Summary The Dayton, Ohio Veterans Affairs Medical Center Medical Service is recruiting for a well-qualified Secretary- Office Automation (OA). This secretary will provide significantly sensitive and complicated administrative and coordination assignments in support of the Chief of Medicine, the Assistant Chief of Medicine, and the Supervisory Administrative Officer for Medical Service, as well as providing support to the subordinate's staff. Responsibilities Duties for this position include, but are not limited to: Planning and managing Chief of Medicine's schedule and day-to-day activities Advising Administrative Officer (AO) of important office issues arising during AO's absence, and bringing significant items in reports, files, and correspondence to AO's attention Ensuring that requests for action or information are forwarded to staff responsible Giving advice and instructions to subordinate offices to obtain a higher degree of compliance with policies and regulations Establishing controls and suspense dates for self and subordinate services and ensuring that required actions and responses are made within deadlines Reviewing documents prepared by other departments and identifying specific issues, problems, and concerns Coordinating periodic review of Medical Center Memorandum and having responsibility for support on a wide range of highly sensitive issues Scheduling appointments, meetings, and conferences, ensuring that the supervisor is kept fully briefed Determining which staff should attend meetings or represent the organization at conferences Coordinating with appropriate staff member(s) on attendance or timely input for meetings Researching and gathering data for use in meetings/appointments Assessing impediments to progress and identifying and implementing solutions Attending meetings, noting commitments made and informing staff, and arranging for staff implementation Arranging meeting space, speakers, and support. This includes arranging hotel accommodations, transportation, and clerical support Serving as back up office timekeeper Ordering key for offices and section areas, compiling, and posting to SharePoint monthly ward/on-call schedules for Residents and Attending Assisting supervisors with 6-part folder maintenance Acting as a liaison or handling the communication with other persons or groups Providing accurate advice on procedures, reports, requirements, and other matters necessary to implement the agency's policies, directives, and instructions Screening and handling incoming telephone calls and personal visitors to obtain needed information Keeping supervisor and department leaders up to date on administrative requirements and changes Performing routine office duties Preparing, assisting, or coordinating the release, control, and distribution of correspondence, reports, briefings, recruitment materials, and other information Using word processing software Composing and preparing timely replies to communications Independently drafting newsletters, presentations, memorandums, announcements, reports, and e-mails Taking and transcribing minutes for Medical Service meetings Coordinating the submittal of information from subordinate offices, reviewing reports or outgoing correspondence for proper attachments, and monitoring deadlines Communicating expectations to the originator when documents are not in conformance with policies or correspondence regulations Providing advise on arrangement and monitoring completion of final documents within timeframes established Determining the need for establishing and maintaining tracking and control systems Establishing and maintaining, and proper disposal and archiving, of correspondence files and directives in accordance with established principles and practices of records management Utilizing a variety of software types to develop, enter, revise, sort, calculate, and retrieve information to create recurring or specialized reports Collecting, consolidating, and analyzing data for projects and committees Gathering and preparing material for use in reports, minutes, presentations, and speeches Obtaining information, the source of which may not be initially known Establishing protocols, organizing, retrieving, and analyzing incoming data, prior to generating the document Providing general office support services Coordinates the ordering of supplies, equipment, and services to meet need Providing back-up coverage for other clerical staff in Medical Service suite Promotion Potential: This position is being announced at the full performance level, GS-06. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 0800 to 1630 Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD910720 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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 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. Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to 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 to be filled at the full performance level. You must have: -extensive practical knowledge of the programs, mission, goals, priorities, and policies of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) as they relate to clerical and administrative functions, in order to independently provide the full range of administrative support. The knowledge is used to appropriately respond to inquiries, adapt policies and procedures to new situations, eliminate duplication of work, recommend restructuring of clerical activities in the office and subordinate offices; and to recognize how and when certain policies, procedures, or guidelines would be confusing to others. -working knowledge of the management of an executive office and managing the time of high-level executives to support senior leadership and facilitate timely and accurate workflow. This involves broad knowledge of VA administrative and operating policy and procedures enough to enable the incumbent to foresee requirements and prevent, or resolve, technical or administrative problems in such areas as resource and supply management, personnel administration, travel, records management, scheduling, and correspondence. -skill in word processing, editing, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and proper formatting to recognize and correct errors in material being typed or reviewed. The services of a qualified typist are required. -expertise in using personal computers and software packages to develop, prepare, and submit written reports, analyses, memorandum, spreadsheets, presentations, meeting minutes, policies, newsletters, and other documents. And to aid in usage and maintenance of office equipment. -command of correspondence and directive systems, to ensure signature-ready correspondence or directives, and to ensure proper routing of coordination and approvals. -practical knowledge of data gathering methods and surveying techniques to collect, analyze, and present various types of information. Ability to use qualitative and quantitative analytical techniques. Aptitude to work independently or as a member of a team in order to coordinate work accomplishment. -strong foundation of good office management principles and practices, including but not limited to, time management, resources management, and project management for application within assigned program area. -knowledge sufficient to establish and maintain records in accordance with established VA policies and procedures and generally accepted administrative principles to ensure protection of sensitive information; ready retrieval; and timely, appropriate disposal. Skill to effectively communicate both orally and in writing in order to provide information and instructions, to coordinate work, and to meet and deal with various levels within the medical center, VISN, VACO, and other agencies and non Federal callers and visitors in the performance of duties. Proficiency Requirement: In addition to meeting experience or education requirements, applicants for these positions must show possession of the following skills, as appropriate. Applicants may meet these requirements by passing the appropriate performance test, presenting a certificate of proficiency from a school or other organization authorized to issue such certificates by the Office of Personnel Management local office, or by self-certifying their proficiency. Performance test results and certificates of proficiency are acceptable for 3 years. Agencies may verify proficiency skills of self-certified applicants by administering the appropriate performance test. (Office Automation) (any grade): 40 words per minute typing speed1 1. Words per minute are based on a 5 minute sample with three or fewer errors. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Analytical Reasoning Arithmetic/Mathematical Reasoning Attention to Detail Clerical Communications Computer Skills Conscientiousness Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Information Assurance Interpersonal Skills Listening Manages and Organizes Information Manages Resources Oral Communication Organizational Awareness Organizational Stewardship Self-Management 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 essentially desk oriented in an office setting. Work is primarily sedentary; however, some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light objects (such as papers, books, office supplies) is required. 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. 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. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.