Summary The Portland, Oregon VA Health Care System is recruiting for a GS-6 Lead Medical Support Assistant in the Business Office Telephone Operations Unit located in Portland, OR VA Medical Center. The list generated from this announcement can be used up to 90 days to fill any additional vacancies that may arise. Responsibilities Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf Medical Support Assistant: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-MSA-VA-Career-Flyer.pdf Lead Medical Support Assistants (LMSA) provide administrative support to our clinical colleagues in the care of our Nation's Veterans. Our mission is to provide efficient and effective healthcare services by promoting and enabling the delivery of timely, accurate, accessible health care. VA is committed to cultivating a dedicated workforce of highly skilled employees who understand, believe in and take pride in VA's mission. LMSAs are essential to the success of this mission and may be assigned to many areas (service lines) of the medical center that have a need. The LMSA is responsible for the coordination of MSA assignments and workflow, especially in an interdisciplinary unit. The LMSA is responsible for daily workload assessments, assigning work, and assuring proper staffing coverage; evaluating training records; and determining training needs of MSAs to provide support across interdisciplinary settings. The LMSA assists the unit with complex and non-standard procedures, including clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, inpatient/outpatient, specialties, and/or community resources. The duties of this position include but are not limited to the following: Responsible to ensure compliance with all procedural policies and directives to assignments in the Float Pool Section. Assist with investigating the impact of new directives, guidelines, or memorandums, suggesting what changes need to be implemented to assure compliance. Distribute and balance workload among Medical Support Assistants (MSA) employee in accordance with established workflow and rotation schedules. Track status and progress of work and adjust in accordance with established priorities, obtaining assistance from the supervisor on problems that arise, such as backlog which cannot be managed in a timely manner. Give on the job training to new employees, review their work and track progress and report any problems to supervisor. Instruct employees on changes in work procedures. Resolve customer and employee complaints. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:00am-3:30pm PST Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. 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) Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 0000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification 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). Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the announcement closing date. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency. MSAs must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3j Specialized Experience: must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level (1) collaborating with medical clinicians across multiple disciplines, scheduling interdisciplinary appointments, and possessing an advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community OR (2) providing staff development and training, delegating responsibilities/assigning workload to other staff members, following up on issues, and reviewing and monitoring data to ensure reports are complete and accurate. **Resume must include hours per week for work experience credit. Candidates must demonstrate the KSA below: 1. Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines. 2. Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect, ensuring compliance with established policies and regulations. 3. Ability to provide staff development and training. 4. Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage priorities, and coordinate with staff in the unit in order to complete duties in an accurate and timely manner. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work. 5. Ability to review and monitor data to ensure all reports are complete and accurate. Reference: VA Handbook 5005/117, Medical Support Assistant Qualification Standard, GS-679. Published August 1, 2019. For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-06. Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary but may require periods of standing or walking however, there are no physical requirements for the 0679 Medical support Assistant occupation. Education Education cannot be used to substitute experience at the GS 6 level. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. 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.
