Summary The VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System is recruiting for a Lead Telephone Operator. The Lead Telephone Operator will function in Patient Care Administrative Service. Responsibilities Duties of the Lead Telephone Operator include but are not limited to: Assists the telephone supervisor with all telephone operators as well as oversees all telephone operation functions. Works directly with the telephone operator supervisor and telephone operators. Provides medical staff and administrative support regarding procedures, policies, and directives. Assists management of all telephone operator administrative functions. Collaborates with the Health Care Technology Service (HCTS) Chief. Works as front-line supervision regarding the work of the office Maintains administrative and telephone care deadlines. Corrects errors or problems ensuring adherence to quality standards. Participates in management discussions, decisions and policies regarding telephone operations for the medical center. Analyzes telecommunication developing, analyzing, reporting, evaluating and advising on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of work methods, procedures, organization and manpower utilization. Coordinates telecommunications activities with medical center management and other supervisory personnel. Generates telephone operational reports. Updates on-call and valid contact information. Coordinates communication bulletins, updates and emergency communications. Responsible to receive directory service updates along with on-call input from administrative clinical staffs. Provides constructive and pertinent input into medical center or departmental policies, procedures and service standards. Assists in training and instructing employees pertaining to job duties. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 3:30pm - 12:00am Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Lead Telephone Operator/PD30110A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved 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 You may be required to serve a probationary/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 To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/02/2025. 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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. Applicants must be eligible under the VA Interchange Agreement, having served continuously for at least one year in the other merit system under this interchange agreement. For more information regarding the VA Interchange Agreement please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/competitive-hiring/. All Title 38 Veterans Canteen Service (VCS) employees must have served in their Excepted Service position for at least 90 days in order to be eligible for a position within the Competitive Service. Applicants who were previously selected under a Competitive Delegating Examining Office (DEO) announcement must have served in their position for at least 90 days prior to being eligible for other positions within the Competitive Service. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Answering calls from both internal and external customers; assisting in times of emergency medical responses, general information, medical center customer assistance, as well as processing and transferring international calls. Following policies and procedures, referring all questions utilizing the telephone directory system; knowledge of the NEC phone system and equipment, responding to all telephone requests, proficient knowledge in UA5200 System, Vista, Outlook, Microsoft Lync and the Global Address System. Knowledge of the telephone system and skill in the procedures necessary to connect a number of individual parties, providing general and public information while protecting patient privacy and following medical information regulations. Ensuring all calls related to pertinent and sanctioned information is provided in a timely and efficient manner. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4 years of education above the high school level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college of university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond to meet the total requirement. Combination of successfully completed post high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. Note: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. For example, the position to be filled is a Telephone Operator GS-5, An applicant has 9 months of specialized experience and 75 semester hours of college (15 semester hours beyond the second year and the equivalent of 3 months of specialized experience). The applicant meets 75 percent of the required experience and 25 percent of the required education. The applicant meets 100 percent of the requirement for 1 year of specialized experience and is qualified for the position. (Transcripts must be submitted) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communication Conflict Management Customer Service Developing Others Organizational Awareness Leadership 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; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. Physical Requirements: Most of the work is performed in an office setting. These job functions do not require unusual physical effort. 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 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 "VA Healthcare System Serving Ohio, Indiana and Michigan (VISN 10) advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the @context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being." The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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 http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. 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.
