Administrative Support Assistant

Summary

This position serves as the Administrative Assistant in support of the Veteran's Administration Tennessee Valley Healthcare System Pharmacy Service and is located at the Alvin C. York and Nashville VA Medical Centers. The position reports to the Administrative Officer and is responsible for performing a wide variety of administrative support for all pharmacy-related operations and provides direct assistance to the Associate Chiefs and various Pharmacy Supervisors within the TVHS Pharmacy.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

The incumbent participates in the management of the designated clinical sections by performing routine administrative and miscellaneous clerical work. The Administrative Support Assistant performs a wide variety of administrative tasks associated with maintaining and supporting the work performed within the organization. The core duties of this position include but are not limited to:

• Performs clerical, administrative, and technical support work for the Pharmacy Service. Assistance provided involves a wide variety of workload, scheduling, development, and power point documents.
• Monitors and tracks pharmacy suspense group assignments to ensure that information is delivered to the Administrative Officer or designee timely enough to meet established deadlines.
• Assists with preparation of letters and facilitates incoming and outgoing mail in response to drug recalls, Congressional inquiries, V-Signals complaints, or other various correspondence.
• Prepares and assists other employees in submitting travel requests and verifies appropriate approval is obtained ahead of time.
• Maintains 6-Part Folders for TVHS Pharmacy employees and completes annual audits to ensure documentation of credentialing and 6-part folders are kept up to Joint Commission (TJC) standards.
• Composes, proofreads, and edits letters, memorandums, reports, issue briefs, applications or other documents for accuracy and completeness.
• Prepares outlines and presentations, papers, reports, and correspondence, summarizes talking points and develops background information for the Pharmacy Service for public speaking engagements such as annual budget call and strategic planning meetings.
• Serves as a point of contact for patients, medical center staff, VISN staff, pharmaceutical representatives, and various others who contact the office in person, by phone, email, or other avenues.
• Receives, screens, and directs VA patients and visitors of all levels in person and via telephone.
• Performs program support work such as the collection, compilation, research, and/or tracking of data and statistical information in support of the Pharmacy Service's operations.

Work Schedule: Based on the needs of the service.

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#: Administrative Support Assistant/ PD70852A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Help

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, 09/24/2026.

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-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.

GS-6 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. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as:

• Utilizing Microsoft products (i.e., Word, Excel, Power Point, Teams) and Adobe Pro.
• Developing executive-level correspondence, professional reports, and is responsible for the accuracy and timeliness of submissions of all correspondence.
• Receiving and reviewing incoming and outgoing suspense and correspondence for quality, consistency, grammatical, and procedural correctness.
• Developing performance monitor reports for quality assurance and ensuring the facility is meeting deadlines.
• Prepares and assists other employees in submitting travel requests and verifies appropriate approval is obtained.
• Maintains 6-Part Folders for employees and completes annual audits.
• Prepares outlines and presentations, papers, reports, and correspondence, summarizes talking points and develops background information for public speaking engagements.

NOTE: Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates, AND hours worked per week.

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

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.

Help

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.

Review our benefits

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.