This position is located in the Recreation Therapy section of the Allied Health Service at the VA Medical Center Tomah, Wisconsin (a complexity level 3 facility). The primary purpose of this position is to provide a variety of free choice leisure activities based on Veteran's leisure needs, capabilities and available facilities.

Duties

Major Duties and Responsibilities include; but not limited to the following: Develop and conduct free choice programming for all facility wide leisure activities for medical, long term and acute psychiatric, nursing home care, alcohol/drug treatment veterans. Assist in carrying out the treatment plan developed by the recreation therapist for the Veteran regarding free choice and neighborhood activities. Work independently with volunteer groups and medical center staff to coordinate facility-wide annual recreation and special events. Provide ongoing monitored group recreation programs. Orient, train and supervise volunteers, Incentive Therapy Veterans, summer temporary employees, and those assigned to work within incumbents' delegated areas of responsibility. Assure safe operation and maintenance of recreation areas. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Three late shifts per week, 11:30-8:00, other days will be 8:00am-4:30pm, one weekend per month and at least one holiday per year. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Recreation Assistant/PD23399A 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, 10/10/2023. 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 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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: Basic - Individual Occupational Requirement: Specialized Experience - Positions at the GS-4 grade levels and above: At least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 level in federal service that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skill, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Recreation Assistant position, and that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: A. Group leader, counselor, or similar work in public and private recreation programs for adults or children such as summer camps, local playgrounds, YWCA and YMCA clubs, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, urban community centers, or resort recreational activities. B. Teacher's aid in elementary school recreation or physical education program, with emphasis on development of general recreational skills and abilities. C. Aid or assistant assignments in recreation while on active military service. D. Aid or assistant in the organization and administration of recreation activities, such as preparing activities calendars, maintaining attendance records, and providing information concerning schedules and activities. E. Summer aid in a State or national park, with duties related to the recreational activities of visitors to campsites, trails, picnic areas, nature and raft centers, and boating and fishing areas (e.g., demonstrating camping techniques and park safety, conducting nature tours, and overseeing farm animal areas provided for children). F. Sales or stock clerk in a recreation supplies and equipment shop. G. Aid or assistant in the issuance of authorized property and in the maintenance of inventory control and accountability for such property in a recreation facility. H. Aid or assistant in a hotel or resort recreation service with duties such as setting up areas for games, tournaments, and other organized group recreational activities. OR Education GS-5 grade level: Successful completion of 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with a major field of study with at least 24 semester hours in courses related to recreation or physical education; (e.g., basic psychology, group dynamics, physical education, arts and crafts, etc.). (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR COMBINATION: Must have equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate level education as described above AND experience as described above, which may be used to meet total experience requirements. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Interpersonal EffectivenessInterpersonal SkillsPlanning and EvaluatingTeamwork 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 requires moderately heavy physical exertion on an intermittent basis such as assisting a veteran in transfer activities; wheelchair to transport vehicle. There are also regular periods of standing and walking throughout the medical center and at off-station sites. Additionally, at times the work requires lifting, moving, and carrying of moderately heavy items and equipment for set-up or use by Veterans during recreational activities. 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

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

Contacts

• Address Tomah VA Medical Center 500 East Veterans Street Tomah, WI 54660 US
• Name: Madeline James
• Phone: 504-812-1498
• Email: [email protected]