The Office of Community Care (OCC) mission includes efficiently administering health care benefits for enrolled Veterans receiving medical care and services through the community care program. This is accomplished with an engaged workforce that focuses on results and leverages best practices. The OCC provides oversight, guidance and support to the VA in many different capacities; research, training, development, interpretation, and evaluation of existing health care policy and regulations.

Duties

Serves as the liaison between the patient/family, vendor, Veterans Board of Appeals, Congressional Liaisons, District Counsel, Veteran's Affairs Medical Centers, and the Office of Community Care and provides a channel through which the unit can respond to patients' needs and concerns. Identifies problems or answers questions about entitlement and services that can or cannot be provided; identifies sources of difficulty in obtaining services; negotiates VA "red tape" on behalf of the Veterans; makes appropriate referrals to other services within the VISN, Office of Community Care or community; provides follow-up to ensure that satisfactory service has been provided. Receives and hears complaints, grievances and other requests for information from Veterans or from individuals acting on behalf of the Veteran. Gathers, analyzes, and prepares information while applying sound judgment when responding to inquiries to include those from Congressional Offices, White House Hotlines, Advance Credit Reports ( Call Center Portals, Reports of Contact, and others as assigned appropriately managing relations across business units. Collaborates with Veterans and vendors regarding procedural, technical and/or operational functions within the Office of Community Care. Takes inquiries from Veterans, their family members, and/or representatives and uses research tools, assessment of data, and research modalities in order to get the data to support the response. Reproduces the research results or the supply of their results as necessary. Provides updates on progress of work completed and claims that are moved back into processing and appropriate payment is confirmed. Working knowledge of Call Center Portal, Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook corporate email account, and other related points of data tools in order to use for reporting, recording, and communication purposes. Identifies the elements of the clinical or administrative practices that contribute to or create an atmosphere for patient/customer dissatisfaction and recommends changes that will reduce or eliminate complaints. Participates in the establishment of administrative qualitative standards intended to improve programs, facilities and operations. Maintains a close working relationship with various program officials. Coordinates and provides assistance and advice in the application of standards that affect the service. Plans and carries out projects to improve the efficiency and productivity of organizations and employees in administrative support activities. Identifies, analyzes, and makes recommendations to resolve conventional problems and situations. 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: Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Customer Service Specialist/PD03641A and PD03642A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required This position is covered by AFGE. 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, 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For this GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education s described below: Specialized Experience (GS-7): You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-5) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized Experience include: One year of specialized experience that equipped the me with particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, the specialized experience must have been at the GS-05 grade level or higher, or an equivalent level of responsibility. Examples of creditable specialized experience includes: Demonstrates knowledge of administrative personnel concerning such matters as Knowledge of policies, standards, and procedures; Researches operational policies, procedures, and practices of VA; Reviews policies and identifies issues and suggests solutions; Communicates effectively orally and in writing with internal and external customers; Prepares oral and written reports; Researches, routes and responds to internal and external customer inquiries. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement (Transcripts required). OR, Combination of Specialized Experience and Education: Combination of specialized experience as described above, and 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree. (transcripts required). Specialized Experience (GS-9): You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-7) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized Experience include: One year of specialized experience that equipped me with knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, the specialized experience must have been at the GS-07 grade level or higher, or an equivalent level of responsibility. Examples of creditable specialized experience includes: Solves complex problems associated with the day-to-day operations concerning customer service issues in a positive, goal-oriented way, including the ability to diffuse conflict management/resolution skills; Independently researches operational policies, procedures, and practices of VA, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), VISN, operations and data sources; Reviews policies, identifies existing issues and potential issues and suggests solutions or alternative to existing procedures; Expert communication, written and oral, with internal and external customers; Prepares oral and written reports to provide information and consultation with appropriate staff. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify applicants must have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree, OR 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, OR LL.B. or J.D., if related (Transcripts Required). OR, Combination of Specialized Experience and Education: Combination of specialized experience as described above, and 1 year of graduate education in excess of 36 semester hours. (Transcripts Required). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementCustomer ServiceResearch 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: Work is mostly sedentary; however, standing during presentations or training, bending, and carrying light items is required. The work is performed in a typical office setting with adequate light, heat, and ventilation. 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 Biloxi VA Medical Center 400 Veterans Avenue Biloxi, MS 39531 US
• Name: Lesa Lang
• Phone: 804-675-5000
• Email: [email protected]