Secretary (OA)

Summary

The Memphis VA Medical Center is recruiting for a highly qualified Secretary (OA) to perform executive level administrative and clerical duties in support of the Associate Director. Memphis VA Medical Center considers it a privilege to serve veteran health care needs in any way they can. Memphis VA Medical Center provides health care services to more than 196,000 veterans living in a 53-county area of western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and northwest Arkansas.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

The major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Acts as Office Manager for the Associate Medical Center Director and ensures that the practices and procedures used by secretaries and program areas are consistent with those of the Executive Office.
• Responds to inquiries and administrative problems brought to the Directors/Associates, Director's Office by member of the staff, network employees, officials of VA Central Office (VACO), state and local governments, other hospitals and organizations, other Federal Agencies, and Congressional staffs.
• Reads all incoming correspondence to ensure appropriate destination and follows up on correspondence sent service chiefs for reply.
• Screens all correspondence prepared for the Director's signature for clarity, completeness of reply, and grammatical and procedural correctness and returns inadequate submissions for retyping or re composition.
• Attends and records the minutes of meetings which are later summarized and distributed.
• Prepares meetings, composes replies for the Associate Director's signature to routine correspondence not requiring a policy determination.
• Uses word processing and printing equipment to create, copy, edit, store, retrieve and print a variety of documents.

Work Schedule: 8:00am to 4:30pm. Some after hours and/or weekend work may be required on occasion.

Compressed/Flexible: Not authorized

Telework: Not authorized

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/ PD091620

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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)

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, 07/07/2026.

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-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience GS-08: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07, for a GS-08. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: Knowledge of the substantive programs of the Medical Center as they relate to the clerical and administrative support functions of clinical services and programs to perform independently assembling information to be used for reports or responses to inquiries, composing correspondence not requiring technical knowledge, and to independently note and follow up on action items made in meetings by staff members. Knowledge of the duties, priorities, commitments, and program goals of the ADPCS's office in order to advise administrative support staff on preparing correspondence, identifying requirements of various reports, and interpreting new instructions and procedures. Knowledge of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and required formats, and skill in advising and instructing clerical personnel in subordinate staff activities concerning the preparation of correspondence, office procedures, and interpreting new instructions and procedures.
• Typing Proficiency: I can type at least 40 words per minute.

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.

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.

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.