What are the responsibilities and job description for the Transportation Assistant - Dispatcher position at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs?
Summary
The purpose of this position is to provide support for the Veterans Transportation Program (VTP). The incumbent will be the Veterans Transportation Service (VTS) dispatcher for the VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS). VTS is responsible for providing transportation support to the 100k Veteran enrollees within the VAPORHCS catchment area.
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 - 09/29/2026. 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 of 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. 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-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: Dispatching and managing multiple modes of transportation for patients. Maintaining a transportation scheduling and reporting system. Verifying authorizations and patient eligibility before finalizing scheduling. Investigating patient records and entering data required for transportation scheduling. Note: 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. 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. 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 purpose of this position is to provide support for the Veterans Transportation Program (VTP). The incumbent will be the Veterans Transportation Service (VTS) dispatcher for the VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS). VTS is responsible for providing transportation support to the 100k Veteran enrollees within the VAPORHCS catchment area.
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 - 09/29/2026. 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 of 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. 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-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: Dispatching and managing multiple modes of transportation for patients. Maintaining a transportation scheduling and reporting system. Verifying authorizations and patient eligibility before finalizing scheduling. Investigating patient records and entering data required for transportation scheduling. Note: 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. 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. 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
- Major duties include - but are not limited to: Responsible for communicating with veterans - caretakers - clinical and voluntary staff - and the senior management team to ensure the programs success
- Collecting and entering all required data and forwarding correspondence to appropriate department
- Independently manage the dispatch services for the Medical Center's VTS program
- Correctly determining if the veteran is eligible to use the VTS services
- Arranging transportation for veterans using the VTS vehicles and other available transportation resources
- Corresponds with physicians - veterans - and VTS drivers to determine the transportation plan that best meets the veteran's need
- Prepare appropriate documentation according to VTP guidelines
- Serves as the point of contact for VTS drivers in the event of emergencies and is responsible for ensuring appropriate response to safeguard everyone in the vehicle
- Documents and prepares statistical reports to supervisor upon request
- Acts as a liaison between transportation services and veterans to ensure that vehicles are being used properly
- Makes special arrangements for veterans per physician documentation according to the veterans medical condition or needs
- Protects sensitive data from unauthorized release - loss - alteration - or unauthorized deletion
- Performs other related duties as assigned
- Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 8:30am - 5:00pm PST Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position
- Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant - Dispatcher/PD21199A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Salary : $48,927 - $63,605