Secretary (OA)

Summary

This position is located within the Executive Suite of the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS) located at Tuskegee, AL. This position serves as the principal clerical and administrative support for the Chief of Staff and may be required to assist other Executive Secretaries and Administrative staff by carrying out and coordinating all the clerical and day-to-day administrative support activities which are typically required to accomplish the work of the organization.

Duties

• Duties include, but are not limited to the following: Handles inquiries from Customers including patients, staff, Veterans Service Organizations, etc. on behalf of the Deputy Director or the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). Greets visitors to the executive offices and answers calls. The incumbent independently takes care of many matters and questions including answering substantive questions not requiring technical knowledge. Incumbent supports the Deputy Director in Resources Executive Council administratively to include scheduling presentations through audio and visual connections and prepare comprehensive meeting minutes in support of the Resources Executive Council. Incumbent prepares meeting agendas independent of the Director and establishes a specific filing system for easy retrieval of all follow-up actions. Handles inquiries from Customers including patients, staff, Veterans Service Organizations, etc. on behalf of the Deputy Director or the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). Greets visitors to the executive offices and answers calls. Responds to complex questions involving a range of issues that are posed to the Executive office. Process and edit incoming and outgoing correspondence, reports, memoranda, reports, data sheets and other forms of written communications to ensure responses and reports are proofread, in accurate format. Compose and edits letters, reports for accuracy and completeness, prepares public presentation outlines and develop standards form letters and replies to inquiries using proper formatting and guidelines. Track and maintains VA Central Office, White House, Veterans Integrated Service Network, Office of the Inspector General, Health Care System correspondence and reports to include patient inquiries using SharePoint. Assigns deadlines and establishes controls for follow-up. Research files, develops and assembles background information for correspondences and reports. Provides public contact support services by screening all calls to determine if the call requires immediate attention and refers visitors and Veterans to the appropriate point of contact. Accurately takes and transcribes all taped or handwritten notes and prepares meeting minutes, correspondence, memoranda, reports and bulletins. Using Outlook, electronically schedules appointments, coordinates meetings, schedules video-teleconferences, telephone conferences and accurately maintains calendar Serve as timekeeper for the Deputy Medical Center Director's direct reports. Advise the Deputy Medical Center Director on the nature of conferences, appointments and meetings and assures necessary background materials are made available for review prior to approval/meeting. Prepares all travel arrangements for the Deputy Medical Center Director via system. Organizes and maintains files and office records in accordance with RCS 10-1. Maintains tracking system of ongoing and planned activities for the Deputy Medical Center Director and reminds appropriate staff members as to upcoming deadlines, events and needs. Perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Subject to change based on agency needs. Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD09306A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/08/2026. 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-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Examples of specialized experiences are: working in a Executive office or front office; or administrative secretary/assistant work to executive management in a health care setting; prioritizing, coordinating support and completing tasks within established time frames; use of office automation equipment such as computers, telephones, conference equipment, copiers, and fax machines; following complex administrative procedures; experience developing and installing office procedures, policies and practices; use of computer programs, such as Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook); preparation of reports, correspondence, memorandums, and other forms of written communication; interfacing with outside organizations, referring visitors and callers to appropriate staff; instruct others on procedural requirements of a job; serving as a liaison to convey information; assembling/preparing information for a variety of meetings, reports and correspondence at the executive level. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in Federal service. Proficiency Requirement: In addition to meeting the above Time-In-Grade and Specialized Experience requirements above, applicants for this position must show possession of the following skill, as appropriate. Applicants may meet this requirement by passing the appropriate performance test, presenting a certificate of proficiency from a school or other organization authorized to issue such certificates by the Office of Personnel Management local office, or by self-certifying their proficiency. Performance test results and certificates of proficiency are acceptable for 3 years. Agencies may verify proficiency skills of self-certified applicants by administering the appropriate performance test. 40 words per minute typing speed 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. 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 or 2-year trial 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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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/13047341. 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