Program Support Assistant

Summary

The Program Support Assistant serves as the administrative backbone for the Pharmacy Service, managing operations, personnel, and finances. Duties include handling personnel administration and timekeeping, coordinating program operations, quality compliance, and correspondence, assisting with annual budgeting and fund controls, and managing procurement, contracts, and property inventories. Candidates should have strong organizational skills & administrative expertise in a clinical environment.

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Duties

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Major duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Functions as the primary timekeeper for the Pharmacy Service, maintaining accurate records of pay, allowances, leave, and attendance in strict compliance with current regulations.
• Oversees recruitment and staffing by screening applications, conducting candidate interviews, verifying professional licensure with state boards, and coordinating hiring actions with Human Resources.
• Tracks mandatory facility-wide training, continuing education, and staff competencies, ensuring timely completion and documentation within the TMS system.
• Coordinates the onboarding process for new employees, issuing administrative policies, procedures, and basic training for internal software applications like VISTA and VATAS.
• Administers personnel management matters, including developing organizational charts, monitoring sick leave usage, and recommending personnel actions such as promotions, awards, and disciplinary measures.
• Interprets and ensures service-level compliance with EEO, affirmative action, and labor relations goals, assisting supervisors with counseling letters and adverse actions.
• Manages confidential records and paperwork related to workers' compensation, light-duty assignments, and investigations into discrepancies, theft, or employee misconduct.
• Provides high-level administrative support to the Chief of Pharmacy and supervisors, managing calendars, scheduling meetings, opening and distributing mail, and handling incoming/outgoing correspondence.
• Prepares confidential memoranda, reports, and congressional responses within strict deadlines, while independently editorializing communications for clarity.
• Tracks, monitors, and maintains all service policies and procedures, alerting professional staff when updates are required.
• Coordinates quality improvement initiatives, tracks medication errors, collects data for risk management, and prepares routine reports to meet JCAHO and regulatory requirements.
• Serves as the primary administrative liaison for medical records, engineering work orders, and consumer affairs activities, while managing office supply inventories.
• Controls physical security within the service by ordering, receiving, maintaining, and delegating door keys and combinations to ensure the safety of stored pharmaceuticals and supplies.
• Conducts organizational and space-utilization studies, analyzing data to identify operational bottlenecks and recommending corrective actions to top management.
• Represents leadership in non-clinical matters during their absence, serving on various committees and coordinating activities across hospital services to support the patient care mission.
• Assists in developing the annual budget plan, conducting thorough budget reviews, and forecasting financial needs based on service priorities.
• Establishes, organizes, and maintains a rigorous system of internal controls for managing funds across allocated cost centers.
• Verifies daily fund availability across all account categories to prevent over-obligations in sub-accounts or general ledgers.
• Reconciles financial reports with actual expenditures, investigating discrepancies and acting as the primary liaison with Fiscal Services and Administrative & Material Management (A&MM).
• Manages pharmacy procurement and contracting operations by preparing purchase requests, evaluating project proposals, and maintaining meticulous records.
• Determines appropriate costs, performs cost analyses, writes sole-source justifications, and communicates effectively with external contractors.
• May serve as a Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) to oversee contract performance and compliance.
• Oversees property management by preparing documents for property accession and de-accession, maintaining inventory of non-expendable equipment, and conducting periodic utilization surveys to ensure economical and efficient resource use.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30AM - 4PM

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/ PD20C850

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized

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
• 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, 08/27/2026.

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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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-06 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 where you were responsible for providing administrative support functions within a healthcare facility; experienced with procurement processes necessary to obtain goods and services for an office; performing automation duties using such software applications such as word processing, spreadsheet, electronic mail, desktop publishing, calendar, database and/or graphics; assisting in the formulation and execution of budget estimates to include updating budget spreadsheets which are used in briefings; collecting, compiling and tracking data and information; and researching reference materials, regulations, and standards to identify appropriate action necessary to correct problems or issues.

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.

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.