Transportation Assistant

Summary VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS) is a 303 consolidated bed facility, university affiliated, teaching, research and clinical center with a highly diverse patient care population in outpatient, inpatient and extended care settings. The Veterans Transportation Program (VTP)/Beneficiary Travel (BT) department administers beneficiary travel program benefits to Veterans who meet eligibility criteria. Responsibilities This is an open continuous announcement until 07/15/2026. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred after the closing date of the announcement. Major duties, include but are not limited to: Utilizing various software applications to accurately determine and/or verify Veteran eligibility and amount owed for travel reimbursement according to national and local rules, regulations and standard operating procedures. Assisting Veterans with waiver applications when Veteran has experienced a major change in income for the current year or is requesting deductible be waived due to financial hardship. Reviewing clinical request for transportation at VA expense utilizing CPRS and determines best mode of transportation i.e. VTS, common carrier or special mode based on cost effectiveness and patient medical needs. Arranging all modes of transportation via Veterans Transportation Service (VTS), air ambulance, commercial air, taxi, ambulance, bus and/or independent transports. Corresponding with physician, traveler, and vendor to determine the most dependable and economical mode of transportation. Prepares appropriate documentation and/or scheduling for traveler according to government transportation availability, government rates or substantial rates. Reviewing requests for reimbursement of travel costs for the purpose of assuring compliance with regulations and procedures, completeness, accuracy, internal consistency, and agreement with basic authorization. Recognizing and understanding customers and providing information and/or services to Veterans, Veteran's families, Veteran's representatives and/or facility staff. Handling conflict and problems in dealing with customers constructively and appropriately. Collecting, organizing, tracking and counting all beneficiary travel reimbursement forms from various locations throughout the facility. Ordering office supplies for the section and responsible for tracking and organizing orders. Posting employee time cards as supervisor instructs, assisting supervisor with reconciling time card discrepancies and serving as the point of contact for time card related questions and actions. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm PST Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant/PD21145A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements 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 time-in-grade requirements and specialized experience within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 07/15/2026. 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Arranging modes of transportation via air ambulance, commercial air, taxi, ambulance, bus and/or independent transports; Determining eligibility for beneficiary travel; Preparing fund control reports; Reviewing invoices for payment of transportation services and submitting documents for payment; Determining methods of payment for authorized and unauthorized claims; Communicating effectively with internal and external customers. Note: 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: Work involves various physical demands requiring the employee to be versatile in the many functions performed. These include sedentary work performed at a desk with intermittent standing, walking, bending, and lifting of lightweight records or supplies. 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. 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. 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