The incumbent is the principal administrative support to the Chief of Staff or to the Associate Director of a healthcare system composed of two medical centers with less than 300 beds each and ten outpatient or community based clinics. The incumbent serves as an alternate Secretary to the Director of the healthcare system. They are a subordinate office manager for the Office of the Director and reinforces VA standard practices, protocols and procedures.

Duties

Public Contact Work Receives, schedules, refers, and contacts members of the staff, agency, and persons outside the agency ranging from other government agencies to the general public. Responds to administrative problems brought to the supervisor's attention by members of the staff or management officials outside the organization or outside the agency. Notifies the appropriate subordinate management officials of the need for information or recommendation, and either prepares the response or follows up to ensure a timely response by others. Mail, Correspondence, and Reports Processes incoming and outgoing materials such as correspondence, reports, memoranda, and other forms of written communication. Performs the following types of duties: edits letters, composes letters and reports, reviews correspondence for accuracy and completeness, prepares public presentation outlines, and develops standard or form letters and replies to inquiries. When there are previous instructions given regarding the disposition of a matter, signs correspondence and certain procedural authorizations in the name of the supervisor. Screens all publications, directives, and periodicals, and brings those of significance to the supervisor's attention. In the supervisor absence, maintains a file of correspondence and events of which the supervisor should know and, upon the supervisor return, brings such matters to the supervisor attention. Maintaining Appointments, Calendars, & Schedules Schedules appointments, coordinates meetings, and/or schedules conferences. Exercises exclusive control over the supervisor's appointments, with complete authority for commitment of time. Screens all calls and visitors, answering most questions and completing most business involving established policy or routine matters without referring people to the supervisor. Office Supplies and Equipment Obtains and monitors the use of services, supplies, or equipment for the office. Provides general office· supply and equipment support services such as obtaining standard office supplies and services, procuring or justifying the full range of office services, or answering questions concerning policies and procedures related to support/office services. Consolidates equipment or service requests from various offices. Ascertains the needs of subordinate offices and coordinates the purchase of equipment and services to meet the organization's needs. Studies the various offices to determine usage's and needs and merges needs into one recommendation for the organization as a whole. Subsequently, acquires the equipment and services using procedures to procure, authorize, control, and justify these purchases. Performs other related 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 8:00am-4:30pm 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#: Secretary/PD7253A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/02/2024. 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-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-08. 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 as described below: Specialized Experience GS-08: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience with administrative support; collecting, compiling and tracking data and information; Experience processing documents and reports; Experience establishing, updating and maintaining office files and records; Experience performing automation duties using such software applications such as word processing, spreadsheet, electronic mail, desktop publishing, calendar, database and/or graphics; Experience answering telephones, referring visitors, and providing information; experience in Timekeeping; Experience in conducting Professional Practice Evaluations. Specialized Experience GS-09:You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-08 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Extensive experience in a broad foundation of administrative concepts, principles and practices sufficient to independently perform duties and avoid duplication of work; Experience in determining when new procedures are needed: evaluating, recommending and restructuring clerical activities; Extensive knowledge of the MS Office Suite to maintain Outlook calendars, compose correspondence in MS Word, maintain reports in MS Excel Spreadsheets, update and maintain documents in SharePoint and prepare presentations in MS PowerPoint; Knowledge of timekeeping system and related policies to accurately post staff time and attendance records; Extensive experience in the use of MS Outlook messaging, multi-line telephones, copy and facsimile machines to coordinate communication between key leadership; Knowledge of databases and to enter data, monitor updates, extract reports and track completion. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationCustomer ServiceWriting 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 sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items like papers or books. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address VA New Jersey Health Care System 385 Tremont Avenue East Orange, NJ 07018 US
• Name: Kelli Bencic
• Phone: 716-458-6982
• Email: [email protected]