Executive Assistant

This position provides support to the Under Secretary for Health (USH), on specific issues and subjects that will advance the USH's agenda for the Veterans Health Administration. This position serves as the personal and confidential assistant to the USH as well as provides consultations and advice to the USH in healthcare administration and organizational and management matters affecting health care programs and public engagement.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/05/2026.

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-15 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-14. 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-14 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  • Demonstrated expert-level knowledge of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) missions, policies, and operations.
  • Mastery of analytical and evaluative methods to assess compliance, evaluate legislation impact, and support data-driven decision-making for complex VHA programs.
  • Proven skill in organizational and program analysis, advising senior agency leadership, developing new policies and initiatives, and communicating effectively with congressional staff, constituent groups, media, and management officials.
  • Experience navigating legislative activities relevant to VHA programs and interpreting or adapting program evaluation techniques to diverse challenges.

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:

This is a Temporary Promotion/Detail not to exceed 180 days. The temporary promotion/detail may end prior to 180 days, be extended based on agency policy and operational needs, or made permanent without further competition.

Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Serves as member of various VHA committees as designed by the USH to provide vital link between the USH and executive management officials in VHA offices reporting to the USH.
• Acts as a liaison to assure the flow of significant information up and down the chain of command, to communicate the USH's views and decisions, and to provide follow-up on action items due to the USH for decision.
• Manages day-to-day operations of the Office of the Under Secretary for Health.
• Performs involving contacts with public officials or professional organizations interested in VHA policies, plans, and operations.
• Participates in department wide studies that could involve organizational planning and staffing, and makes recommendations or changes in, and deviations from, approved organizational patterns.
• Provides leadership and advisory services, and in the absence of the Chief of Staff, performs duties associated with the position to assure continuous administrative direction and staff support for the Office of the Under Secretary for Health

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 08:00-04:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: Not authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Executive Assistant/PD021380
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not authorized

Salary : $169,279