Summary This position is located in the Department of VA, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), VISN 6 Headquarters in Durham, North Carolina, assigned to the Caregiver Support Program (CSP). The primary function of the Program Support Assistant is to provide operational support to the VISN-level CSP and performs the full range of clerical, business, and administrative duties that ensure an efficient and effective program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) review process. Responsibilities THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL/REMOTE POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION Duties include but are not limited to: Performs administrative duties to facilitate treatment and services for Veterans. Serves as the first point of contact and subject matter expert for the VISN 6 CSP Program Support Assistants (PSAs). Trains facility PSAs on their role, providing support for the CSP, and how to develop and coordinate outreach initiatives and CSP services at the facility level. Interfaces with Veterans and caregivers regarding concerns, status of eligibility review and appeals of decisions and ratings. Analyzes data to determine if there are ways to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of Program. Represents the CSP in the community and VA at community, PACT, and VA staff meetings. Provides education and consultation to community and VA providers. Gathers other mandatory data from multiple sources for the completion of required reports for the medical center, the VISN and national offices in support of the program's operations. Screens all calls and visitors for the VISN CSP, answering most questions on established policy or routine matters. Produces a wide range of documents using a variety of office automation technologies. Prepares files and charts in a timely manner, ensuring that all relevant correspondences and clinical material pertinent to CSP are in place. Receives/screens and manages all incoming and outgoing documents, publications, directives and correspondence, determining appropriate action and/or response with minimal direction. Provides administrative and technical support to the VISN CSP, including meeting planning/conference calls/video calls, recording and generation of meeting minutes, data gathering, timekeeping/leave administration, generating reports, memos, spreadsheets, and presentations. Track and report monthly and annual CSP funding for assigned program fund control points. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: May be available based on supervisory discretion 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 (ad-hoc). Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant (Caregiver Support Program)/PD900270 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required 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, 07/12/2024. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: To qualify for this position at the GS-7 level, you must meet the following: Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-6) in the federal service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Program Support Assistant at a developmental level, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as, but is not limited to: Experience with clerical and administrative procedures, various office skills, and carrying out day-today administrative activities and technical support such as meeting planning/conference calls/video calls, recording and generation of meeting minutes, data gathering, timekeeping/leave administration, generating reports, memos, spreadsheets, and presentations; Skill in the use of a variety of computer software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other software applications (i.e., timekeeping, patient records, etc.); Excellent Customer Service skills and ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, in order to prepare or compose correspondence; Receives telephone calls from patients and/or visitors and other staff, referring callers or directing visitors to appropriate persons; Maintain an accurate filing system. Preferred Experience: Knowledge of VA policies and procedures sufficient to ensure proper format of correspondence and reports. Experience with VA Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) system and Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service Data Management Oral Communication Technical Competence Writing 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: The work is primarily sedentary and is performed by sitting, standing, bending, and stooping. The employee is required to obtain records from files, and carry files, manuals, and other light objects. The work environment includes everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of offices, meetings and training rooms. At various times the incumbent is required to walk and be on various medical/surgical and/or psychiatric wards within the medical center. At other times there may be irate or even abusive or highly emotional veterans and their caregivers or family members who may need to be calmed down in order to obtain the proper data and information so that appropriate problem identification may be made. 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 The 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 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/. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. 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.