Executive Assistant

Summary

This position provides support to the Under Secretary for Health (USH), on specific issues and subjects that will advance the USH's agenda for the Veterans Health Administration. This position serves as the personal and confidential assistant to the USH as well as provides consultations and advice to the USH in healthcare administration and organizational and management matters affecting health care programs and public engagement.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

This is a Temporary Promotion/Detail not to exceed 180 days. The temporary promotion/detail may end prior to 180 days, be extended based on agency policy and operational needs, or made permanent without further competition.

Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Serves as member of various VHA committees as designed by the USH to provide vital link between the USH and executive management officials in VHA offices reporting to the USH.
• Acts as a liaison to assure the flow of significant information up and down the chain of command, to communicate the USH's views and decisions, and to provide follow-up on action items due to the USH for decision.
• Manages day-to-day operations of the Office of the Under Secretary for Health.
• Performs involving contacts with public officials or professional organizations interested in VHA policies, plans, and operations.
• Participates in department wide studies that could involve organizational planning and staffing, and makes recommendations or changes in, and deviations from, approved organizational patterns.
• Provides leadership and advisory services, and in the absence of the Chief of Staff, performs duties associated with the position to assure continuous administrative direction and staff support for the Office of the Under Secretary for Health

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 08:00-04:30pm

Compressed/Flexible: Available

Telework: Not authorized

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Executive Assistant/ PD021380

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Authorized

PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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)

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/05/2026.

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-15 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-14. 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-14 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  
  
  • Demonstrated expert-level knowledge of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) missions, policies, and operations.
  • Mastery of analytical and evaluative methods to assess compliance, evaluate legislation impact, and support data-driven decision-making for complex VHA programs.
  • Proven skill in organizational and program analysis, advising senior agency leadership, developing new policies and initiatives, and communicating effectively with congressional staff, constituent groups, media, and management officials.
  • Experience navigating legislative activities relevant to VHA programs and interpreting or adapting program evaluation techniques to diverse challenges.

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.

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

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.