The Program Support Assistant position is located in the Inpatient Nursing Service (INS) of the Associate Director of Patient Care Services Office at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas. The incumbent serves as the Administrative Support/Program Support and performs work of a clinical office support nature, which encompasses a variety of different duties and responsibilities.

Duties

Monitors and controls business papers, correspondence, and records throughout the INS sections, including the coordination of action papers with office and agency staff. Maintains the correspondence control system, which monitors the receipt and distribution of correspondence. Experience with time and attendance. Maintains an automated system of program- specific data to track suspense dates on items such as progress reports, funding accomplishments, compliance strategies, correspondence, etc. Monitors and reports on time and attendance. Maintains time and attendance for commonly used pay plans and types of leave or limited special pay situations. The incumbent is responsible for coordinating new hire activities for all personnel at the beginning of each bi-weekly pay period to include computer training, policies and procedures, ID badges, computer codes and access parking tag. Receives and processes documents and reports in accordance with established procedures. Reviews documents and reports for completeness and enters pertinent information into an automated tracking system. Knowledge of program guidelines, regulations and precedents, and knowledge of the basic objectives and policies governing various management or program operations. Performs office automation duties using such software applications as electronic mail, desktop publishing, adobe, calendar, spreadsheet, database, and/or graphics. Maintains computer generated log concerning incoming and outgoing correspondence. Receives, assigns, and monitors externally and internally generated correspondence and inquiries. Follows up to ensure observance of deadlines and coordination of internal comments and clearance. This job will close at midnight on the night the 75th application is received or by the closing date of the announcement whichever comes first. 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 7:00am-3:30pm, 7:30am-4:00pm or 6:30am-3:00pm (subject to changed based on needs of facility) 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/PD04045A, PD04043A, and PD04044A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required This position is covered by AFGE bargaining unit. Per the Master Agreement, the Area of Consideration will be: 1st Area of Consideration - Current Facility and CBOC employees; 2nd Area of Consideration - VA Nationwide applicants

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/02/2023. 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 GS-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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. For the GS-5 position: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education described below: To qualify at the GS-5 grade, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 level or higher. Specialized experience includes but is not limited to: Proficiency with computer software such as MS Word, MS Excel, MS Teams, MS Outlook, and office equipment. Experience coordinating and supporting mechanisms for successful data capture. Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills. OR Education: Substitution of a 4 years above high school (transcripts required). OR Combination of Specialized Experience and Education: Combination of specialized experience as described above and only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. (transcripts required) For the GS-6 position: To qualify at the GS-6 grade, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level or higher. Specialized experience includes but is not limited to: Proficiency with computer software such as MS Word, MS Excel, MS Teams, MS Outlook, and office equipment. Experience in the use of computer systems to create and capture data. Experience coordinating and supporting mechanisms for successful data capture. Ability to communicate with customers and answer questions or complaints. Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills. For the GS-7 position: To qualify at the GS-7 grade, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-6 level or higher. Specialized experience includes but is not limited to: Proficiency with computer software such as MS Word, MS Excel, MS Teams, MS Outlook, and office equipment. Experience in the use of computer systems to create and capture data. Experience coordinating and supporting mechanisms for successful data capture. Experience in developing monitors to measuring and evaluate data input. Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills. Experience providing written instructions concerning changes in work procedures to employees. Experience in providing on-the-job training on to new employees. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analytical ThinkingCommunicationsSystems Life Cycle 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 primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts, or driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. 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 Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center 2002 Holcombe Boulevard Houston, TX 77030 US
• Name: Adrian Randles
• Phone: 918-310-4317
• Email: [email protected]