Program Support Assistant

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN 6), Richmond VA Medical Center, Surgical Care Service.

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Duties

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The primary duties of the position involve operation of the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VISTA) Surgery Package; core package; training and user support; and participation in implementation and testing of new systems and programs.

• Assists the Administrative Officer in conducting studies, analyzing, and evaluating the needs of surgical service and assists in devising specific solutions to meet those needs.
• Reviews data and performs limited studies, summarizes information, identifies trends and proposes and implements solutions.
• Assists the Administrative Officer in planning and conducting projects or studies to analyze, evaluate and provide recommendations for administrative issues.
• Assists the Administrative Officer in researching and analyzing straightforward problems or Surgical Care service issues.
• Determines pertinent issues and collects relevant information from a variety of sources.
• Reviews information and applies standard analytical techniques and develops recommendations to improve surgical service.
• Serves as the integrator that coordinates software functions. Serves as the functional "expert" for matters relating to Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VISTA) packages.
• Coordinates with the responsible office(s) for Surgical Care Service workload to ensure the accuracy of the data in VISTA. Point of contact for all implementation of new software or devices within Surgical Service.
• Problem solves with the special ability to integrate overall knowledge of the service system with VISTA applications and to be innovative in the process.
• Provides testing of new options and software versions prior to implementation to gain familiarity with the new product features and confirms that software is working according to specifications.
• Collects data relevant to Surgery section medical activities and workload for report preparation and submissions.
• Manages the surgical service call schedules assisting with all subspecialties.
• Posts new schedules monthly and makes any necessary or routine changes as requested by the service chief or chief resident. Gathers call schedule data from a variety of outside sources.
• Serves as back-up in the Administrative Officer's absence. Assists with technical and analytical issues pertaining to Vista/CPRS support and general administrative service line issues.

Work Schedule: 7:30am-4:00pm (Monday-Friday)

Telework: Ad-Hoc

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/ PD000000

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Approved

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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 dentification 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, 07/28/2026.

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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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.

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Performs a wide range of administrative and technical duties, subject matter for Eligibility & Enrollment (E&E), and working knowledge of other computer software programs necessary to track and monitor Veteran information; enter data into appropriate databases; compile and review data for monthly reports, spreadsheets, and local documents. uses Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and VA programs such as VISTA, CPRS, VSSC, VATAS, SharePoint and TMS.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Physical requirements: Physical demands require sitting, standing, and walking. Travel to the Medical College is required for meetings and information gathering. Environment is a general office setting within the medical facility.

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.

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.