Executive Assistant

Summary The Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction (OALC) directs the acquisition, logistics, construction, and leasing functions within VA. The Office of Procurement (OOP) leads the policy, compliance, data, and operational support that help VA acquisition teams buy smarter, reduce risk, and deliver results. Responsibilities Major duties include but are not limited to: Serves as Executive Assistant to the Senior Program Executive (SPE), exercising substantial independent judgment to support planning, execution, control, and achievement of office goals and objectives; Coordinates major staff activities and serves as a principal liaison among the SPE, office executives and directors, subordinate program elements, higher headquarters, external VA organizations, and outside agencies; Conducts executive-level review of outgoing SPE and subordinate-program correspondence; Evaluates implications of proposed actions and recommends approval, disapproval, or revision to ensure accuracy, policy alignment, and effective communication; Reviews directives, legislative proposals, congressional inquiries, and public laws; Analyzes potential organizational impacts and recommends appropriate implementation or interpretation to the SPE; Provides technical analysis, strategic advice, and decision support to the SPE; Maintains situational awareness of meetings, issues, and emerging topics to ensure executive readiness for discussions and decisions; Initiates independent administrative planning required for effective office operations and provides routine briefings to the SPE, Senior Executive Service leadership, and staff on progress, issues, and required decisions; Identifies, initiates, and implements resolutions for operational problems; Recommends executive-level interventions for highly controversial or sensitive matters; and Directs and orchestrates meetings, conferences, and follow-on actions to ensure stated and implied objectives are achieved, decisions are documented, and accountable parties complete required actions. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. EST. Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Available - Ad Hoc telework (situational telework) as determined by the agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: PD003510 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements 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 You may be required to serve a probationary period 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. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a one year probationary period or two 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 one year probationary period or two year trial 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, 09/10/2026. 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-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13. 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 some former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade. 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-13 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Utilizing advanced analytical and evaluative methods, along with a comprehensive understanding of program administration, to choose and implement suitable evaluation and measurement techniques for both long-term and short-term federal acquisition initiatives to apply extensive knowledge of agency modernization efforts, strategic planning, operational planning, and transition management practices; Exercising independent judgment when interpreting and applying wide-ranging administrative policies, executive orders, legislation, regulations, and agency directives to diverse administrative and operational challenges-particularly where precedents are scarce or unavailable-in order to develop or interpret guidance on program planning and evaluation in areas such as contracting/procurement, management, quality assurance, price analysis, and requirements analysis; or Acting as a principal liaison and strategic advisor to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of major program operations (i.e., nationwide direct procurement, logistics, engineering, and facility support) across an agency's primary administrations considering cost-effectiveness, achievement of program goals and objectives, and adherence to relevant legal and regulatory standards, with the aim of recommending changes to the distribution of acquisition, logistics, construction, and leasing support to the public-matters of considerable public interest. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list series and grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. 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. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require walking and standing in conjunction with travel to and attendance at meetings and conferences away from the work site. The work does not require any special physical effort. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at 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 found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications: Hold an active Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI); Possess six years of program or project management experience, to include a minimum of two years of experience on Federal programs and projects, within the last ten years: and Holds an active Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers (FAC-P/PM) at the Senior Level from the Office of Federal Procurement Policy's (OFPP). Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Washington, DC. This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20420. 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office. 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 (HRA) at The Fair Chance Act. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. 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 here: