Secretary (OA)

Summary

This position is located within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Central Virginia VA Heath Care System (CVHCS), at the Fredericksburg Health Care Center (FXHCC). This position functions at the Secretary to the Assistant Director/HCC Administrator(AD/HCC Administrator or Deputy Associate Director of Patient Care Services (DADPCS) for the Fredericksburg Health Care Center.

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Duties

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Duties to include but not limited to:

• Receives, schedules, refers, and contacts members of the staff, agency, and persons outside the agency ranging from other government agencies to the public. Personal contacts include officials, representatives, stakeholders, patients, and their families. In many instances exact purpose of contact may be unclear.
• Responds to administrative problems brought to the supervisor's attention by members of the staff or management officials within or outside the agency.
• Interacts with the medical center affiliate - Virginia Commonwealth University and Department of Defense(including a sharing agreement covering VISN 5 and VISN 6. Territory is expanded to West Virginia,
• Washington, Maryland etc. to ensure all necessary communication and appointments are handled and arranged.
• Screens all calls and visitors, answering most questions and completing most business involving established policy or routine matters without referring people to the supervisor. Provides summaries of messages from personal and telephone conversations and contacts appropriate parties to follow through on any made commitments.
• Assists the Assistant Director/HCC Administrator or Deputy ADPCS by reviewing and/or compiling task in various common VA databases, to include SharePoint sites.
• Performs several administrative support duties, such as making extensive travel arrangements, arranging
  schedules of visits, making reservations, notifying organizations and officials of planned visits and submitting appropriate travel vouchers and reports. Coordinates meetings of various sizes, and in some instances requires coordination with local and community interests.
• Serves as timekeeper for staff assigned to Fredericksburg HCC Leadership.
• Serves as a buffer and acts as liaison between the Assistant Director/HCC Administrator or Deputy ADPCS and staff personnel by providing accurate, timely advice on procedures, reports, requirements.
• Acts as office manager for the Assistant Director/HCC Administrator or Deputy ADPCS's office and ensures that the practices and procedures used by secretaries are consistent with those of the AD/HCC Admin/DADPCS's. On own initiative, recommends changes in administrative policies. Prepares material and conducts periodic secretarial training sessions for all secretaries/administrative support staff within the Nursing Services within the FXHCC.
• Obtains and monitors the use of services, supplies, equipment for the office. Provides general office supply and equipment support services such as obtaining standard office supplies and services, procuring, or justifying the full range of office services, or answering questions concerning policies and procedures related to support of office services. Consolidates equipment or service requests from various offices. Ascertains the needs of subordinate offices and coordinates the purchase of equipment and services to meet
  the organization's needs. Studies the various offices to determine usages and needs and, merges need into one recommendation for the organization.

Work Schedule: 8:00am to 4:30am Monday - Friday

Telework: This position may be authorized for Ad-hoc telework.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/ PD014730 and PD015370

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): 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 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, 06/15/2026.

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. 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 6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. .

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.

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.

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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.

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.