Staff Assistant

Summary This position serves as a Staff Assistant in the Phoenix Regional Office (RO), Office of the Director. Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). The position requires the performance of a variety of program-related assignments. The incumbent reviews plans, analyzes and develops program requirements, establishes and revises operating procedures, reviews operations, and provides technical assistance. Responsibilities Specific duties include: Serves as assistant to Director and provides administrative and technical support to office staff. Troubleshoots administrative operations, processes, and procedures to improve processes and resolve discrepancies in administrative operations. Analyzes and evaluates written material coming into Director's Office and places controls and distributes to appropriate elements. Establishes internal deadlines for completion of reports and projects and follows up with Division leadership on pending assignments. Researches and analyzes information to determine the status of significant issues, to assist the senior leadership and staff in the decision- making process. Regularly monitors pertinent timekeeping records to detect anomalies or deviations. Devises and oversees development of reporting systems. Serves as the Alternate Coordinator for the Regional Office programs Formatting, editing, and distributing standard documents and correspondence; coordinating travel; tracking actions items. Schedules appointments, meetings, and conferences; managing the Director's calendar; and screening telephone calls and visitors to the Director's office. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. The grade progression for this position is GS11. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Compressed/Flexible: Unavailable Telework: This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only. The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval. Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Staff Assistant; PD422870 and PD422880 Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Bargaining Unit: No Requirements Conditions of Employment As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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. Additional Conditions of Employment are as follows: 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 or trial period. 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 I-9 Acceptable Documents. 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. 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: As a current Federal, GS employee you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level. 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. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-09 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: (1) ensuring that priorities and deadlines are met on administrative programs and/or projects; (2) Establishing and monitoring deadlines; (3) Coordinating administrative and quasi-technical correspondence; and Handling and shifting priorities of a sensitive nature; OR Education Substitution: Education: A master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field related to the duties of this position; OR Combination of Education and Experience: Applicants may combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-07 grade level. When substituting you can only use graduate level education you have earned. GS-11 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: In addition to the experience required at the GS-9 level, the applicant must document experience using applying knowledge of administrative concepts, principles and practices in the administrative support of a program office or service line; independently setting priorities, communicating in writing through preparation of written reports, policies, decision memos and/or briefing materials; communicating orally in presenting information to management. Identifying, analyzing and resolving problems without supervisory intervention using tact and diplomacy. OR Education Substitution: Education substitution of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR Three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or a LL.M., if related obtained in an accredited college or university. OR Combination of Education and Experience: Equivalent combinations of Specialized Experience ( 1) and Graduate level education (2). (To compute, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond two years by 9. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 to qualify). Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information. Volunteer Experience: 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. Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: You may submit unofficial transcripts when applying. However, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to provide an official transcript or a statement from the institution (e.g., from the registrar, dean, or other appropriate official) or equivalent documentation prior to the start date. Additional Information 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. The 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 your current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. 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. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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: Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. ( For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.