Secretary (OA)

Summary

The incumbent serves as the principal Secretary to the Medical Center Director of the VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System. The position performs a wide range of executive administrative responsibilities including managing reports and correspondence; screening calls and visitors; coordinating the Director's calendar and meetings; maintaining filing and records systems; supporting personnel actions and timekeeping processes; and coordinating training and travel arrangements.

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Duties

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As the Lead Secretary, the incumbent coordinates closely with staff at all levels of the organization to establish, improve upon and provide continuity of office operations. Upon request, informs the Director on such matters as past practice with respect to various reports, miscellaneous recurring requirements and continuing obligations, and sources from which the Director can obtain a quick explanation of various matters. Assists the Director's subordinates by relaying specific instructions and giving advice concerning procedural and administrative requirements.

Reports and Correspondence:

• Monitors, routes, and tracks all incoming and outgoing correspondence, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and compliance with VA and VHA correspondence requirements.
• Screens all incoming correspondence and reports.
• Coordinates and assures timely completion of all reports, correspondence and personnel actions.
• Responsible for review and final preparation of all outgoing correspondence, reports etc. in accordance with VHA Directive 1216.
• Contacts other members of leadership to develop information and assemble data not readily available for use by the Director in replying to correspondence.
• Transcribes letters, memorandums, and reports from dictated material, voice recording, and handwritten drafts into final form.
• Types a variety of documents into final form, ensuring correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, format and style.

Calendar and Meetings:

• Independently maintains the Director's enterprise calendar; prioritizes requests; deconflicts appointments; and ensures alignment with mission priorities.
• Tracks and documents official activities as federal records; applies NARA GRS 5.1 (Common Office Records) for calendars/appointment records; applies GRS 5.2 for transitory scheduling messages.
• Ensures calendar content that contains personally identifiable information (PII) is handled in accordance with the Privacy Act; prepares calendar extracts for public release when appropriate under FOIA, applying exemptions as necessary.

Calls and Visitors:

• Screens phone calls and in-person visitors, determining priority and nature of requests prior to routing to the Director.
• Provides authoritative information on office procedures, meeting requirements, communication protocol, and accurate referral contacts.
• Ensures visitor access aligns with security and PIV/HSPD-12 credentialing procedures.
• Maintains confidentiality and provides customer service consistent with VA values and privacy requirements

File System and Records Management:

• Establishes, organizes, and maintains electronic and physical filing systems for the Office of the Medical Center Director. These files must be appropriately handled, stored and destroyed in accordance with applicable federal law and records management policies.

Personnel Actions and Human Resources Support:

• Assists in preparing, routing, and tracking personnel-related documents including: Recruitment requests and onboarding materials; Position descriptions and job analyses; Awards (Special Contribution, Time-Off, On-the-Spot, performance awards)

Training and Travel:

• Coordinates registration, monitoring, and documentation of required training for the Director and designated staff.
• Maintains training records consistent with NARA GRS 2.6 retention requirements.
• Arranges local and long-distance travel, ensuring compliance with the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR).

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm

Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/ PD013330

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/27/2026.

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-08 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. 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.

Proficiency Requirements: In addition to meeting experience or education requirements, applicants for these positions must show possession of the following skills, as appropriate. Applicants may meet these requirements by passing the appropriate performance test, presenting a certificate of proficiency from a school or other organization authorized to issue such certificates by the Office of Personnel Management local office, or by self-certifying their proficiency. Performance test results and certificates of proficiency are acceptable for 3 years. Agencies may verify proficiency skills of self-certified applicants by administering the appropriate performance test.

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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-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: Comprehensive knowledge of executive-level office operations, correspondence management, timekeeping procedures, records management, and federal administrative processes; Knowledge of VA and VHA directives, standard operating procedures, and regulations governing correspondence, records, privacy, FOIA, timekeeping, personnel actions, and travel; Proficiency with office automation systems, virtual meeting platforms, manuscript editing, proofreading, and document formatting; Ability to interpret and apply administrative policies, anticipate leadership needs, and independently resolve complex administrative problems; and expert knowledge of the English language, grammar and the ability to use this knowledge in crafting executive level correspondence.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

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.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for 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.

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

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and 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 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

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.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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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.

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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.