This position is located within the Mental Health Service of the VA Maine Health Care System at the Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta, ME. The Secretary serves as the primary secretary to the Chief of the Mental Health Service (MHS), who is responsible for the mental health programs at this Center.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Major duties and responsibilities include but not limited to: Screening calls and visitors to the Mental Health Service Administrative Office, and in particular for the Chief and Associate Chief of Mental Health, determining the nature and purpose of the call, and referring calls not requiring the attention of the Chief to other staff members or handling the matter personally; Maintaining the Chief of Mental Health's daily calendar making appointments and arranging conferences and meetings without prior approval based on knowledge of his/her schedule; Reminding supervisor(s) of appointments and briefs them on matters to be considered before scheduled meetings; Serving as the Travel Liaison for all travel or the Mental Health Service line; Preparing the Officer of the Day (O.D.) schedule monthly for the Mental Health Psychiatrists, selecting and assigning for O.D. for week nights, weekends and holidays through a contract arrangement; Preparing and following through of the Focused Professional Peer Evaluations and the Ongoing Professional Peer Evaluations; Preparing all 52's for HR, along with all the documentation that is needed for each 52 submission; Serving as the key control representative for all of MHS and functioning as one of the PIV manager and sponsor for all of Mental Health Service; Maintaining the fund control points for Consultants and Attendings and Professional Services; Preparing the annual fiscal year budget requests with the appropriate justifications for each; Taking and transcribing minutes of all Mental Health meetings; Relaying instructions, messages, directives, recommendations and suggestions from the Chief of MHS to her subordinates; Taking and transcribing dictation, both professional and administrative, for the Chief of MHS and processing incoming correspondence; Coordinating correspondence for the Mental Health Service Chief and other management staff in the Mental Health Service, replying to mail not requiring their attention, routing matters requiring action by hospital service/division chiefs and following up to ensure that actions are completed in a timely manner; Screening publications, directives and periodicals and brings those of significance to the attention of the Chief of MHS and other management official's attention; Following up on delinquent matters to ensure that all inquiries are handled according to established VA policies and procedures; station publications, Information Letters, Under Secretary for Health Letters, Secretary of Department of Veterans Affairs, VHA Directives; Meeting in person or by telephone with visitors/patients regarding their concerns and either resolving the problem(s) or referring to the appropriate person for resolution; Training and giving general assistance to new employees in MHS; Preparing revised position and organization charts, and assuring that position descriptions are rewritten and updated as necessary; Conducting the annual inventory of equipment assigned under the Chief of Mental Health and assures accuracy of records; Maintaining timecards for the Mental Health Service, either as primary or alternate, recording accurate leave used, earned, overtime, compensation time, and travel to employees' timecards; and Performing other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 4:00pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required 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 ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position at the GS-6 level, you must meet the following: Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-5) in the federal service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Secretary, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience includes receiving visitors and telephone calls to the office; scheduling appointments; coordinating meetings and conferences; preparing correspondence, reports, memoranda and other forms of written communication; utilizing office automation software and maintaining files. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: ClericalCommunicationsComputer SkillsManages and Organizes Information IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. No specific physical qualifications are required. The work includes walking, bending, stooping, and some lifting, usually not more than ten pounds. No specific physical qualifications are required. 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.

Contacts

• Address Togus VA Medical Center 1 VA Center Augusta, ME 04330 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]