Program Support Assistant

Summary

This is a developmental position to the full performance level, Program Support Assistant,

GS-0303-06 / 07. This position is in the Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service (PLMS) and will report to the Administrative Office. The incumbent supports administrative and other clinical staff that serve PLMS. The Program Support Assistant will assist the Chief to fulfill the missions of this complex service, with its administrative programs.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

05/13/2024 to 05/22/2024

This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more

• Salary

$44,529 - $64,328 per year

• Pay scale & grade

GS 6 - 7

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Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

• Birmingham, AL

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

No

• Travel Required

Not required

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent

• Work schedule

Full-time

• Service

Excepted

• Promotion potential

7

• Job family (Series)

0303 Miscellaneous Clerk And Assistant

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Other

• Drug test

No

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

Suitability/Fitness

• Announcement number

CBTB-12394738-24-SA

• Control number

791039700

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This job is open to

• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

• Federal employees

• Excepted service

Current excepted service federal employees.

• Federal employees

• Competitive service

Current or former competitive service federal employees.

Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs (including the facility and CBOCs where this vacancy is located) serving on career/career-conditional appointments including VA Title 38, Hybrid Title 38, and Canteen employees on excepted appointments covered by the interchange agreement and those eligible under CTAP. This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.

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Duties

Duties include, but may not be limited to the following:

• will be trained in entry level processes of purchase program management. purchase card policies and procedures, inventory, and warranty tracking.
• achieve a Contract Officer Representative level one certificate within one year.
• monitor bids and contractor's performance to ensure compliance with governmental policies and regulations.
• learn data monitoring processes by being provided training on VISTA/CPRS, VSSC, VATAS, etc. under supervision to learn what reports and data are utilized by the service and the data will be closely reviewed for accuracy and thoroughness at this level.

Upon promotion to GS 7 potential employee should be able to complete the following:

• Assists with collecting, compiling, and tracking data or statistical

information in support of the service's operations and to support the submission of accreditation materials.

• Gathers data and prepares monthly reports for the PLMS committee meetings.

• Submits data as required by management guidelines.

• Utilizes multiple systems to monitor activities to assist in determining appropriate referrals.

• Scans diagnostic results received from outside facilities for cytology and surgical pathology departments into CPRS and enters corresponding reports into VistA.

• Scans autopsy reports from outside facilities into CRPS and enters corresponding reports into VistA.

• Audits surgical pathology, cytology, and autopsy reports for completeness; Monitors autopsy cases for TAT compliance.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: 8:30am

• 5:00pm Monday

• Friday; Subject to change depending on agency needs.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD112730

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved.

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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

• You may be required to serve a probationary period

• Subject to background/security investigation

• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/22/2024.

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.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: In order to qualify for a Program Support Assistant position at the GS-06 level, you must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector, performing the following types of tasks: assisting with the coordination of program workflow and the coordination of various duties assigned to organization staff; receiving and reviewing incoming correspondence and determining which staff member should handle the action; scheduling various meetings and following up on assigned actions; and preparing correspondence, reports, graphs/charts, forms, and other office support materials using office automation equipment and appropriate software.

OR,

• In order to qualify for a Program Support Assistant position at the GS-07 level, you must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-06 level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector, performing the following types of tasks: organizing, collecting, and presenting information related to the current and future program/project workload; developing routine plans or schedules using standard references and existing information; composing routine correspondence in own or supervisor's name; providing quality assurance for all incoming and outgoing correspondence; and using software applications to prepare correspondence, reports, charts, and forms. You must have a COR 1 certificate to qualify for GS-7.

Education: Education is not creditable above GS-5 for most positions covered by this standards; however, graduate education may be credited in those few instances where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Analytical Reasoning

• Communication

• Computer Skills

• Self-Direction

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.

Physical Requirements: Most of work is performed while seated at a desk for potentially long periods of time, with limited stooping, lifting (less than 50 pounds), bending at files, and walking within the medical center.

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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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/.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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• Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window

Learn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.