Secretary (Stenography)

Summary

VA Boston Healthcare System's Primary Care service is seeking a Secretary to provide administrative support to the Director of the Primary Care service and office manager for the Executive Office at the Jamaica Plain, MA campus. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

06/04/2024 to 07/02/2024

• Salary

$55,383 - $71,999 per year

Salary Range is GS 07 Step 1 to GS 07 Step 10

• Pay scale & grade

GS 7

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Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

• Jamaica Plain, MA

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

Yes-as determined by the agency policy.

• Travel Required

Occasional travel

• You may be expected to travel for this position.

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent

• Work schedule

Full-time

• Service

Competitive

• Promotion potential

None

• Job family (Series)

0318 Secretary

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Other

• Drug test

No

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

Credentialing

Suitability/Fitness

• Announcement number

CBTD-12435141-24-JM

• Control number

794077600

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This job is open to

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

Clarification from the agency

Open to VA Boston Healthcare System current permanent employees only.

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Duties

The incumbent has full responsibility for planning, developing and directing the administrative functions for the delineated aspects of the daily administration of the Primary Care Executive Office. Performs all secretarial and administrative functions required by this position. The incumbent will also provide administrative support to all of the members of the executive team and point of contact for Primary Care staff system-wide throughout VA BHS. Primary Care is a complex service line with 9 primary care practices and 5 clinical programs across 8 campuses. The incumbent must be able to perform well in a broad variety of situations involving administrative coordination of both clinic and educational activities.

Duties include but not limited to:

• Reads all incoming correspondence, screening material prior to distribution for suspense dates, establishing controls, and follow-up, and preparing replies before referring to the Director of Primary Care, Clinical Operations Manager, and Administrative Operations Manager of Primary Care.

• Composes letters, memorandum etc., for the service and maintain accurate files for ease of access.

• Initiate the coordination of credentialing and privileging process for all clinicians (including the peer review process) oversee the initial and re-credentialing of full and part-time physicians and nurse practitioners (LIP's) as well as the credentialing of new appointments.

• Interpret the objectives of all leadership team; setting priorities and conducting the activities of the Executive Office and the Director of Primary Care to assure smooth and effective operations.

• Maintains the calendar of the Director of Primary Care and coordinates his/her activities. The incumbent is also sensitive to the Director's clinic schedule and assists in reducing scheduling conflicts. The incumbent schedules conferences, meetings, and seminars, considering subject, attendees and schedules.

• Initiates on an independent basis, requests to administrative or clinical services for data and information needed prior to preparation of surveys, questions, reports and correspondence.

• Protect printed and electronic files containing sensitive data under the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 and other applicable laws, federal regulations, and VA statutes and policy.

• Maintain a collegial working relationship with all medical center secretaries and administrative officers of Service Chiefs and all CBOCs concerning patient care matters, physician scheduling and operational matters relating to Primary & Ambulatory Care.

• Serves as the purchasing agent and travel liaison and prepares travel arrangements for Director of Primary Care and Management Staff system-wide.

• Coordinates purchase requests for supplies and equipment in compliance with VHA guidelines and directives.

• Serves as timekeeper for the Primary Care Executive office and back-up for the other T&L's throughout Primary Care.

• Creates and maintains accurate filing systems for the Executive Office. S/he files information pertinent to personnel, budget, construction, space, equipment, etc.

• Other duties assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30 am.

• 4:00 pm

Telework: May be authorized at Supervisors discretion.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Secretary (Stenography) / PD010550

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Notifications:

• This position is in the Competitive Service.

• Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

• Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.

• Current Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.

• This position is AFGE Bargaining Unit position.

• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.

• Time-in-Grade Restriction: 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. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service.

• The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's.

• Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

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

• 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, 07/02/2024.

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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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.

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-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Maintains the Managers' calendars, with authority to make commitments. Provides personnel management and administrative support. Answering and screening telephone calls. Schedules appointments, coordinates meetings, and/or schedules conferences. Maintains and displays necessary files, memoranda, bulletins. Arranges travel; completes and routes necessary forms required for authorization and funding of travel, including requests involving special procedures (e.g. foreign travel, acceptance of contributions incident of training, etc.) Able to type 40 words per minute. Utilizes various applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Maintains records and files and inputs personnel actions, using electronic Human Resources system. Serves as a timekeeper. (This experience must be well documented in your resume.)

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

• Creative Thinking

• Customer Service

• Organizational Stewardship

• 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.

Preferred experience:

One year office management experience.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Working, standing, bending, reaching, carrying files, books and manuals are the only physical requirements. No special physical demands are required. The work places some demands on the employee since it involves walking throughout the Medical Center, bending, filing and transporting light items such as office supplies, files, patient records and books as well as travel to other facilities in order to accomplish responsibilities.

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.

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.

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

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.

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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.