Staff Assistant job with USAJobs

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Education Service (EDU). The Staff Assistant is responsible for the coordination of administrative activities and providing technical support to the Assistant Director, who relies heavily on judgment and recommendations made by this individual.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Conducts studies and makes recommendations on various administrative and management functions, to include personnel administration and budget management.
• Develops systems and methods for tracking, managing, and reporting.
• Screens all correspondence prepared for the Assistant Director’s signature for clarity, completeness of reply, grammatical and procedural accuracy.
• Has responsibility for the suspense, control, and complete action of a complex series of recurring and ad -hoc reports of various areas of the service.
• Prepares PowerPoint slides and other documents to support the presentations.
• Controls and coordinates a calendar of conferences, seminars, senior staff leave, and other events of impact to the Assistant Director.
• Reviews and provides final approval on travel vouchers, leave and earning/timekeeping records, supply/equipment requisitions, and work orders under authority delegated by the Assistant Director.
• Maintains employee records, ensures timely completion and submission of placement follow-ups, with-in grade certifications, and official time reports. Initiates personnel actions preparation.
• Updates and maintains organizational and functional charts as well as the emergency cascade contact plan.
• Acts as a subject matter expert on timekeeping and assists supervisors and employees with leave and attendance problems.
• Assists leadership with execution of personnel issues and other personnel matters requiring confidentiality.
• Works as a liaison between employees and human resource to remediate or resolve questions or problems surrounding personnel.
• Maintains a fiscal year budget report of all expenditures to ensure efficient tracking of Education Service’s budget.
• Maintains compliance on all purchase requests to include travel of all employees.
• Completes travel authorizations for the Assistant Director and supervisors, and reviews vouchers against compliance regulations prior to official approval.
• Applies budget and travel policy required to address questions from leadership and staff members.
• Monitors budgets in relation to travel and Assistant Director’s office spending requirements to adequately cover the needs of the unit.

Work Schedule: 8:00am to 4:30pm
Telework: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Position Description/ PD#: Staff Assistant/38975A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Travel Required

25% or less – You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

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

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, .

Time-in-grade: 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.

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. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. 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.

GS-13: 52 weeks at the GS-12 level.

An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

NOTE: To support your claim that you have the required time-in-grade, you must submit your most recent promotion, within-grade increase, or appointment SF-50. If you previously held a higher grade, you must also submit any SF-50 showing that grade.

If you are a current VBA employee seeking a reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-13 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-13.

AND

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-12) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: using a variety of computer systems including word processing, excel, SharePoint sites, and other programs; maintaining electronic files and backup databases; solving operating or user problems; assuring the effective completion and accuracy of the tasks among staff; working effectively under pressure; applying analytical ability to complete multifaced assignments.

AND

Education: There is no education substitute at the GS-13 grade level.

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 works 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.

Physical Requirements: This work is sedentary.

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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses are authorized for this position. The Department of Veterans Affairs offers Permanent Change of Station (PCS) relocation services. Permanent Change of Station is the relocation of a household due to government convenience in connection with the transfer between duty stations or facilities. In consideration of the payment of expenses for travel and transportation, the selectee agrees to remain in federal service for twelve (12) months following the date of transfer. Failure to complete all conditions of the obligated service may result in repayment of travel/transportation expenses. For more information go to http://vaww.fscdirect.fsc.va.gov/pcs.asp .

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.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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 ICTAP and 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.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

For more information on the “Who may apply” eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

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.

You will be rated on the following competencies based on your application for this position:

• Knowledge of division services to include Administrative, Budget, and Human Resources.
• Ability to utilize a variety of computer systems in the VA Corporate applications suite, including MS Office, database, spreadsheet, email, SharePoint, and other programs.
• Ability to provides advanced office automation services such as maintaining electronic files and backup databases, solving operating or user problems, or utilizing advanced software functions.
• Knowledge of policies, and personal interests as they pertain to VBA Education functions.

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 résumé and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

Current VBA Employees : If you are seeking a reassignment/change to lower grade, you must submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (non-award) AND the SF-50 placing you into your current position.

Federal Employees:

• If you are applying using your status as a current federal employee or as a VEOA candidate (who is a current federal employee) you must submit an SF-50.
• To support your claim that you have the required time-in-grade, you must submit your most recent promotion, within-grade increase, or appointment SF-50 (not an award or general adjustment SF-50). Some applicants may have to submit more than one SF-50 in order to demonstrate their eligibility.
• If you previously held a higher grade, you must also submit an SF-50 showing that grade.

Resume

• Your resume may be submitted in any format, however we strongly recommend using USA Jobs resume builder as it contains all of the information required on federal resumes.
• For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week, the dates of employment, and the level of your experience. If your resume does not contain this information you will not receive consideration for this position.
• If you submit more than one copy of your resume only the most recent version will be reviewed. The latest timestamp will be used to determine which version of your resume is “most recent.” It is your responsibility to check the status and timestamp of all documents you submit as part of your application.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.

The following documents are accepted and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50’s (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

Veterans’ Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 “Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference” with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans’ Preference, please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.