Telephone Operator

Summary

The Telephone Operator position is under Health Administration Service and is located at Loma Linda, California. The Telephone operator works under the general direction of the Supervisory Telephone Operator, and is responsible for receiving incoming calls, placing toll calls, giving dialing assistance when needed, giving out information, placing conference calls, paging key personnel, paging code blue/red/orange/purple and disaster teams and other emergencies.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

03/07/2024 to 03/14/2024

• Salary

$41,132 - $53,468 per year

• Pay scale & grade

GS 4

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Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

• Loma Linda, CA

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

Yes-as determined by the agency policy.

• Travel Required

Not required

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent -

• Work schedule

Full-time -

• Service

Competitive

• Promotion potential

None

• Job family (Series)

0382 Telephone Operating

• 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

CBSX-12299166-24-FC

• Control number

780247500

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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.

• Individuals with disabilities

• Military spouses

• Veterans

• Federal employees

• Excepted service

Current excepted service federal employees.

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

• Land & base management

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

• Special authorities

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

Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to: 1) Current, Permanent Employees of VA Loma Linda; 2) Current, Permanent Employees of Department of Veterans Affairs; 3) All other Status Candidates.

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Duties

Major duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Processes incoming and outgoing calls, i.e, international, toll, local, collect, calling cards, patient's long distance outgoing calls and conference calls, promptly and accurately.

• Maintains the operation of the Public Address System, Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD), Emergency Command Control Radio Network (ECCRN), and the paging system, and Airphone implementing emergency procedures as required.

• Monitors Code Blue, Code Reds, Blood Bank, panic, intrusion, fire, and telephone system alarms; implementing emergency procedures for any disaster as required.

• Serves as the Medical Center's receptionist providing information, and assistance and directs calls to the proper service.

• Maintains, on call schedules, radio pager lists, employee directory, doctors, and key employee home telephone numbers in case of an emergency in the Infortext Directory Manager.

• Exchanges pagers accurately and effectively, test pagers, and obtains custody receipts for any pagers given out.

• Trains new telephone operators in the operation of transfer of calls, staffing list updates, etc.

• Communicates and treats customers (patients, visitors, volunteers, and all Medical Center staff) in a consistently, courteous, tactful, and respectful manner.

• Provides the customers with consistent information according to established policies and procedures.

• Handles conflict and problems in dealing with the customer constructively and appropriately.

• Protects printed and electronic files containing sensitive data in accordance with but not limited to; the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 and other applicable laws, federal regulations, VA statutes and policy, and VHS&RA policy.

• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Varies, Monday-Sunday 8:00am

• 6:00pm

Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Telephone Operator/PD02850A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

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.

• 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, 03/14/2024.

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

• General Experience: You must have one year of general experience with duties related to the position. General experience includes progressively responsible clerical, office or other work that indicates ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position such as but not limited to: customer service, receptionist duties, receiving and directing a variety of inquiries, and providing immediate communications throughout the facility. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have two (2) years of education above high school. NOTE: One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of general experience and education beyond high school. NOTE: To determine the total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determine the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.

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

• Attention to Detail

• Customer Service

• Interpersonal Skills

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: Able to sustain prolonged periods of sitting. Good finger dexterity needed for pushing buttons accurately and rapidly. Good hearing ability required in addition to a pleasant tone of voice. Must be physically able to wear a headset and have good hearing to respond to alarms in the switchboard room while assisting callers.

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

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/.

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a VA job announcement includes language requiring applicants to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Executive Order 14043, that requirement does not currently apply to this Job Announcement. VA may request information regarding your vaccination status, if selected, for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

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.