Summary This position as the Program Support Assistant will serve in the Mental Health Care Line at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. The primary function will be to provide administrative support to the assigned program(s) in the Mental Health Care Line, supporting the operations of the the Programs, Staff and Careline as a whole. Primary programmatic assignments include: General Mental Health Clinic and Marriage and Family Therapy. Responsibilities Analyzes administrative workflow and patient flow in order to establish and develop operational procedures to ensure proper functioning of organizational components. Provides guidance regarding staffing, performance management, competencies, time and attendance, and other human resources policies and procedures. Negotiates compliance with established or newly established policies. Generates a variety of reports including consult tracking, encounter tracking, and consult toolbox utilization. Maintains an automated system of program-specific data to track suspenses on items such as progress reports, funding accomplishments, compliance strategies, etc. Monitors patient access performance metrics. Works with managers to reconcile incomplete encounters and encounters with actions required. Receive visitors and telephone calls to the work area and distributes information, solves problems personally, or refers visitors/callers to appropriate personnel. Negotiates with services to solve problems and conflicts. Utilize tact, poise, and diplomacy when dealing with medical center personnel and the public. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm (Subject to changed based on the needs of the Agency) Telework: 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. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD03783A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized 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 Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/13/2024. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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 as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 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 timekeeping, scheduling, clinic cancellations and rescheduling Experience with patient record systems, technology, and data processing systems Experience Consult Management/Scheduling Experience with Human Resources Activities - Six Part Folder; Performance management; Competencies; Policies and Practices Experience with Clinic Grids and Provider Schedules, Processing IT requests and Work Orders Experience with encounters You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Interpersonal Skills Manages and Organizes Information Organizational Awareness 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 qualifications are required to perform the work. The work requires the ability to move around the office and clinic and requires some standing, walking, bending and carrying of light items up to 20 pounds such as office files, copy paper and supplies. 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/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. 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. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.