Secretary (OA)

Summary

This position is located at the VA San Diego Healthcare System for the Associate Director Patient Care Services (ADPCS)/Nurse Executive. The position reports, for administrative and technical direction, to the Supervisory Health System Specialist, accepting assignments and direction from the ADPCS/NE.

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Duties

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The primary purpose of the Secretary (Office Automation) is to provide administrative coordination and support to a member of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Coordinating the schedules for the Associate Director and Assistant Director including set up of meetings, event coordination, calendar management, and collection of needed documents for meetings.
• Managing reoccurring obligations such as due council/committee reports, minutes, and engagements for the ELT.
• Coordinating ELT schedules to attend major facility and/or community events as facility leadership representatives including scheduling in calendar, obtaining event agenda, collecting requested actions for the ELT, drafting/securing talking points, and briefing them on any event requirements to ensure they are prepared to participate.
• Managing meeting logistics and coordination for the ELT to include setting up meeting markers, confirmation of attendees, booking meeting locations, setting up audiovisual devices, scheduling teleconference lines, drafting meeting agenda, gathering/producing meeting documents, and taking meeting minutes.
• Serving as a Travel Coordinator.
• Managing equipment and supplies for the ELT.
• Serving as Purchase Card Holder for the ELT.
• Serving as a timekeeper - updating timecards daily to ensure accurate accounting and validating them each pay period.
• Supporting personnel/Human Resource functions for the ELT including management of staff personnel folders, submission of HR tickets/requests, support of annual performance and award completion/submission, assistance in recruitment efforts and other staffing functions.
• Serving as the public face for the ELT by greeting Veterans, Congressional representatives, staff, vendors, community partners, and other visitors.
• Providing service recovery for Veterans and their families to include addressing immediate issues within scope of influence, connecting with appropriate departments to address specific issues/concerns, and logging/tracking issues/concerns.
• Managing ELT telephones.
• Managing action items to include conducting initial reviews for accuracy/completion, assignment to services, tracking/collecting responses, routing for second-level and final-level review, and routing for final submission.
• Preparing documents/correspondence including memorandums, letters, reports, policies, standard work, and other documents/correspondence, and ensures documents are accurate, complete and grammatically correct.
• Managing the routing of incoming/outgoing documents.
• Coordinating files to include organization, record keeping, archiving, and pulling documents as needed.
• Serving as administrator for all SharePoint and Shared Drives for the ELT.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

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

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/ PD13636A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved.

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

Financial Disclosure Report: Not 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 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, 09/04/2026.

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. 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: You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

For the GS-7 level:

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: knowledge in executive assistant/secretarial level administration to manage calendars, funds, utilize purchase cards, coordinate travel, take/prepare meeting minutes and track actions. Skill in how to operate a computer and computer software including Microsoft Office, Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as timekeeping systems and procedures.

For the GS-8 level:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: experience in executive assistant/secretarial level administration to manage calendars, funds, utilize purchase cards, coordinate travel, take/prepare meeting minutes and track actions. Skill in how to operate a computer and computer software including Microsoft Office, Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as timekeeping systems and procedures.

• Accountability
• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

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 : A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 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 requires sitting, walking, standing bending and carrying of light items such as papers, binders and books. Pace is fast and possibly at times, stressful. Auditory acuity to transcribe dictation is necessary. Visual acuity to accurately transcribe information into reports is essential.

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.

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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.