The Secretary (OA) is located within the Director's Office of the Iowa City VA Health Care System (ICVAHCS). This position provides full administrative/secretarial support for the Director. The Secretary serves as the executive secretary/administrative assistant to the Director in his/her responsibilities for the effective and efficient management of the Iowa City VA Health Care System (ICVAHCS) NOTE: This is not a virtual or remote position

Duties

Major duties include, but are not limited to: Responds to inquiries and problems brought to the Director by members of the staff, VACO, White House inquires, and other federal agencies. Notifies appropriate people to respond to these contacts and does follow up to see that deadlines are met in these responses. Looks into concerns of Veterans and their families, coordinating responses and actions, and in many cases preparing the actual response to the issues and researching the problem. Tracks and ensures that all suspense actions are answered properly and expeditiously. Screens calls and visitors, answering most questions and completing most business involving policy or routine matters without referring people to the Director. Controls the Director's appointments and time commitments with complete authority. Receives all incoming correspondence for the Director; replies to mail not requiring the Director's attention; routes matters requiring the action of facility Director's and follow up to ensure that actions have been completed. Drafts, and edits correspondence and speeches. Arranges conferences for the Director. Disseminates local, Network, and VACO policies, goals, and objective to appropriate staff members. Recommends administrative procedures to improve the effectiveness and efficiency in the Executive Office. Works closely with the Patient Advocate, Public Affairs Officer and Quad member secretaries to resolve patient concerns when Veterans, their family/representative or congressional staff visit the Executive Office or contact the office by telephone. Serves as the facility's Controlled Correspondence Coordinator to ensure that all controlled correspondence is answered accurately, completely, and in a timely manner in accordance with the Director's expectations and Network and Central Office Policies. Acts as office manager for the Executive Office. Coordinates and gathers information and compiles data when requested. Coordinates the recruitment paperwork requirements for personnel assigned to the Office of the Director, reviewing all SF-52 actions initiated by the various sections of the Director's office. Initiates and follows up on rating procedures for both GS and merit Pay systems for the Director's office staff and for ensuring that paperwork is completed and submitted in a timely manner. 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, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm Virtual: This is not a virtual or remote position. Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD502870 and PD502860 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Bargaining Unit: No The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/21/2023. 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-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-8. 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. Proficiency Requirements: In addition to meeting experience or education requirements, applicants for these positions must show possession of the following skills, as appropriate. Applicants may meet these requirements by passing the appropriate performance test, presenting a certificate of proficiency from a school or other organization authorized to issue such certificates by the Office of Personnel Management local office, or by self-certifying their proficiency. Performance test results and certificates of proficiency are acceptable for 3 years. Agencies may verify proficiency skills of self-certified applicants by administering the appropriate performance test. Applicants must meet the proficiency of 40 words per minute typing speed. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: GS-08: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, 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 support; screening calls and visitors to an office; scheduling appointments and arranging meetings for staff; reviewing incoming correspondence, determining appropriate action and preparing responses; reviewing and editing outgoing correspondence and ensuring responses are accurate and in accordance with policy requirements; collecting, compiling, and/or tracking of data to support a program; utilizing office automation software to produce a wide range of documents and spreadsheets. GS-09: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-08 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, 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 support; scheduling appointments and making commitments for staff; drafting and editing correspondence and speeches; recommending changes to administrative procedures to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of a program; tracking and ensuring that correspondence is answered accurately, completely, and in a timely manner by staff; collecting, compiling, and/or tracking of data to support a program; advising staff on preparing correspondence, requirements of various reports, and interpreting new instructions and procedures; assisting in personnel actions for an office. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to DetailInterpersonal SkillsOrganizational AwarenessTeamworkWriting 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: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. 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 either grade level.

Contacts

• Address Iowa City VA Health Care System 601 Highway 6 West Iowa City, IA 52246 US
• Name: Michael Kelly
• Phone: 612-467-3398
• Email: [email protected]