Summary This position serves as a Secretary under the Executive Director's Office within the Northern Arizona VA Healthcare System. The incumbent performs duties and assumes responsibilities of initiating, coordinating, and carrying out a wide and varied range of administrative, program, and technical support for the assigned area/service. Responsibilities The position performs duties to assist one individual, and in some cases the subordinate staff of that individual, by performing general office work auxiliary to the work of the organization. The position is the principal clerical or administrative support position in the office, operating independently of any other such position in the office. Major duties include, but are no limited to: Receives and screens visitors and telephone calls, i.e. identity, purpose of call and relative importance in relation to availability of staff members. Escorts/refers callers to proper personnel. Where personnel are unavailable takes messages and/or provides information as to availability of the supervisor. Provides information within standard office procedure, generally pertaining to any of the duty areas herein described, and within caller's "need to know". Receives and reviews incoming correspondence; screens for general information and determines priority or deadline dates. Determines what correspondence can be personally answered. Incumbent personally responds to routine and nontechnical requests for information such as status of reports, suspense dates for matters requiring compliance, and similar information readily available from the files. Forwards remaining requests to supervisor with back-up information, if necessary. Reviews documents prepared for signature of or requiring coordination by management for appropriate tone; conformance with regulations, grammar, format, and special policies of the activity; and completeness of information. Returns inadequate communications to originator for correction when not in conformance with known policies, or when correspondence regulations have not been followed. Uses various functions of several types of office automation systems such as word processing, databases, and graphic software. Uses electronic mail to transmit and receive messages. Responsible for proper spelling, grammar, format, and arrangement of materials. Reviews and prepares all congressional correspondence received by the organization for necessary action. Reads and processes incoming correspondence and material. Thoroughly screens material prior to distribution for suspense dates, establishes controls, and follows up on responses which are due. Ensures that correspondence is properly routed in a timely manner. Compiles information for and prepares a variety of recurring and one-of-a-kind detailed reports and documents using a variety of computer software. Ensures that reports are prepared and forwarded within established time-frames. Assists supervisor and subordinates in the procedural aspects of expediting the work of the office by explaining reporting requirements, arranging for submission of data to be assembled by incumbent in general reports. Guides and assists personnel concerning procedures of preparation of correspondence. Reviews outgoing correspondence to insure uniformity and proper format, grammatical correctness, neatness and completeness of content. Responsible for proper spelling, grammar, format and arrangement of material. Utilizes office automation equipment to prepare correspondence, documents and reports. Utilizes computer systems equipped with file management programs, electronic mail, calendar, graphics, spreadsheets, word processing programs and data base management systems. Selects appropriate software type to accomplish task and transfers files and data between and among more than one system. Prepares standard forms using available software. Uses data base programs to input data and perform computations for administrative reports. Determines data required and displays desired and inputs appropriate commands to achieve special reports. Sends and receives messages via electronic mail. Work performed requires the services of a qualified typist. Incumbent is an authorized user of the Government Purchase Card. As an authorized user of this card the incumbent is responsible for meeting the standards for documentation and reconciliation of the purchase cards as set forth by VA Handbook 1730.1, Use and Management of Government Purchase Card, dated August 27, 2008. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD140430 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 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, 11/18/2024. 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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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: provide receptionist/clerical support work, review and prepare correspondence letters, timekeeping experience, customer service, and experience with Microsoft Office. (Your resume/application must clearly demonstrate the specialized experience listed in order to be considered for this vacancy.) Typing Requirement: In addition to meeting experience or education requirements, applicants for office automation positions must show possession of the following skills, as appropriate: 40 words per minute typing speed 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Clerical Communication Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Technology Application 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 sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking; standing; bending; carrying of light items such as papers, books, small parts; driving an automobile, etc. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. Work Environment: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, meeting and training rooms, libraries, and residences or commercial vehicles, e.g., use of safe work practices with office equipment, avoidance of trips and falls, observance of fire regulations and traffic signals, etc. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. 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.