Program Support Assistant (Enrollment)

Summary

The position is located in the Enrollment/Means Test Unit under the supervisors of the Enrollment Coordinator, Patient Processing Section, and the Health Administration Service. The incumbent is responsible for verifying and certifying the legal entitlements of applicants seeking medical treatment or benefits at this facility and associated clinics.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

04/24/2024 to 05/02/2024

• Salary

$44,117 - $57,934 per year

• Pay scale & grade

GS 6

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Location

2 vacancies in the following location:

• Lakeland, FL

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

No

• Travel Required

Not required

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent -

• Work schedule

Full-time -

• Service

Competitive

• Promotion potential

None

• Job family (Series)

0303 Miscellaneous Clerk And Assistant

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Other

• Drug test

No

• Position sensitivity and risk

Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

• Trust determination process

Suitability/Fitness

• Announcement number

CBTC-12376685-24-DF

• Control number

788244300

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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.

• Federal employees

• Competitive service

Current or former competitive service federal employees.

• Federal employees

• Excepted service

Current excepted service federal employees.

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

• Special authorities

Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed above, but defined in the federal hiring regulations.

• Veterans

• Family of overseas employees

Family members of a federal employee or uniformed service member who is or was, working overseas.

• Individuals with disabilities

• Land & base management

Certain current or former term or temporary federal employees of a land or base management agency.

• Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista

Clarification from the agency

Area of Consideration (AOC): 1st AOC

• Current, permanent, employees of James A Haley VA Health Care System (Station 673) including satellite locations and CTAP eligible. 2nd AOC-current, permanent employees of the Department of Veteran Affairs. 3rd AOC

• Current Status Eligible (e.g. Transfers, Reinstatements, VEOA, Cert. Military Spouses, CTAP eligible etc.) Non Competitive

• 30% Disabled Vets, VRA, Individuals with Disabilities (Schedule A).

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Duties

Major Duties: The Program Support Assistant is responsible for all administrative processes involved in the intake process for patients coming to the facility or any of its associated clinics. The administrative processes must be designed to provide efficient support for clinical aspects of patient care, must be thorough and technically accurate to ensure eligibility information and demographics are correct and revenues collection is maximized, Attention to detail is mandatory for this position but not limited to:

• Interviewing and enrolling patients applying for Veterans Administration Healthcare benefits.

• Processing applications received via email, in person, in mail or by referral from another facility.

• Gathering and entering accurate demographic, insurance and income information into Vista.

• Verifies eligibility/entitlement for all applicants using various methods, including income assessments, military discharge documents, Veterans Information Solution (VIS), Veterans Enrollment Systems (VES) and other means such as verbal and written communication with VA Regional Office, VA Records Processing Centers, and Health Eligibility Center.

• Reviews eligibility and benefits with the veteran and explains issues such as deductible co-payments, length of stay, and other matters that will clarify the VA's role in insurance reimbursement.

• Serves as point of contact for veterans seeking guidance with eligibility inquires, clinical staff seeking eligibility entitlement and/or verification of changes in entitlement, Veterans Affairs Officers inquiries and other internal and external customers.

• Assists the administrative support assistants/supervisor in maintaining Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and training manuals.

• Ensures policies and procedures regarding intake and customer service are met.

• Notifies and advises the administrative support assistants/supervisor in a timely manner of immediate or potential problems related to intake or customer service.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:00pm

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant (Enrollment)/PD2943A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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, 05/02/2024.

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 as described below:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Accurately collects, enters and manages data for eligibility inquiries of benefits.

• Serves as the primary point contact.

• Processing enrollment applications for verification of benefits eligibility.

• Makes notification to veterans and clinical staff.

• Coordinates with other departments/offices/facilities to verify veteran .

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

• Customer Service

• Knowledge Management

• Technical Competence

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: Workload is varied and may require extended periods of standing, reaching, bending, stretching, walking and carrying light loads of supplies and light items such as paper, books or small equipment parts. Eyestrain is not uncommon since a great deal of time is spent inputting data into a computer. Extensive use of the computer/keyboard is involved.

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.

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.