Summary The incumbent will serve as a Program Support Assistant for the Social Work Service at the Michael E. DeBakey VA medical Center (MEDVAMC). The primary function will be to provide administrative support to the assigned program(s) in the Social Work Service, supporting the operations of the Programs, Staff and Care Line as a whole. Primary programmatic assignments include: Mental Health Social Work Supervisor and Medicine Social Work Superior. Responsibilities The incumbent is responsible for analyzing the administrative workflow and patient flow within Mental Health Social Work Programs, working with the Social Work Supervisors for Mental Health and Medical Care Line to establish and develop operational procedures to ensure proper functioning of organizational components. He/She must recommend changes in policy and procedures, is responsible for compliance with Congressional legislation, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) directives, and/or local system policy relying on personal knowledge to coordinate necessary changes with total organizational and operational functions of the system and implementing approved processes. The incumbent is responsible for planning, developing, coordinating, implementing, directing , and controlling the overall activities related to scheduling, human resource activities, training, timekeeping, quality monitoring travel documentation, Automated Data Processing Application Coordinator (ADPAC) duties and compliance with applicable regulation or policy for the assigned program within the Social Work Serivce. Serves as the Sections' "Consult Coordinator" responsible for daily management of the consult reports on the facility dashboard to include auditing of the scheduling processes within Mental Health and Medical Care Line Social Work programs, ensuring appropriate discontinuation of duplicate consults, correction of consult errors, and reporting to the Social Work Service Leadership on the status of clinic and procedure consults. The incumbent receives and assist visitors in the work area with information regarding the sections and/or resolution of problems. He/She is responsible fore reporting the total expenditures, wait times and Veterans utilizing community care for the assigned programs. He/She will require access to VHA Support Service Center (VSSC) reports and Mental Health SAIL in order to appropriately track and analyze clinic flow and patient access within the Mental Health and Medical Care Line Social Work Programs. Incumbent performs a variety of administration functions and assignments necessary for the smooth management of Mental Health/Medical Care Line Social Work Programs. Comprehensive knowledge and ability to accurately interpret directives (e.g. public laws; United States Code; Code of Federal Regulations; VHA directives; local system policies) governing all eligibility for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) health care benefits and patient administration in order to ensure maximum efficiency of all assigned programs. He/She will serve as the point of contact for tracking the onboarding, timekeeping, outboarding and other duties as assigned. Prepares Information Technology (IT) requests for the Section for the computer hardware, software, remote access, telephones, telemedicine equipment, equipment moves, etc. for assigned staff. The incumbent assembles and summarizes data, background information, and other materials from publications and other sources. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm (Subject to change 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. Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD03951O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required This position is covered by AFGE bargaining unit. Per the AFGE Master Agreement, the Area of Consideration will be: 1st Area of Consideration - current permanent Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center employees including satellites. 2nd Area of Consideration - current permanent Veterans Healthcare Administration employees. 3rd Area of Consideration - current permanent VA Nationwide employees. 4th Area of Consideration - All Other Status Applicants. 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, 01/30/2024. 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-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 consult management Experience with time and leave Experience with the processes related to on-boarding new employees You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Communication Computer Skills Health Information Exchange 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 the 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 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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 for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. 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/. 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.