Secretary (OA)

Summary You will serve as the Secretary (OA) for the Associate Director of Patient Care Services at the Seattle VA Medical Center for the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System located Seattle, Washington. Responsibilities Provide complex administrative work, planning, and management essential to ensuring smooth operation of Executive Office and Health Care System activities. Perform a variety of complex administrative work such as developing tracking systems, receive signature items for review and processing, develop Employee & Labor Relations documents, work with legal counsel, coordinate search committees, and act as primary liaison for IT related issues. Regularly involved in high level contacts with visitors and callers from other organizations like congressional offices, state and local officials, high ranking officials in the field or industry, attorneys, presidents of major national firms or organizations, and leading representatives of government agencies. Manage the Executives' schedule and day-to-day plans. Develop plans and schedules using standard references and existing information. Update office documents, standard operating procedures, and related materials. Schedule appointments and conferences for Executives and other members of the executive team. Coordinate meetings. Attend meetings, prepare meeting minutes, and independently follows up on action items with appropriate staff members on behalf of the Medical Center Executives. Manage the Executive Level Team's (Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, Deputy Director, Associate Director, and Executive Assistants) calendars and events. Resolves all scheduling conflicts daily by exercising the delegated authority to prioritize. Understand what is considered critical vs non-critical events and reconcile any conflicts. Maintain files of correspondence and other documents related to investigations, performance appraisals, and other sensitive matters. Makes travels arrangements for Executives and other members of the Executives' Team and visitors, as needed. Prepare travel claim reimbursements upon the Executive's return to station. Act as primary timekeeper. Purchase supplies. Actively Communications with persons and groups within and outside of the Executive Office, speaking for the Executive on administrative issues. Editorial and grammatical review important communications that are sent to VA Central Office, Issue Briefs, Administrative investigational Boards (AIBs}, other administrative communications to Executive Level leadership. Collect, compile, and track data. Perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM PDT. Telework: .This position is not Telework eligible. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD412390 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): 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. The Selected Applicant must be proficient in the English language. The Selected Applicant must be eligible for Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Credential and must maintain PIV credential eligibility during their services with the agency. 5 CFR § 330.502 - General restriction on movement after competitive appointment applies. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date this announcement, 12/02/2024. 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-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least tthe GS-07 level or pay band in the Federal service that includes performing the following duties: provide customers with consistent information according to established policies and procedures; handle a wide variety of situations and conflicts independently, using initiative, tact, and diplomacy; use MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and related applications to prepare a variety of documents such as spreadsheets and presentations; review correspondence letters; prepare travel arrangements; timekeeping; manage daily calendars, making appointments, schedule conferences, and meetings. use judgment to execute the work in the most effective manner; and serve as a recording secretary for meetings requiring minutes. OR, EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): As a general rule, education is not creditable above GS-5 for most positions covered by this standard; however, graduate education may be credited in those few instances where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position. Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed one (1) years of graduate education that is directly related to the duties of the position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college, or university. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clerical Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Information Management 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 sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items like papers or books. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. Work Conditions: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts and requires normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, meeting and training rooms, or libraries. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. There is frequent potential for stress relating to the fast pace of the work environment, the demands of Executives, and the occasional dissatisfied patient, employee, or other individual. 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/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. 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. 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. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.