Program Support Assistant (OA)

Summary

The purpose of this position is to serve as a Program Support Assistant within a subspeciality clinic of Surgical Service. The position reports to the Section Chief and performs various administrative and clerical duties in support of the assigned subspeciality clinic under Surgical Service.

Duties

• The Program Support Assistant acts as liaison between patients and medical center staff. The position works independently, requiring minimal supervision. He or she serves as the primary contact and process expert regarding administrative items related to the assigned subspeciality clinic. Major duties of the Program Support Assistant (OA) include but are not limited to: Assists with the orientation of new staff to subspeciality clinic. Performs work involving the collection, compilation, and/or tracking of data and statistical information in support of the service's operation. Reviews of error reports for accurate encounter documentation and transmission of data. Accepts and dispositions of any telephone calls from patients, caregivers, other VA staff, and/or community agency staff, regarding program inquiries, patient care concerns, etc. Handles all vendor scheduling for the assigned subspeciality clinic. Develops and maintains data reports using Excel, PowerPoint, and Software Computer Packages to create and compile weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports. Corrects errors in team data entries of workload (telephone and visit) encounters for the assigned subspecialty clinic. Responsible for accumulating information, data analysis and planning necessary for administrative recommendations and/or decisions to implement efficient service management and resolution of service problems. Responsible for recommendations having policy-making implications and implementation of decisions following approval of Department of Surgical Services. Interacts daily with Surgical Service staff, patients and their families, other VA staff, and people outside the VAMC ranging from other government agencies to the public. Explains services provided by the assigned subspeciality clinics and other programs within the VAMC to inquire individuals. Refer to and coordinate with other VAMC programs when appropriate. Answers the telephone, arranges and compiles agendas, attends and records meeting proceedings. Keeps schedules and timelines of needed visits from various parties (Coordinator, Fire and Safety Officer, etc), as well as ensures that required training sessions are performed and documented in a timely manner. Processes incoming and outgoing materials, such as correspondence, reports, memoranda, and other forms of written communication. Designs, delegates, and monitors office procedures that support patient care, thus freeing the clinical providers as much as possible to provide direct patient care. Obtains, organizes, files, and retrieves reports, correspondences, and numerical data for use in preparing status reports, briefings, and presentations. Identifies and recommends ways of eliminating, consolidating, simplifying, or improving procedures, and processes. Composes reports and meeting minutes as directed by the assigned subspeciality clinic, uses computer programs to type all recurring correspondence, minutes, reports, and maintain computer files easily accessible by other team members. Advises the supervisor of important office issues arising during the supervisor's absence, and brings significant items in reports, files, and correspondence to the supervisor's attention. Serves as recording liaison for the assigned subspeciality clinic, staff and team meetings with responsibility for distribution of minutes. Obtains as much information as possible during telephone inquiries, provides information and resolves problems independently when possible. The incumbent will be able to assess the situation, problem solve and direct the caller to the appropriate personnel and/or handle the caller issues as autonomously as possible. The incumbent ensures timely clinical response to patients/callers that potentially have an emergent or urgent care need through prompt identification of the problem and appropriate clinical referral. Provides general office supply and equipment support services, such as obtaining office supplies and services, procuring, or justifying the full range of office services. Coordinates meetings and/or schedules conferences. Provides clerical services such as maintaining multiple calendars and recording appointments, arranging for meetings and small conference administrative details, or following up on action items with appropriate staff members independently. Attend meetings, notes commitments made, inform staff of commitments and follows up. Performs other related duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 08:00am-04:30pm Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant (OA)/PD50544A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/08/2026. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: 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: Performing duties related to retrieving statistics, preparing reports and analyzing data. Operating a personal computer, Office equipment, and various software packages to produce typed correspondence and reports, quickly and accurately.ie Electronic Medical record, word, Power Point, Outlook, Excel and Access). Producing and updating a wide range of documents that require complex formats, such as graphics of tables with text, to edit and reformat electronic drafts. Updating or revising existing databases or spreadsheets requiring the use of advanced software functions to enhance services programming. Employing knowledge of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and required format to prepare and proofread correspondence. Demonstrating a high degree of dependability, multitasking, flexibility, and accountability. Also, demonstrating an excellent telephone, customer service and interpersonal skills appropriate to dealing with Veterans, families, Caregivers, approved vendors. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month & year starting and ending dates AND hours worked per week. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 4 full years above high school or equivalent degree in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite . This education was obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. If you are qualifying on education, transcripts are required. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must possess equivalent combinations of successfully completed post high school education as described above that demonstrates my ability to perform the duties of this position. For the GS-06, only education in excess of 60 semester hours (2 years) is creditable. If you qualify by a combination, your experience must be detailed in your resume and transcripts are required. 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/.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online questionnaire and submission of the required documentation specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13049896. The application process is as follows: To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 09/08/2026. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. NOTE: Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit.