What are the responsibilities and job description for the Secretary (OA) position at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs?
Summary
The Primary Purpose of the Position is: To enhance the efficiency and productivity of Administrative Medicine - Ambulatory Care and to facilitate smooth and accurate flow of information (both clinical and administrative) within and outside the section. The incumbent acts as a liaison between the Assistant Associate Chief of Staff and Administrative Officer - Administrative Medicine - Ambulatory Care physicians - and other Ambulatory Care personnel - as well as Executive Office staff.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 05/05/2026. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. GS-06 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: management and coordination of office operations and organization; exercises sound judgement and decisions in carrying out the expectations - duties - and responsibilities of the position; skill in interpersonal relations - diplomacy - tact with patients - visitors - staff - and other individuals from the community; use of Microsoft Office as well as microcomputer and data management software; Design and manage projects using standard applications software; skilled in word processing to compose written material and routine correspondence; skilled in the use of English language - grammatical organization - sentence structure - punctuation - spelling - word usage - and medical terminology. TYPING PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENT: This position requires the skills of a qualified typist. In addition to meeting the experience and/or education requirements - you must be able to type at least 40 words per minute. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clerical Customer Service 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. Preferred Experience: Compiles weekly schedule for all staff and ensures coverage was provided. Assist physicians and other staff in scheduling leave and the preparation of official travel documents. Notifies appropriate units in advance of physician absence to ensure timely coordination of clinic schedules. Receives and screens incoming calls. Provides warm hand offs to appropriate staff. Provides information to callers when deemed appropriate on behalf of administrative leadership. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices - hospitals - warehouses - and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing - in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds. 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
The Primary Purpose of the Position is: To enhance the efficiency and productivity of Administrative Medicine - Ambulatory Care and to facilitate smooth and accurate flow of information (both clinical and administrative) within and outside the section. The incumbent acts as a liaison between the Assistant Associate Chief of Staff and Administrative Officer - Administrative Medicine - Ambulatory Care physicians - and other Ambulatory Care personnel - as well as Executive Office staff.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 05/05/2026. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. GS-06 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: management and coordination of office operations and organization; exercises sound judgement and decisions in carrying out the expectations - duties - and responsibilities of the position; skill in interpersonal relations - diplomacy - tact with patients - visitors - staff - and other individuals from the community; use of Microsoft Office as well as microcomputer and data management software; Design and manage projects using standard applications software; skilled in word processing to compose written material and routine correspondence; skilled in the use of English language - grammatical organization - sentence structure - punctuation - spelling - word usage - and medical terminology. TYPING PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENT: This position requires the skills of a qualified typist. In addition to meeting the experience and/or education requirements - you must be able to type at least 40 words per minute. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clerical Customer Service 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. Preferred Experience: Compiles weekly schedule for all staff and ensures coverage was provided. Assist physicians and other staff in scheduling leave and the preparation of official travel documents. Notifies appropriate units in advance of physician absence to ensure timely coordination of clinic schedules. Receives and screens incoming calls. Provides warm hand offs to appropriate staff. Provides information to callers when deemed appropriate on behalf of administrative leadership. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices - hospitals - warehouses - and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing - in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds. 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
- Duties but not limited to: Incumbent provides administrative management support to Assistant Associate Chief of Staff (AACS) and Administrative Officer (AO) - Administrative Medicine and all units within the section (Compensation and Pension - Employee Occupation Health Unit - Visual Impairment Services/Advanced Low Vision - Employee Assistance Program and Environmental Health)
- Responsible for day to day coordination of services and facilitating function of services in conjunction with the AACOS-AC
- Provides training to all Administrative Medicine employees on established procedures and practices particular to their individual duties - and instructs in revised or new procedures as necessary
- Incumbent generates reports for physician time & leave - clinic utilization - and other staffing reports as necessary - utilizing VistA - VSSC - Microsoft products - etc
- Compiles weekly schedule for all staff
- Collates and coordinates prospective coverage dates - arranges possible options and makes the final schedule
- Affirms and ensures coverage was provided - maintaining files relating to policies and operations of this activity
- Assists physicians and other staff in scheduling leave and in the preparation of official travel documents
- Notifies appropriate units in advance of physician absence to ensure timely coordination of clinic schedules
- The incumbent receives and screens all incoming phone calls and visitors for the AACOS-AC and directs them to the individual who can provide the needed information
- Incumbent coordinates and manages AACOS-ACs calendar - making travel arrangements - and scheduling appointments
- Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm
- Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service - increase worker productivity - and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies
- This position may be authorized for telework
- Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process
- As determined by the agency policy
- (Ad-hoc) Virtual: This is not a virtual position
- Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD549-9084-O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Salary : $49,365 - $64,175