You will serve as a Transportation Assistant with the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System in Tacoma, Washington.

Duties

You will subject matter expert on VA funded and non-VA funded transportation and lodging programs, eligibilities, and procedures. You will review clinical requests for transportation and lodging and determine the best mode of transportation and appropriate lodging, based on patient medical need and cost effectiveness. You will authorize, schedule, and complete travel requests for patient travel. You will coordinate and provide VA funded and non-VA funded common carrier and special mode transportation. You will arrange and coordinate air ambulance travel for eligible Veterans for organ/tissue transplants or other inter-facility transfers. You will provide technical guidance necessary to achieve the optimum use of the service resources, including thorough knowledge of the Vetride Program. You will provide advice to operating managers and supervisors on how provided Veteran Transportation Service (VTS) Beneficiary Travel, public transportation, and volunteer transportation services. You will have knowledge of payment processes. You will interview Veterans to determine their current appropriateness for travel and lodging. You will continually assess the status of the Veterans Transportation Program (Beneficiary Travel & VTS) Lodging and Patient Funds programs to ensure compliance with existing directives, guidelines, and regulations. You will perform 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, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Telework: Ad-hoc telework is defined as situational telework approved on a case-by-case basis. Examples of situational or ad-hoc telework include telework because of inclement weather, doctor appointment, or special work assignments. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant/PD41281A and PD41280A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 02/19/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Time in Grade requirements: 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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 and/or education as described below: GS-5: Specialized Experience: 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to perform travel and lodging arrangements; determine and verify patient eligibility; authorize, schedule, and complete travel requests; knowledge of payment processes; manage a patient funds program; use work-related software applications; reconcile invoices; perform basic data analyses; document reimbursement claims; document medical statuses; generate reports; assist customers in completing necessary paperwork; work with public and private transportation agencies; review lodging alerts to accommodate cancel, extend, and adjust arrangements; provide excellent customer service; use Microsoft word, excel and PowerPoint; handle multiple problems under pressure; and format letters, reports, emails and memoranda. OR, EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 4 years above high school, leading to a bachelor's degree. This education was obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college, or university. OR, COMBINATION: EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience as described in A but less than one year, and I have some education more than the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) but less than 4 years of above high school education. GS-6: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade G in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: accurately schedules lodging appointments; coordinate transportation and lodging programs, eligibilities, and procedures; provide excellent customer service; review clinical requests for transportation and lodging utilizing computer application systems; authorize, schedule, review, adjudicate and complete travel requests for patient travel; provide advice to operating managers and supervisors; reconcile and verify correct billing rates and dates. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: AccountabilityAdaptabilityAttention to DetailCreative ThinkingCustomer Service (Clerical/Technical) 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 involves various physical demands requiring the employee to be versatile in the many functions performed. These include sedentary work performed at a desk with intermittent standing, walking, bending, and lifting of lightweight records or supplies. Work Conditions: The work environment is multifaceted, complex, and demanding.Work is performed in an office setting. Work is performed within view and hearing of patients and the public. The incumbent has direct contact with patients and possible exposure to contagious diseases. Immediate attention is required for travel and patient funds activities, while lodging arrangements must be completed timely. Meeting these obligations may present varied demands on the incumbent. Patients may present skeptical, agitated, uncooperative, and some may become hostile or dangerous. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address VA Puget Sound Health Care System 1660 South Columbian Way Seattle, WA 98108 US
• Name: Christian Sheehy
• Phone: 253-583-1445
• Email: [email protected]