Program Support Asst (OA)
What you'd do
This Program Support Assistant position is located at the Durham VA medical facility, assigned to Community Care. The purpose of this position is to coordinate administrative and support services to assist in fulfilling requirements related to VHA's academic mission and program requirements of Office of Academic Affiliations.
Major duties
Major duties include, but are not limited to: Assists with prepping of drafts and replies to executive level and controlled correspondence for the signature of the Service Chief or Supervisory Program Specialist, which includes Senatorial/Congressional inquiries, as well as inquiries from Service Organizations, Federal, State, Local and Private Organizations for Veterans. Develops new informational materials for medical center facility customers (mainly Vendors) and staff including fact sheets, brochures, handouts, standardized letters, etc. that increase communication with the target audience. The incumbent follows up with potential and previous vendors to render current instructions and certification requirements. This includes system enrollment and training, and obtaining current updated licenses/credentials; and conducting back ground investigations to ensure the providers are not listed on the national exclusion list. The incumbent attends meetings to obtain information, and provide feedback, to ensure continuity and smooth operation of the program or services. Assists Vendors in understanding their rights, benefits and obligations related to non-VA healthcare. Conducts phone calls, face to face meetings and email correspondence as generally directed by the supervisor. Responds to Vendor questions, complaints, billing concerns and contractual requirements. Maintains a working relationship with veteran's service organizations, community groups, and others whose interest is in helping and protecting veterans, their families, and their representatives as it relates to Community Care. The duties include processing documents for veterans, determining vendor eligibility, and responding to inquiries regarding services and other administrative matters, and resolving patient or family, and vendor complaints, and coordinating with the VACC Supervisor, for awareness purposes. Serves as a liaison with congressional offices responding directly to their staff assistants, when appropriate, on matters involving patient and/or vendor issues related to the VA Community Care. Assists non-VA healthcare providers in recognizing and understanding regulations that apply to health care provided to veterans. The incumbent works independently with minimal supervision, and functions autonomously using initiative and judgment to resolve administrative dilemmas, seeking advice of supervisor only on the most difficult, non-routine, complex matters. Promotion Potential: This position is at its full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am to 4:30pm Position Description/PD#: Program Support Asst (OA)/PD060520 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/03/2026. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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. Preferred Experience: Proficiency with Microsoft applications (Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, SharePoint). Knowledge/skills/abilities to assist with database management and generating data reports. Direct customer service experience in a face to face setting. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 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 with clerical and administrative procedures, various office skills; and carrying out day-today administrative support activities; Working in an administrative position which required preparing correspondence, reports and graphs utilizing a variety of computer program. Skill in the use of a variety of computer software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point and other software applications; Interacting with executive leadership in the VA and private sector, contractors, staff members as well as Veterans, their family members and/or legal representatives; Provide/submit requested information to ensure all due dates are met in a timely and satisfactory manner; Managing a fast-paced office to include, establishing priorities, set up, reschedule appointments; Use own initiative to follow-up on action items and time-sensitive issues with appropriate staff members. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Administration and Management Attention to Detail Budget Administration Clerical Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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 primarily sedentary and is performed by sitting, standing, bending, and stooping. The employee is required to obtain records from files, and carry files, manuals, and other light objects. Occasional travel is required to provide support at conferences, workgroups, programs or meetings. 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
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