PROGRAM SUPPORT ASSISTANT - Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration : Job Details

Summary This position is located at the Albany VA Medical Center in the Business Office. The Program Support Assistant performs various administrative and clerical duties in support of the service. Responsibilities Major duties include but are not limited to: Provide accurate, timely communication daily with Veterans, family members, medical center staff and various external stakeholders in determining eligibility, commencing the enrollment process and other program areas within the VSC. Gather personal information about Veterans, submitting requests for lD cards, advising the Veteran about their benefits, managing the Beneficiary Travel, Personal Funds of Patient, Decedent Affairs, and other program areas. Link Veterans to the appropriate medical center staff in order to schedule primary care visits. Depending on the needs of the Veteran, connections are made to appropriate programs and personnel. Maintain knowledge of eligibility requirements for VA Healthcare and Sharing Agreements (Tricare and CHAMPVA), coherently communicating this knowledge to Veterans, researching eligibility to determine if the Veteran is eligible for VA Healthcare. Demonstrate knowledge in other areas such as Decedent Affairs, Personal Funds of Patients, basic Medical Cost Care Fund functions, beneficiary travel billing management and transportation functions, National Registry Data input, and financial technician functions. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD05932A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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, 10/22/2024. 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-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. 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-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: Customer services skills including answering and screening telephone inquiries; ability to prioritize; ability to be flexible and multitask; have the ability to work independently to resolve conflicts. This experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Clerical Computer Skills Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) 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 person in this position may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending and carrying of light items like papers or books. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. Additional Information 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.