Summary The position is assigned as the Secretary to the Chief of Staff (COS) for the Alexandria VA Health Care System (AVAHCS) providing executive level secretarial services support and coordination to the Chief of Staff who directs the clinical operations of the Alexandria main campus medical, surgical, behavioral health, community living center, and community based outpatient clinics (CBOC) located in Natchitoches, Fort Johnson, Jennings, Lake Charles and Lafayette, Louisiana. Responsibilities Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Serves as the records liaison for the Chief of Staff office and is responsible for administrative files pertaining to the operation of the office of the Chief of Staff, establishing new files when necessary, in compliance with applicable VACO guidelines and regulations. Maintains the Chief of Staff office file plan, and properly dispositions records in a timely manner. Ensures clinical policies, memorandums, and other work directing policies are updated and distributed timely. Provides assistance to staff regarding preparation of new policies. Displays a comprehensive knowledge of the Department of Veterans Affairs organizational structure with the ability to recognize officials by position, title, and name. Provides guidance and assistance to facility secretarial and administrative support staff in interpreting and applying Medical Center policies relating to office automation and correspondence control. Conducts huddles/training sessions with all secretaries and administrative support staff of the Chief of Staff Service line that includes correspondence, publications, directives and recurring/non-recurring reports. Serves as the primary contact person for all secretarial/administrative support staff of the clinical services under the Chief of Staff. Responds to inquiries and administrative problems brought to the Chief of Staff by members of the staff and officials of the agency's network office, State and Local governments, other hospitals, and organizations, as well as other federal agencies, and congressional staff. Notifies staff officials of the need for information or recommendations for the Chief of Staff to consider for responses to inquiries, and either prepares the response to the inquiries and problems presented or ensures completion by responsible party. Interacts daily with patients, visitors, and staff by telephone, personal contact or through correspondence with the Chief of Staff office. Resolves all issues or refers to the appropriate source for resolution if unable to resolve. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday-Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm - Subject to change based on the needs of the facility. Telework: (Infrequent Ad Hoc) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD061150 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/25/2024. 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 7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 6. 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 required specialized experience below (there is no education substitution): Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS 6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Providing administrative support such as being the first point of contact and routing information Managing the calendar for an executive leader that often requires differentiating between competing priorities Receiving complaints and interviewing complainant to immediately resolve or to route to the best person for immediate resolution Processing and reviewing documents for completeness in preparation for signature by senior leader Preparing minutes for committee meetings; tracking document preparation and routing Preferred Experience: Experience providing administrative support such as being the first point of contact and routing information. Experience managing the calendar for an executive leader that often requires differentiating between competing priorities. Experience receiving complaints and interviewing complainant to immediately resolve or to route to the best person for immediate resolution. Experience processing and reviewing documents for completeness in preparation for signature by senior leader. Experience preparing minutes for committee meetings. Experience tracking document preparation and routing. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communication Computer Skills Interpersonal Skills Writing 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. Physical demands do not exceed those of a typical office setting. There may be some walking, standing, bending or carrying of light items. No special physical demands 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. Additional Information The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (or the Act) prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from requesting applicant criminal history record information before extending a conditional or tentative offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S.C § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged noncompliance to VA at vacofairchanceact@va.gov. Applicant written complaints should include the following: Administration name: Veterans Health Administration (VHA); Office name, employee name and contact information or contractor who made contact (if known).Date of contact. Details regarding the job opportunity announcement applied to, and copies of any documents or other evidence related to the complaint. Visit Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) (va.gov) for more information. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.