Summary This position is located at the Health Administration Service at the Marion, IL VA Health Care System. The primary purpose of this position is to provide services & perform duties inherent in switchboard operations of the medical facility. The work involves routing the calls to their proper destinations and providing telephone and organizational information to callers. Responsibilities The Marion VA Health Care System is committed to Diversity and Inclusion. Together, we strive to create and maintain a working and learning environment that promotes professional growth and teamwork. We offer an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming environment where we celebrate our individual differences and unite as a team toward a common goal of providing outstanding service to our Nation's Veterans. Duties include, but are not limited to: Places and receives local calls; places and receives regular and special long distance calls over commercial circuits, tie lines, or other systems and various networks, consisting of wide area commercial system, a civilian Federal system, and a Federal overseas exchange system; provides directory service assistance to callers by retrieving organizational information from computerized directory databases; keeps records of calls for computing charges; provides primary or alternate routing service for high precedence calls; handles calls of varying precedence and preempting circuits if necessary; keeps statistics on system use to inform management of trends concerning capacity and utilization, operates associated equipment. Places personal calls (LD) for senior employees, physicians, bed-restricted patients, and visiting dignitaries and other personnel at the facility. Prepares and records long distance and local information regarding the facility's communications management system and other special telephone studies utilizing toll tickets and summary sheets, as required. Makes periodic peg counts of all types of traffic including incoming, outgoing, off-net, information, and other types. Totals monthly tickets and files with appropriate data at the end of the month. Monitors vital circuits and incoming emergency type calls such as those to security, the police, the fire department, etc., to assure call completion and proper disposition. Responsible for issuing emergency keys and for the security of the Dial Central Office (DCO) after normal duty hours. Serves as telephone trouble desk operator after normal duty hours, reporting all emergency communication outages to the maintenance section. Responsible for retrieving and/or updating relevant information in computerized databases using detailed procedural instructions and established guidelines pertaining to customers assistance, record keeping, and call receiving, placing, and monitoring. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, Various hours between 7:00AM - 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 adhoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Telephone Operator/PD05207A and PD05207A 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, 10/11/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: There is no Time-In-Grade requirment at the GS-4 grade level. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: General Experience: Applicant must possess at least 52 weeks (1 year) of (General Experience) 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. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed 2 years of education above high school NOTE: Transcripts are REQUIRED if you are using education to qualify. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of general experience and education beyond 2 years of high school. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned. Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-04. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer Skills Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) 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. Physical Requirements: The work is usually sedentary but may involve some standing and walking to consult directories and manuals. 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. 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. 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.