Program Support Assistant

Summary

The Program Support Assistant (PSA) works in the Social Work department, at James A. Haley Veterans' Healthcare System. The PSA is responsible for performing administrative assistance involving support of the Non-Institutional Care (NIC) program, also know as Personal Care Services (PCS), within the Geriatrics & Extended Care (GEC) Programs. This position is located under the guidance of the Social Work Service, GEC.

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Duties

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The PSA performs a wide variety of clerical, administrative, and technical duties and responsibilities in direct support of seven (7) PCS Programs; Homemaker/Home Health Aide (H/HHA), Respite, Community Adult Day Health Care (CADHC), Veteran Directed Care (VDC), Community Nursing Home (CNH), Community Care Network (CCN) and the State Veterans' Home Program (SVH). These programs are available for all eligible Veterans enrolled with Veteran Health Administration (VHA) and are intended to accommodate the increasing needs for the aging Veteran population to assist with remaining in a home environment safely in lieu of nursing home level care.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• PSA position position requires excellent relational and communication skills; advanced knowledge of and experience with the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS), Consult Tool Box (CTB), Health Share Referral Manager (HSRM), Consult Tracking Manager (CTM), Microsoft Teams, Word, and Excel. The incumbent will also display excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to work with others.
• Time management skills and a high level of judgment are necessary. This position also requires independence of action, general latitude for decision making, and knowledge of information sources confirming complex questions, policies, and procedures within the PCS Programs.
• The incumbent plays a vital role in accomplishing tasks through an extensive knowledge and understanding of the organization, regulations, methods, and the other tools or recourses of management.
• The incumbent provides daily administrative support to the GEC/NIC supervisory staff, NIC Coordinators and front line staff. The incumbent is primarily responsible for completing authorizations for personal care to local Home Health Aide agencies, Area Agency Agencies, and contracts with local community nursing homes. The incumbent is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of authorized
• The incumbent plays a vital role in accomplishing tasks through an extensive knowledge and understanding of the organization, regulations, methods, and the other tools or recourses of management.
• Responsible for coordinating bi-annual patient satisfaction surveys to be sent to Veterans enrolled in the various programs. Assists the Section Chief and Program Coordinator in preparing graphs and reports to management on the success of these programs.

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.

Pay: Competitive salary, regular salary increases, potential for performance awards

Paid Time Off: 50 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA

Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30 AM-4:00 PM

Compressed/Flexible: As needed by department

Telework: Not Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/ PD05762A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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 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, 10/16/2026.

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

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS 5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  • Maintains an automated system of program-specific data to track suspense dates on project milestones, progress reports, funding accomplishments, compliance strategies, etc.
  • Completes data related tasks such as entering, gathering, pulling, tracking, and summarizing program statistics and other data as needed to support the programs and communicates information to appropriate stakeholders for further action.
  • Types a variety of documents into final form, ensuring correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, format and style.
  • Coordinates activities with other administrative support staff and departments to ensure efficient flow of work.
  • Performs any items pertaining to timekeeping operations for the needs of the service.

. OR,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have

. OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond .

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

As a general rule, education is not creditable above GS-5 for most positions covered by this standard; however, graduate education may be credited in those few instances where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position.

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.