The VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System is recruiting for a Program Support Assistant. The Program Support Assistant will function in the Travel section of the Patient Care Administrative Service (PCAS).

Duties

The Program Support Assistant duties include, but are not limited to: Independently manage the daily workload of the Beneficiary Travel Program. Provides travel reimbursement and/or transportation at Government expense to beneficiaries and their attendants traveling to and from VA facilities and other places for the purpose of examination, treatment or care. Correctly determining eligibility for the program, and processing requests. Responsible for determining veteran eligibility status for Beneficiary Travel reimbursement and completing mileage reimbursement claim payments. Ensures all beneficiary travel reimbursement claims are entered into the Beneficiary Travel Self Service System (BTSSS). Enters travel claims received from veterans and review the accuracy of requests and eligibility determination. Responsible for organizing and scanning documents associated with travel reimbursement claims. Reviews medical records and submits all documents for payment utilizing appropriate control points for reference. Responsible for explaining the regulatory guidelines to beneficiaries submitting any travel reimbursement claims to the VAMC for consideration of payment. Communicates with Beneficiary Travel Supervisor/Mobility Manager(s) regarding technical issues related to claims processing. Prepares correspondence to Veterans concerning eligibility and counsels' veterans who do not meet criteria for travel reimbursement or any of the Veterans Transportation Program's (VTP) services. Performs work involving the collection, compilation, and/or tracking of data and statistical information in support of beneficiary travel reimbursement for approved veterans for the entire medical center operation and other initiatives. Act as a liaison for staff members who are seeking guidance on a wide variety of travel-related concerns. Establishes and maintains general office files. Maintains databases to track records pertaining to any and all of the Veteran Transportation Program services in accordance with VTP policies and guidelines. Serves as backup to the Veterans Transportation Service (VTS) coordinator in accordance with the VTS program. Coordinates transportation arrangements as requested, verifies purpose of travel, makes determinations on special requests and modes of transportation and contacts clinical staff for additional information, if necessary. Works closely with administrative and clinical personnel across the medical center as professionals and team members. Responds to client requests and seeks resolution of complaints and will forward unresolved complaints to supervisor, when appropriate. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Not Available Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD931110 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/05/2024. 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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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. Applicants must be eligible under the VA Interchange Agreement, having served continuously for at least one year in the other merit system under this interchange agreement. For more information regarding the VA Interchange Agreement please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/competitive-hiring/. All Title 38 Veterans Canteen Service (VCS) employees must have served in their Excepted Service position for at least 90 days in order to be eligible for a position within the Competitive Service. Applicants who were previously selected under a Competitive Delegating Examining Office (DEO) announcement must have served in their position for at least 90 days prior to being eligible for other positions within the Competitive Service. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: 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 typically include, but are not limited to: applying knowledge of the priorities, commitments and goals for the Travel Unit or similar office work, applying a comprehensive knowledge of various services available at the facility; applying a thorough knowledge of the laws and regulations pertaining to eligibility and entitlement for benefits; working under considerable pressure and plan workload without halting or interrupting the operation as a whole by showing initiative in completing priority tasks; working rapidly with a high degree of accuracy; being dependable and able to use good judgment; effectively and properly analyzing and evaluating all situations to ensure that the Veteran's welfare is protected; establishing and maintaining effective working relationship with patients, relatives, and hospital staff; possessing good communication skills, and exhibiting a high skill level in oral communication techniques with particular emphasis placed on interviewing. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service Oral Communications Interpersonal Skills Technical Competence Problem Solving 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 primarily sedentary and performed in an office setting. Some standing, stooping, walking, reaching and lifting up to 20 pounds. The employee is required to work with computer equipment at least 75% of the time. 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 Northeast Ohio Healthcare System 10701 East Boulevard Cleveland, OH 44106 US
• Name: Teela Grant
• Phone: 216-791-2300 X42156
• Email: [email protected]