The secretary is a direct report to the Chief, Chaplain Service, who is a direct report to the Associate Director for Patient Care Services. The position functions as Administrative Support within the Chaplain Service, which provides spiritual and emotional support to the Veterans, their families, and the staff of the Hershel "Woody" Williams V.A. Medical Center

Duties

Major Duties The secretary performs the administrative, secretarial, clerical and receptionist duties in the office of Chaplain Service with primary responsibility to the Chief, Chaplain Service. Always on hand to receive veterans, visitors, staff, or volunteers who call or walk-in to the office for assistance, provides supportive, confidential, and resourceful customer service. Sensitively discerning needs and level of urgency. Pages a chaplain when appropriate. The incumbent maintains the Chaplain Service On-call Roster and Daily Huddle Board, keeping situational awareness of the availability of chaplain staff to meet urgent needs and scheduling patient appointments or making referrals as needed. Serves as Timekeeper for a busy 24x7 service line with frequent time exceptions due to the uniqueness of chaplain services. Schedules outpatient clinical appointments for 4 Chaplain providers using Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) scheduling options, in compliance with utilizing established business rules addressing clinic appointments, consults, return to clinic orders, etc. Incumbent complies with all mandatory training and reporting requirements for the outpatient scheduling process. Daily tracks and resolves open encounters and incomplete notes. Daily reviews status of open consults and scheduling efforts. Requests new clinic builds based on changing provider services and national-level MCA guidance. Generates reports from VistA and VSSC and works with chaplain providers and Chief Chaplain to resolve issues. The Chaplain secretary is delegated as the Program Coordinator for programs uniquely supported by the Chaplain Service. Each program has policy or protocols outlining the responsibilities for program support, which change from season to season based on evolving COVID protocols. These programs, include the Bereavement Care Program and the Warrior to Soulmate Program. For the Bereavement Care Program, the PSA receives death alerts, consults and referrals to the grief program from various data systems and patient/provider referrals. The PSA prepares and mails condolence letters to the next of kin of Veterans. The secretary generates mailings to bereaved families, including sympathy cards, invitations to memorial services, and grief support literature. Accesses the patient medical record to record administrative notes such Bereavement Collateral, Release of Information for Memorialization Purposes, and Bereavement Contact Notes. Serves numerous families per year. In addition to the secretary duties listed above, and adding specific complexity, the Chaplain secretary utilizes expert conference planner skills to assure professional quality smooth running events. Events include Memorial services, Warrior to Soul Mate Workshops, and assorted Religious Services and Facility/Community Observances. Customers include veterans, veteran families, and VA staff. Event planning requires adaptation and problem solving for venues, procedures, supplies, and staffing resources. Event planning duties, within budget and time constraints, may include but are not limited to scheduling of conference rooms and speakers; advertising; travel and vehicle arrangements; scheduling of musicians, accompanists, military honors, and dignitaries; publication of bulletins/agendas/itineraries; room set-up and tear down; audio-visual; food and beverage; participant registration; ordering resources, etc. Number of participants per event varies, as do the number and frequency of events. Perform other duties as assigned as they relate to the job role and assignment. Work Schedule: Full Time Monday-Friday 0800-1630 Position Description/PD#: Secretary/PD240050Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not Authorized Telework schedules: Not authorized Virtual work schedules: Not authorized FLSA: Non Exempt BU Status: BU Recruitment Incentives: NOT authorized Relocation Expenses: NOT authorized Financial Disclosure Report: NOT required Pay: Competitive salary, annual performance bonus, regular salary increases. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years' vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA. Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement). For More Information on Benefits: https://www.vacareers.va.gov/Benefits/EmploymentBenefits Competitive Federal benefits: Job security- Stability Career advancement and priority in hiring as a Federal employee Federal Retirement Survivor Benefits Military buy back toward retirement Leave Benefits: AL (13-26 days), SL (13 days), Paid Federal Holidays (11 days) , Paid Parental Leave 12 wks. FEHB lowest cost FEGLI low cost Flexible Spending accounts Pre-taxed Federal Long Term Care Insurance TSP matching 5% and Pre-tax contributions Child Care subsidy And more

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/18/2023. 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-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-3. 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. Advancement to positions up to GS-5. Candidates may be advanced without time restriction to positions up to GS-5 if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade the employee held within the preceding 52 weeks under his or her latest non-temporary competitive appointment. 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-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Screening incoming correspondence; preparing correspondence for management signature; transcribing medical and technical dictation from a variety of sources; scheduling meetings and conferences; utilizing hardware and software in the performance of daily duties; inputting office time and attendance records; interpreting regulations, manuals, directives, and precedents in a healthcare environment; developing databases and spreadsheets; compiling, analyzing, and tracking statistical data from various sources; and performing progressively responsible administrative assistance in a healthcare environment. OR, Education: Successfully completed a four year education above the high school level in any field from an accredited business 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 high school. AND Typing: 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. 40 words per minute typing speed You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:ClericalCommunicationsComputer SkillsManages and Organizes Information 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: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. The position involves work that is mainly sedentary but requires some bending, walking, standing and lifting/carrying (under 15lb) of supplies, patient records, staff and patient mail. Some assignments may involve more frequent walking, but these assignments may involve more frequent walking, but these assignments require no unusual physical demands to perform work. The incumbent will need to have the ability to verbally communicate and hear (aid permitted) using a telephone and must be able to type and operate computer equipment as an essential part of their position. The incumbent must be able to work closely with internal and external customers in a face to face setting. Work Environment: Work is performed primarily in a Office setting; adequately lighted, temperature controlled, and ventilated. Office temperatures fluctuate periodically; involves everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as clinics, offices, meeting and training rooms or libraries; exposure to noise and dust on occasion.The incumbent may occasionally be exposed to patients who are combative secondary to delirium, dementia, or psychiatric disorders; Emotional and Mental Stability: The incumbent must be a mature, flexible, sensible individual capable of working effectively in stressful situations, able to shift priorities based on patient needs. 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 Huntington VA Medical Center 1540 Spring Valley Drive Huntington, WV 25704 US
• Name: Ronald Richardson
• Phone: 410-422-6292
• Email: [email protected]