Secretary (OA)

The Secretary supports the Chief of Surgery, the Surgery Service at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (MC). The incumbent provides specialized administrative and clinical support for the Surgery Service's Programs.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/05/2024.

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 - 6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS - 5. 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 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-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge and skill in oral communications and interpersonal dynamics. Ability to demonstrate proper telephone etiquette always is essential. Ability to communicate verbally and in writing with a variety of people from different backgrounds and different levels of understanding. This may include clerical, technical, administrative, and professional (clinical and administrative) people at all levels in the agency. Knowledge and skill to independently use computer equipment with a wide variety of software such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Outlook, and VHA databases to extract and organize data, produce letters, memoranda, presentations and to prepare a variety of specific working documents and forms such as spreadsheets, database, word processing, desktop publishing, graphics and other similar products.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Clerical
• Computer Skills
• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Writing

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: No special physical characteristics are required of the incumbent. Work includes some bending, extended periods of sitting, kneeling, walking and carrying light items common to an office environment

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/.