Summary The incumbent serves as Special Assistant to the Director, Assistant Director, and Regional Office management Staff. They are responsible for the coordination and support of various needs of the Regional Office with a workforce comprised of 579 employees assigned to the Roanoke VARO. This position is located in the Office of the Director. Learn more about this agency Help Overview * Accepting applications * Open & closing dates 07/23/2024 to 07/30/2024 * Salary $59,966 - $77,955 per year * Pay scale & grade GS 9 * Help Location 1 vacancy in the following location: * Roanoke, VA 1 vacancy * Remote job No * Telework eligible Yes-as determined by the agency policy. * Travel Required Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position. * Relocation expenses reimbursed No * Appointment type Permanent * Work schedule Full-time * Service Competitive * Promotion potential 9 * Job family (Series) 0301 Miscellaneous Administration And Program * Supervisory status No * Security clearance Other * Drug test No * Position sensitivity and risk Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk * Trust determination process Suitability/Fitness * Announcement number 327-2024-SH-12486024-(BU) * Control number 801043600 Help This job is open to * Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL) Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee. * Internal to an agency Current federal employees of this agency. Clarification from the agency This vacancy is open ONLY to current, permanent Facility employees of Roanoke's VA Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Regional Office and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) eligible(s). Help Duties Major Duties: * The incumbent coordinates and participates in a wide spectrum of projects within the Director's Office. Researches and identifies pertinent information from input gathered for inclusion into Director's and Assistant Director's projects; projects may be of a sensitive nature. Responds to administrative problems brought to the attention of the Director and Assistant Director. Analyzes data for the Director's and Assistant Director's signature or approval to ensure all correspondence conforms to policies and standards. Establishes and maintains confidential and personal files. Independently develops replies to correspondence on matters of general nature. Performs related other duties as assigned. * The incumbent reviews, creates, and handles confidential documents relating to labor-management matters. Works closely with the Director and Assistant Director in the preparation, delivery, and proofreading of grievance responses as needed. The incumbent facilitates and/or participates in work groups relating to regional office labor issues and employee relations issues. Working groups may be composed of management officials, union officials, or a combination of both. Incumbent compiles meeting minutes during labor and employee relations related meetings and is responsible in safeguarding and storing meeting notes. * The incumbent provides administrative and technical support to Regional Office staff. Receives, schedules, refers, and contacts members of the staff, agency, and persons outside the agency ranging from other government agencies to the general public. Receives various inquiries from managers and other staff members. Is regularly involved in high-level contacts with visitors and callers from such organizations as congressional offices, state and local officials, high-ranking officials in the field, public action groups, and attorneys. Researches and provides answers concerning the application of established policies, management processes and procedures * The incumbent has responsibility for the suspense and control action of all approved recurring reports and other scheduled reports such as briefing reports and various special reports to VACO. Maintains follow-ups with staff members to ensure timely conclusion where it is observed that procedural notices or instruction to the staff are required. Establishes and/or maintains the office statistical reporting and records systems. Analyzes the information contained in the data and writes reports/recommendations including significant trends or changes that have occurred. * The incumbent compiles statistical data to support background information and prepares outlines for the Director's and Assistant Director's public speaking engagements, papers and correspondence/reports. Prepares documents to support the presentations. Controls and coordinates a calendar of conferences, seminars, and other events. The incumbent must have knowledge of Federal Travel Regulations and procedures, which includes making travel and lodging arrangements. * The incumbent exercises exclusive control over the Director's and Assistant Director's appointments, with complete authority for commitments of time. Screens all calls and visitors, answering most questions and completing most business involving established policies or routine matters without referring clients or employees to the Director and Assistant Director. Arranges for meeting spaces, speakers, and support arrangements for large conferences. This includes the performance of such activities as writing letters to the speakers and participants, arranging hotel accommodations, transportation to and from the meeting site, social arrangements, and clerical support. * On own initiative, recommends changes in administrative policies. Devises and installs office procedures and practices to be used by clerical support personnel in subordinate offices. Performs work in direct support of an administration area such as human resources, budget, procurement, and purchasing. Performs work in support of human resources management that requires knowledge of the terminology, requirements, procedures, and functions of personnel management. * Provides assistance and support of many kinds to office personnel throughout the station for issues related to MS-Exchange, Microsoft Word and Excel, and Internet Explorer. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: 39551-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Unavailable Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Help Requirements Conditions of Employment * You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job * Designated and/or random drug testing may be required * 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 Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/30/2024. 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-09 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience:GS-09 Level: 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: * Examining preparing and editing a variety of professional documents and correspondence * Using a variety of electronic or manual filing systems to acquire and store information to ensure compliance with due dates. * Researching a variety of sources to obtain and/or verify information. * Using automated software applications to produce reports. * Documents, correspondence, conduct research and prepare presentations. * Searching and reviewing files, and other sources for information as required * Performs work in direct support of an administration area such as human resources, budget, procurement, and purchasing. OR, * Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related 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 mostly sedentary, however, there may be some physical effort such as standing, walking, bending, and/or carrying of light items such as files, books, and supplies. The work requires no special physical demand. The work is performed in an office setting requiring normal safety precautions against everyday risks or discomforts. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. Additional information 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 telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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. The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. 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 (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), https://www.va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Read more * Benefits Help A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered. How You Will Be Evaluated You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Competencies: * Oral Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately. * Written Communication: Expresses facts and ideas in writing in a succinct and organized manner. * Interpersonal Skills: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences. * Reading: Understands and interprets written material, including technical material, rules, regulations, instructions, reports, charts, graphs, or tables; applies what is learned from written material to specific situations. * Computer Skills: Uses computers, software applications, databases, and automated systems to accomplish work. Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.