Program Support Assistant

The incumbent serves as the Program Support Assistant assigned to the Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support (SAMS) Program under the Executive Leadership of Social Work Service (SWS) at the Columbia VA Health Care System as a primary person responsible for the VAMC's SAMS Program.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/30/2026.

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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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 as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to Specialized experience includes experience where you were responsible for providing administrative support functions within a healthcare facility; experienced with procurement processes necessary to obtain goods and services for an office; performing automation duties using such software applications such as word processing, spreadsheet, electronic mail, desktop publishing, calendar, database and/or graphics; assisting in the formulation and execution of budget estimates to include updating budget spreadsheets which are used in briefings; collecting, compiling and tracking data and information; and researching reference materials, regulations, and standards to identify appropriate action necessary to correct problems or issues.

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/.

Responsibilities:

Duties:

• Helps Veterans and NOK prearrange both burial, interment, cremation as desired by the Veteran. Advises surviving relatives about burial benefits and other potential benefits provided by VA.
• Prepares and provides military information forms to the funeral home representative.
• Requests death certificates from the County Registrar's Office for all external notifications of a Veteran's death and updates records as appropriate within VA system.
• Reviews eligibility and entitlement of burial and death allowances and advises on the process for applying for those benefits.
• Refers surviving relatives with specific benefit inquiries to a VBA point of contact, not the toll-free telephone number.
• Informs Veteran, caregiver, and NOK of available supportive services within the medical facility, such as Chaplaincy and Social Work to provide support at end-of-life and immediately following death.
• Informs Veteran, caregiver, and NOK of available supportive services within the medical facility, such as Chaplaincy and Social Work to provide support at end-of-life and immediately following death.
• Reviews daily death notification. Submits completed death certificates to designated Funeral Director and County Registrar's Office.
• Views, as required, the deceased Veteran's unclaimed body and/or remains to confirm VA funds are executed as intended in the burial purchase.
• Requests any clinical staff involved with care prior to death contact the survivor within 24 hours of the pronouncement of death.
• Identifies in collaboration with designated facility staff a responsible funeral home for the unclaimed remains and prepares a purchase order and/or contract to this effect.
• Completes required VA authorizations to release personal effects and any remaining funds in the patient's account to NOK or designated party.
• Records and transcribes providers' requests for permission from the legal next of kin or other designee by law to conduct an autopsy. -Coordinates with VA physician and NOK/legal designee in obtaining signed consent in the event the family is not present to sign or the death occurred outside of normal business hours.
• Coordinates release of remains with appropriate services/outside agencies in the event of autopsy, or organ/tissue /body donation. Establishes and/or follows local procedures for whole body donation.
• Completes required VA authorizations to release personal effects and any remaining funds in the patient's account to NOK or designated party.
• Records and transcribes providers' requests for permission from the legal next of kin or other designee by law to conduct an autopsy. -Coordinates with VA physician and NOK/legal designee in obtaining signed consent in the event the family is not present to sign or the death occurred outside of normal business hours.
• Coordinates release of remains with appropriate services/outside agencies in the event of autopsy, or organ/tissue /body donation. Establishes and/or follows local procedures for whole body donation.
• Collaborates with Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT), Pharmacy, and Prosthetics to cancel all appointments to include orders.
• Coordinates with Pathology Services to complete all forms and paperwork required to release the deceased remains to selected funeral home.
• Coordinate the dispositions of personal funds and effects with the Office of General Council for Veterans that have been adjudicated as incompetent. This may require the position to appear in person at county court houses.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm.
Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD115010
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
.

Salary : $50,460