Administrative Officer

Summary

This position is located at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Durham VA Medical Center, in the Mental Health Service department. The primary purpose of this position is to serve as the Administrative Officer (AO) for Mental Health Service and is responsible for the coordination and monitoring of all Mental Health Service administrative programs.

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Duties

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The primary responsibility is to ensure efficient day-to-day operations for all programs within the Mental Health Service Line. This role involves providing comprehensive administrative management support across various mental health activities located in various areas throughout North Carolina and coordinating these activities with other Medical Center services. Directs and coordinates administrative, operational, and planning activities within the service Line and collaborates with personnel from other VA Medical Center, VAMC, VISN, VA Headquarters, Duke University Medical Center, Readjustment Counseling Service, and other private, state, and federal organizations.

Service Administration

• Serves as the principal administrator for the Mental and Behavioral Health Service Line (MBHSL), providing comprehensive administrative oversight for programs spanning multiple clinical sites and more than 225 full-time equivalent employees (FTEEs), including physicians, psychologists, nurse practitioners, administrative staff, and trainees;
• Provides leadership and coordination for administrative functions including human resources management, clinic operations, fiscal coordination, space planning, and equipment oversight to ensure efficient and compliant service delivery across all Mental Health locations including Durham VAMC, Hillandale II, Garner, and community-based outpatient clinics
• Directs service line administrative operations including personnel management, recruitment activities, position management, and workforce utilization
• Serves as the Mental Health Service Line liaison with Human Resources, Fiscal Service, Engineering, Information Technology, and other administrative offices;
• Manages position actions including requests to fill, position changes, clinical FTE adjustments, and onboarding coordination for new staff and trainees
• Administers service line space management including office assignments, coordination with Engineering, and planning for current and future program needs; oversees equipment inventory management for multiple Equipment Inventory Lists (EILs) and coordinates equipment acquisition, replacement, and disposal
• Provides administrative oversight for clinic operations including scheduling grid management, clinic profiles, and operational coordination for all Mental Health clinics;

Supervision

• Sets and adjusts short-term priorities; evaluate work performance of subordinates and serves as reviewing official for employees;
• Give advice, counsel, or instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters; Interview candidates, recommend appointments, promotions, or reassignments; hear and resolve employee or group complaints; may advise and/or refer serious complaints depending on specifics to senior official
• Direct, coordinate and/or oversee work; provide and ensure accurate information is provided to senior management officials

Resource Management and Strategic Planning

• Provides executive-level administrative support to the Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS), Mental Health, in fiscal planning, strategic resource allocation, and long-range service line planning
• Manages multiple fund control points (FCPs) and oversees financial planning processes to ensure responsible stewardship of resources supporting mental health programs;
• Serves as Budget Official for multiple service line fund control points and monitors expenditures to ensure compliance with fiscal policy and resource limitations
• Advises leadership on programmatic changes affecting staffing, workload distribution, and operational priorities

Program Operations, Quality Management, and Compliance

• Program Operations, Quality Management, and Compliance 25% Directs administrative support activities that ensure operational effectiveness, regulatory compliance, and continuous performance improvement for Mental Health programs
• Leads initiatives to monitor clinic productivity, access to care, consult management, and documentation compliance while coordinating administrative responses to facility, VISN, and national program requirements;
• Tracks and analyzes clinic performance indicators including unsigned notes, open encounters, consult timeliness, and productivity metrics
• Coordinates service responses to national program offices, VISN requests, and facility taskers

Work Schedule: Mon - Fri 0800-1630

Telework: May be authorized with Supervisor Approval - Ad Hoc only.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Administrative Officer/ PD502580

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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 may 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, 08/14/2026.

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: Creating reports, coordinating and scheduling meetings, and submitting requests/work orders using a personal computer and office automation programs (such as word processing, spreadsheets, etc.); maintaining and updating department or service-level databases and shared computer drives; accurately preparing timecards for submission and processing; resolving timekeeping issues related to overtime, holiday pay, unscheduled hours, and various types of extended leave; managing and balancing financial aspects of general fund control points and purchase procedures; and preparing and submitting requests for recruitment, promotion, reassignment, and disciplinary actions. 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. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.M. in a field related to this position that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation.. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond combinations of successfully completed graduate level education (in excess of the first two years or 36 semester hours) and specialized experience to meet total experience requirements. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required..

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.

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.

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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.