Summary The Northern Arizona VA Health Care System is seeking a highly energetic candidate to fill the Lead Medical Support Assistant vacancy within Community Care Service. Ideal candidate's resume will articulate exceptional skills in customer service with the ability to identify customer concerns and ensure overall customer satisfaction and resolution, ability to operate computerized programs, and scheduling of appointments. Responsibilities Lead Medical Support Assistants interact with both internal and external customers providing exceptional customer service and ensuring overall customer satisfaction. Candidates will be reviewed for minimum qualifications as outlined in the qualifications section of this announcement and referred to the Northern Arizona VA Health Care System Hiring Managers. Duties include but are not limited to: Assuring coverage of all areas of responsibility; Conducting ongoing reviews to ensure quality of work; Ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of community care referrals; Providing guidance to staff members to include changes in policies and procedures; Distributing and balancing workload; creating and maintaining employee work assignments/schedules; Orienting and providing on-the-job training for new and current employees; Ensuring all training requirements are met; Organizing the work structure of assigned areas; Acting as liaison between administrative staff, clinical staff, Third Party Administrator/Embedded staff and leadership in order to resolve day to day conflicts and extracting/compiling/distributing and presenting data and workload reports. Assisting in the directing, planning and administrative coordination of the daily administrative unit workflow. Participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage and plan patient care; Setting priorities and deadlines; Adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs; Initiating and carrying out a variety of administrative and technical duties in support of community care referral management. Serves as a member of the integrated administrative and clinical team within the local Community & Managed Care Service Line, as outlined by the Office of Community Care Operating Model. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: Not Authorized Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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 trial 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 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 3.j. Experience and Education: Experience. Six months experience of clerical, office, customer service, or other administrative work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position; OR Education. One year above high school; OR Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grandfathering Provision. All MSAs employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, which are a part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply: (1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted, or changed to a lower grade within the occupation. (2) Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard. (3) If an employee who was converted to Title 38 Hybrid Status under this provision leaves the occupation, the employee loses protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements, the following education and experience criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Lead Medical Support Assistant, GS-7 Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the GS-6 grade level. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). Candidates must demonstrate all of the KSAs below: 1. Advanced knowledge of medical terminology and a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources. 2. Ability to utilize numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics in an interdisciplinary setting. 3. Ability to organize work, set priorities, and delegate tasks/responsibilities in order to meet deadlines. 4. Skill in communicating with individuals to obtain the desired effect [and coordinating with a variety of interdisciplinary care team staff. 5. Ability to provide staff development and training. 6. Ability to manage staffing requirements, manage workflow priorities, and adjust the flow of work to meet team and patient needs. This includes the ability to follow-up on pending issues and demonstrate an understanding of the impact of incomplete work across multiple clinics. Assignment. The Lead MSA is responsible for the coordination of Advanced MSA assignments and workflow found in an interdisciplinary unit. The Lead MSA 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 Lead assists the unit with complex and non-standard procedures, including clinical flow processes related to access to care across multiple clinics, specialties, and/or community resources. Assignments at this level include, but are not limited to: ensuring accurate and timely scheduling of appointments; providing guidance to staff members, to include changes in policies and procedures; creating and maintaining employee work schedules; and acting as a liaison among Advanced MSA staff, patients, and other interdisciplinary staff to resolve day-to-day conflicts. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. Physical Requirements: Moderate lifting, 15-44 pounds; Light carrying, under 15 pounds; Reaching above shoulder; Use of fingers; walking up to 1 hour; Hearing (aid permitted). 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information 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.
