Summary The Telephone Operator works as part of the VA Central Iowa Health Care System (VACIHCS) Business Office, providing telephone customer service to incoming and in-house calls for the health care system. The Telephone Operator operates the telephone system, records calls, and issues pages to on-call staff. The incumbent also performs administrative duties related to and in support of telephone operations for the health care system. Responsibilities THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION Duties include but may not be limited to: - Places and receives local, regular, and special long distance calls using government lines, commercial circuits, or other systems. - Provides directory service assistance to callers by retrieving organizational information from computerized directory databases. - Maintains records of all calls for computing charges; and provides primary or alternate routing service for high precedence calls. - Prepares files for end of month reporting. - Monitors vital circuits and emergency @type calls such as those to security, the police, the fire department, and other departments; and monitors alarm systems and surrounding buildings and takes appropriate action upon receiving an alarm notification. - Operates various paging systems (long range, in-house, overhead call). - Makes routine and emergency broadcast announcements during environmental disasters or emergent medical situations. - Issues and receives staff pagers in the absence of the assigned supervisor. - Retrieves and updates relevant information in computerized databases using instructions and established guidelines pertaining to customer assistance, record keeping and call receiving, placing and monitoring. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Sunday 8:00am - 6:00pm and Mon - Thurs 3:00pm - 10:30pm 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 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 QUALIFICATIONS To apply for this position, you must have the following qualifications: GENERAL EXPERIENCE: I have at least one (1) year of General experience. -OR- SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): I have successfully complete 2 years of education above high school. -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): I have equivalent combinations of successfully completed education (beyond 18 semester hours) and general experience, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Information Management Technical Competence Telecommunications IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary but may involve some standing and walking to consult directories and manuals. Constant hand motion is involved including but not limited to pulling, grasping, and typing. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov). Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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.
