Duties are performed within a highly complex 120-bed general medical, surgical and psychiatric facility along with 100 bed nursing home. Approximately 1,000,000 outpatient visits are made annually. As a result of heavy volume of telephone traffic during both administrative and no administrative hours the tempo of the Telephone Operator position can be stressful and demanding. This position uses a personal computer to retrieve information from Vista as needed to direct calls in a timely manner.

Duties

Major Duties Include: Operates the multi-line telephone system to connect incoming and outgoing calls. Operates an Automated Call Distribution phone as well as an NEC Dterm Series I phone. Handles a full range of telephone calls including local, long distance and overseas calls on all rotating shifts, to include weekends and holidays. Is the sole operator during irregular shifts. Swiftly and accurately handles emergencies such as code blue, code green, code orange, etc. Reports to the Fire Department all alarms recorded by the fire alarm system Notifies designated personnel of real and simulated disasters when directed by higher hospital authority. Contacts doctors or other personnel concerned with direct patient care when required by using the information provided on the On-Call list or VistA Phone Display. Announces emergency or other urgent messages over the public address system. Maintains on-call roster of on-call personnel during irregular shifts and provides employee information on all shifts. Work Schedule: Various rotating shifts, weekends, and holidays Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Telephone Operator/PD01151A 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, 10/13/2023. 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-03 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Receive and distribute incoming calls Effective communication and customer service skills Responding to emergency alarms and making emergency announcements using the overhead paging system Ability to remain calm in stressful situations and display good common sense and good decision making skills Maintains call roster on on-call personnel during irregular shifts and provides employee information on all shifts OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 2 years above high school. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 2 years above high school. NOTE: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Verbiage displayed on your resume or application must contain your own words. You may refer to the competencies located within the vacancy announcement, to assist with describing work experiences; however, resumes or applications received that copied verbatim from the announcement will be evaluated and may be reviewed as falsifying your experience or application. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications Security ManagementCritical ThinkingCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical)Telecommunications 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 involves long periods of sitting, reaching, stretching and turning while operating equipment and obtaining access to necessary information. The mental strain from continuously answering incoming calls, some from unusually disturbed people, causes extreme fatigue. Although the work is primarily sedentary in nature in an office environment it requires a high degree of concentration and ability to work under pressure and stress. Incumbent must of a keen sense of hearing in responding to the numerous amounts of calls that are received. Additionally there are times when the station experiences a high volume of telephone calls and callers may be irate because of long waits to receive telephone assistance. 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 West Palm Beach VA Medical Center 7305 North Military Trail West Palm Beach, FL 33410 US
• Name: Nicole Lynch
• Phone: 701-239-3700 X4388
• Email: [email protected]