What are the responsibilities and job description for the Secretary (OA) position at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs?
Summary
This position is located in the office of the director at the VA Roseburg healthcare system. The incumbent serves as the Executive Secretary - providing staff assistance - clerical and administrative assistance to the Medical Center Director on administrative matters affecting the efficient operations of the facility. The incumbent is also responsible for reviewing and coordinating the work of the chief of Staff's secretary and the Nurse Executive's secretary.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position - applicants must meet time in grade requirements and specialized experience within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement - 03/23/2026. 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 within 30 days the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. For a GS-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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: GS-7: 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: At the developmental level assists with the following duties: Receiving and screening telephone calls and visitors for the Director; Receiving and hearing complaints and grievances from patients - congressional representatives and their families/representatives and employees; Exercising control over the Director's schedule; Making extensive travel arrangements for executive leadership team using approved electronic systems - to include ground - air and lodging arrangements. Ensure all material is checked for grammatical correctness - clarity - appropriate reading level - and consistency with regulations and style and format requirements prior to submission to the Director or Executive Assistant. Note: Experience must be fully demonstrated and documented on your resume and must include job title - duties - month & year starting and ending dates and hours worked per week. GS-8: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: Performs the following at the independent level - Receives and screens telephone calls and visitors for the Director; Receives and hears complaints and grievances from patients - congressional representatives and their families/representatives and employees; Exercises control over the Director's schedule. Independently makes extensive travel arrangements for executive leadership team using approved electronic systems - to include ground - air and lodging arrangements; Ensures all material is checked for grammatical correctness - clarity - appropriate reading level - and consistency with regulations and style and format requirements prior to submission to the Director or Executive Assistant. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title - GS level (if a federal position) - duties - month & year starting and ending dates AND hours worked per week. Proficiency Requirements - Applicants must be able to type 40 words per minute. Applicants may meet this requirement by passing the appropriate performance test - presenting a certificate or proficiency from a school or other organization - or by self-certifying their proficiency. Preferred Experience: Complex meeting agenda and minutes recording experience Schedule for Executive and large groups - not patient scheduling this is a different skill set Writing experience knowledge of spelling and grammar Interpersonal skills are highly important to deal with difficult individuals multiple times per day. Has experience as a secretary and demonstrate ability to multitask. Minutes for organization; scheduling of an executive (patient scheduling does not meet requirement); 2 years of administrative assistant secretary work You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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 moderate walking - standing - bending - pushing - pulling - twisting - stooping - and carrying of light items like papers or books. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. 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/.
Duties
This position is located in the office of the director at the VA Roseburg healthcare system. The incumbent serves as the Executive Secretary - providing staff assistance - clerical and administrative assistance to the Medical Center Director on administrative matters affecting the efficient operations of the facility. The incumbent is also responsible for reviewing and coordinating the work of the chief of Staff's secretary and the Nurse Executive's secretary.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position - applicants must meet time in grade requirements and specialized experience within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement - 03/23/2026. 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 within 30 days the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. For a GS-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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: GS-7: 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: At the developmental level assists with the following duties: Receiving and screening telephone calls and visitors for the Director; Receiving and hearing complaints and grievances from patients - congressional representatives and their families/representatives and employees; Exercising control over the Director's schedule; Making extensive travel arrangements for executive leadership team using approved electronic systems - to include ground - air and lodging arrangements. Ensure all material is checked for grammatical correctness - clarity - appropriate reading level - and consistency with regulations and style and format requirements prior to submission to the Director or Executive Assistant. Note: Experience must be fully demonstrated and documented on your resume and must include job title - duties - month & year starting and ending dates and hours worked per week. GS-8: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: Performs the following at the independent level - Receives and screens telephone calls and visitors for the Director; Receives and hears complaints and grievances from patients - congressional representatives and their families/representatives and employees; Exercises control over the Director's schedule. Independently makes extensive travel arrangements for executive leadership team using approved electronic systems - to include ground - air and lodging arrangements; Ensures all material is checked for grammatical correctness - clarity - appropriate reading level - and consistency with regulations and style and format requirements prior to submission to the Director or Executive Assistant. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title - GS level (if a federal position) - duties - month & year starting and ending dates AND hours worked per week. Proficiency Requirements - Applicants must be able to type 40 words per minute. Applicants may meet this requirement by passing the appropriate performance test - presenting a certificate or proficiency from a school or other organization - or by self-certifying their proficiency. Preferred Experience: Complex meeting agenda and minutes recording experience Schedule for Executive and large groups - not patient scheduling this is a different skill set Writing experience knowledge of spelling and grammar Interpersonal skills are highly important to deal with difficult individuals multiple times per day. Has experience as a secretary and demonstrate ability to multitask. Minutes for organization; scheduling of an executive (patient scheduling does not meet requirement); 2 years of administrative assistant secretary work You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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 moderate walking - standing - bending - pushing - pulling - twisting - stooping - and carrying of light items like papers or books. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. 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/.
Duties
- Incumbent is the lead secretary in the office of the Executive Staff and acts as the office manager to review and coordinate the activities of the secretarial staff
- Incumbent exercises control over the Director's schedule with complete authority for commitments
- He/she arranges meetings including agenda - space - time - and staff - assembles background material for agenda items and informs participants of topics to be discussed
- Receives and screens telephone calls and visitors for the Director - and on own initiative determines which can be answered personally and which should be directed elsewhere or referred for the Director's personal attention
- These inquiries involve employees - Veterans - veterans' families/representatives - EEO investigators - OIG/GAO - VHA - VISN - congressional personnel - state - and local government agencies as well as a wide range of other individuals
- Suspends matters requiring action by service and/or program managers and follows up to ensure compliance
- Incumbent screens correspondence for the Director's signature to ensure clarity - completeness - and grammatical and procedural correctness
- Also ensures correspondence is prepared and completed according to VA correspondence policies
- Assists and trains administrative staff in the organization with VA policies concerning preparation of correspondence and provides training on organizational policies and procedures
- Coordinates orientation for new secretaries in the office
- Transmits - composes - receives - and acknowledges electronic mail messages for the Director
- Serves as surrogate to the Director on VISTA and MS Exchange electronic mail messages
- Must be proficient in the use of Microsoft Word - Excel - Power Point and serves as the alternate ADPAC for the Executive Office
- Returns inadequate correspondence for corrections and/or re-composition and follows up with appropriate service manager to assure compliance with due dates
- Compiles a file of mail received and reports of events that occurred during the Director's absence for an informational briefing upon his/her return
- Assures appointment of an Acting Director during periods of absences of the Director - notifying VISN 20 - AOD and posting on the electronic communication tool the Newswire
- Creates and installs a system of office procedures and practices
- Oversees the workflow of the office to ensure compliance with deadlines and equity of volume of workload
- Provides training and oversight for the volunteers and work study students who work in the office
- Receives and hears complaints and grievances from patients and their families/representatives and employees
- Assists in resolving concerns relating to a variety of organizational issues by referring the patient and or family representative to the appropriate subject matter expert or the Patient Advocate
- Serves as Records Liaison and is responsible for the proper creation - maintenance - and disposition of all files in the Executive Office
- Director is designated as EEO Officer for the organization
- therefore - the incumbent receives confidential EEO material
- Maintains EEO files if needed and communicates with the EEO Specialist to ensure compliance
- Incumbent also receives confidential documents concerning pending investigations - grievances - and EEO settlements - etc
- 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 8:00am - 4:30pm PST Compressed/Flexible: Not available Telework: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
- Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD302010 and PD304120 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Salary : $50,460 - $72,644