Administrative Officer

Summary

This Administrative Officer position is in Mental Health services at the VA Maine Healthcare Systems, located in Augusta, ME

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

This position is located in the Mental Health Service Line (MHSL) at the VA Maine Healthcare System. The incumbent serves with responsibility for the direct supervision and administrative management of program support staff within the MHSL The Administrative Officer provides expert administrative oversight, operational coordination, and technical guidance to optimize the delivery of mental health services across the medical center, affiliated Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), the Inpatient Mental Health Unit, the Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (RRTP), and programs serving homeless Veterans, including HUD-VASH.

Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Program Management and Administration:

• Provides for the overall administrative management for the organization. This may include interpreting administrative policies, developing/implementing local policies, defining administrative requirements, and/or providing advice to top management on related issues.
• Develops, formulates, and provides all essential data for the annual budget forecast
• Administers the internal review, quality, and productivity initiatives for the organization.
• Reviews, analyzes and interprets incoming requests, recommends appropriate action or suggests appropriate alternatives based on knowledge of internal operations, and programs specific to the service line.
• Monitors compliance with program requirements.
• Assists other clinical specialists in monitoring and evaluating program content.

Resource Utilization:

• Conducts cost benefit analyses to meet local reporting requirements, including reviews of staffing patterns, work schedules, overtime, and leave usage, and provides recommendations on fund control point management and other budgetary matters to support efficient and cost effective MHSL operations.
• Serves as the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) for Mental Health Services.

Personnel Management:

• Responsible for implementing Medical Center and Agency personnel policies.
• Technically and administratively supervises MHSL clerical support staff.
• Identifies and arranges for development and training for the employees
• Interviews with non-clinical and clerical candidates.
• Develops performance standards
• Establishes leave policies, including coordinating and approving leave.

Facility Management Participation:

• Manage patient complaints within the MHSL area and responds to congressional and VA Headquarters inquiries.
• Responsible for the technical review and maintenance of our facility's Mental Health Hospital Policy Memorandums
• Develops management improvement programs or revised policy and procedural requirements for more effective application of various administrative management systems.

Other Significant Factors:

• Assists the Leadership Team and Program Managers in all aspects of the scope of the MHSL achieving a more completely integrated and efficient operation.
• Must communicate in writing and orally with a diverse level of personnel.

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday - Friday, 7:00am - 3:30pm

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

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Administrative Officer/ PD402-04179

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO):

Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Notifications:

• This position is in the Competitive Service.
• Time-in-Grade Restriction: 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. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service.
• Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• This position is NOT a Bargaining Unit position.
• The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's.
• May be required to attend conference at other facilities or other VA sites on occasion.

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 is primarily sedentary with some walking, standing, bending and carrying light items such as files, papers, books, extensive computer work, etc. and 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, 06/30/2026.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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 and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:) multidisciplinary communication and coordination - experience communicating regularly (both orally and in writing) with staff across multiple disciplines or functional areas to coordinate day-to-day activities, resolve scheduling conflicts or competing priorities, and address administrative concerns in a timely and professional manner; policy alignment and organizational coordination - experience coordinating with staff across organizational units to ensure that local practices, procedures, and operations remain aligned with broader institutional priorities, higher-level directives, or external regulatory and compliance requirements; personnel management and timekeeping - experience performing personnel management functions including developing or updating position performance standards, establishing and administering leave policies, and completing required timekeeping duties in accordance with applicable regulations and organizational procedures; administrative documentation and systems management - experience preparing a variety of administrative paperwork and maintaining administrative systems in support of a program or service line's operational and reporting requirements; and reporting, quality assurance, and performance measurement - experience generating required reports and analytical products for management officials, including those related to quality assurance activities, productivity initiatives, and performance measurement. . OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M. if related. Degree must be relevant to the position to be filled. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond 2 years of graduate level education may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-11. The education and experience must be directly related to the work of the position to be filled.

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:

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 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 CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

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.