Secretary (OA)
What you'd do
This position serves as the Executive Secretary of the Office of the Chief of Staff, VA Central California Health Care System in Fresno, CA. The Secretary serves as the principal Administrative and secretarial support position in the immediate organizational unit in or for which the persons assisted have responsibility, by carrying out and coordinating all the clerical and day-to-day administrative support activities which are typically required to accomplish the work of the organization.
Major duties
Major duties include: Provides assistance and support to Office of the Chief of Staff by performing a variety of executive-level secretarial and administrative duties necessary to the accomplishment of their executive responsibilities. Collaborates with a variety of stakeholders including veterans and their families, employees, Congressional Offices, Veterans Service Organizations, community organizations, employee union officials, vendors/contractors, and other VA and VISN officials. Serves as a focal point for inquiries from constituents regarding hospitalization, outpatient treatment, resolution of a problem, or seeking information. Performs program support work, such as program or office planning, correspondence control, serving as a liaison between clinical services and the Chief of Staff or the Supervisory Health Systems Specialist that supports the Chief of Staff. Gathers materials for use in reports, presentations, and speeches. Exercises exclusive control of the Chief of Staffs calendar and the Supervisory Health Systems Specialist for the Chief of Staff, with complete authority for notifying appropriate staff of needed information and recommendations necessary for the meetings. Reviews all incoming correspondence for the Chief of Staff and the Supervisory Health Systems Specialist, determining proper disposition and refers to appropriate staff as necessary. Reviews outgoing correspondence and reports prepared by staff, ensuring proper format, correct grammatical content, mathematical correctness, and coordination of routing in accordance with established policy. Makes necessary arrangements for routine and professional staff meetings, which may include coordinating agendas, taking minutes, compiling background information, hotel· and travel arrangements, luncheons, speakers, correspondence, and transportation. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD00108O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/10/2026. 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-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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: You must type 40 wpm 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-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience working in an office setting utilizing advanced administrative practices and procedures. Communicates effectively, both orally and in writing, to effect necessary changes and carry out program objectives. Experience screening telephone calls and visitors to the office, referring to staff members and forwarding to the supervisor only those calls or visitors requiring that person's attention. Experience reading all incoming correspondence and determining proper action. Reviewing outgoing correspondence and reports prepared, ensuring proper format, mathematical correctness, correct grammatical content, and ascertaining that all necessary coordination of facts has been completed and is in accordance with established policy. Returns inadequate submissions and advises author of inadequacies for corrections. Experience handling requests for information and resolving problems, meeting and dealing with all levels of government, private sector and/or the public. Maintains a suspense log or tracking system for all recurring/nonrecurring reports to assure that replies are submitted within established time frames. Advanced skill in use of automated data processing equipment and the software associated for maintaining calendars, word processing, data processing (charts, graphs, illustrations etc.), PowerPoint presentations, etc. 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/.
Before you apply
Federal applications are different: your resume should be 3–5 pages and mirror the language of this announcement. Read our federal resume guide first — it's the #1 reason qualified people get screened out.
Don't miss the next one.
Get an email the moment a similar federal job opens — postings can close in as little as 5 days.