securing space, contacting Veterans and speakers, collaborating with Voluntary Services for supplies and refreshments. Meetings to occur on a monthly basis. Administrative Support The incumbent will monitor all TMS trainings, BLS, and PMDB trainings as well as any other necessary trainings that arise for employees of the service. Primary timekeeper for Patient Experience, CWT/HCHV Programs Patient Experience, CWT/HCHV administrative and technical duties as assigned, such as: Assisting with implementation of new directives including organizing policies, information and reporting to the Front Office, VISN and CO. Participates in continuous quality improvement processes including tracking action plan progress, monitoring both local leadership and VISN action items. Participation in performance improvement projects -Incumbent will participate in staffing methodology each year as well as many other performance improvement projects for Patient Experience and CWT/HCHV Programs. Performs other duties as assigned. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: 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#: Program Support Assistant/PD38656O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/19/2023. GS-6 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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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. GS-7 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 within 30 days the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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: MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS GS-6 Specialized experience: Specialized Experience is defined as experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: providing administrative and clerical support to a multi-disciplinary team in support of the mission of the organization; strong ability to work independently to organize and prioritize duties and responsibilities; manage and analyze various spreadsheets, queries and reports for statistical data; manage timesheets. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS GS-7 Specialized experience: Specialized Experience is defined as experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: payroll administration which may include developing, distributing and collecting Veteran timesheets, verifying the accuracy of timesheets; effective and efficient communication via various platforms to address inquiries; prepare meeting agendas, sends invites, records minutes and forwards meeting minutes to all participants ensuring all action items and tasks are completed in a timely manner; performs work involving the collection, compilation and tracking of data and statistical information in support of operations; ability to participate in continuous quality improvement processes including tracking action plan progress; ability to coordinate events and programs You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Creative ThinkingCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Decision MakingFinancial ManagementFlexibilityInterpersonal EffectivenessManages and Organizes InformationNegotiation 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 mainly sedentary. However, there will be walking, standing, bending, and carrying and lifting of light items such as packages and books, generally of not more than 25 pounds. 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.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Samuel S Stratton VA Medical Center - Albany 113 Holland Ave Albany, NY 12208 US
• Name: Crystal Collier
• Email: [email protected]