Secretary

Summary

The incumbent serves as the Executive Secretary for the Medical Center Director located at the Cincinnati, OH VA Medical Center.

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Duties

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The Cincinnati VA Medical Center (CVAMC) is a two-division campus located in Cincinnati, OH and Fort Thomas, KY serving 15 counties in Southwest OH, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana with 6 Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Bellevue, KY; Florence, KY; Lawrenceburg, IN; Hamilton, OH; Clermont County, OH, and Georgetown, OH. The CVAMC also supports two off main campus locations in the Cincinnati area via an Eye Center and Mental Health Outreach Community Division.

Major Duties:

• The incumbent provides comprehensive executive secretarial and administrative support, expertly managing the Director's calendar, correspondence, travel arrangements, and meeting logistics to ensure efficient operations. Responsibilities include screening telephone calls and visitors, handling inquiries, and independently addressing matters not requiring the Director's direct involvement. The incumbent prepares agendas, minutes, presentations, and official documents, as well as proofreads and edits all outgoing correspondence for accuracy and compliance with agency standards. Additionally, support is extended to the Associate Director, Chief of Staff, and Nurse Executive as needed, facilitating seamless communication and coordination across executive leadership.
• The incumbent is responsible for records and information management within the Director's Office, serving as the designated Records Liaison. This includes maintaining an accurate inventory and ensuring compliance of all records, conducting regular reviews, and coordinating vital records management activities. The incumbent ensures records retention and proper disposition in accordance with all relevant policies and regulations and oversees compliance with six-part folder management for all Director's Office personnel. Additionally, the incumbent supports staff training to maintain best practices in records management and assures that all documentation standards are consistently met.
• The incumbent is responsible for office administration and process improvement, including the development, implementation, and oversight of office procedures to enhance efficiency and consistency within the Director's Office. This role involves training and advising secretarial and clerical staff to ensure adherence to established practices and policies. The incumbent manages essential resource information, oversees manual and policy updates, maintains suspense files for tracking action items, and coordinates administrative communications to ensure clear and timely dissemination of information throughout the organization.
• This position serves as the central point of contact for the Cincinnati Medical Center, with primary responsibility for tracking, responding to, and analyzing Congressional and patient complaints and requests. The incumbent manages a wide range of complex tasks that include monitoring numerous active suspense, handling Congressional inquiries, and tracking VISN requests.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Secretary/ PD935440

Physical Demands : The incumbent's work is mostly sedentary; however, some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light to medium-weight items are required.

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 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, 08/17/2026.

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-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of the management processes used to oversee office functions and address emergencies is also required-for example, the emergency preparedness plan, office contingency plans and call-back lists, and reporting requirements to the Network and VA Central Office. This knowledge enables the incumbent to assist the Medical Center Director without needing to involve him/her directly. Knowledge of the substantive programs of the Cincinnati VA Health Care System as they relate to the system's clerical and administrative functions is essential. The incumbent must possess skills in advising and instructing secretaries and other administrative staff in subordinate organizational elements regarding directives, reports, correspondence, telephone procedures, and etiquette. Proficiency in the use of automated data processing equipment and associated software for word processing, data processing (charts, graphs, illustrations, etc.), PowerPoint presentations, controlled correspondence (PATS-R), and virtual meetings (e.g., Teams, Zoom, Webex) is necessary. A strong knowledge of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and required formats is vital, as well as the ability to edit documents to produce final products that are grammatically, technically, and stylistically correct. Skill in formulating appropriate responses to inquiries from congressional representatives and community leaders on complex issues involving VA policies or patient care subjects is also required.

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.

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.