Summary This position is located in the Veteran Transportation Service (VTS) within the Health Administration Service (HAS) at the VA Medical Center, Tomah WI, a level 3 complexity facility. The Transportation Assistant works with the VTS Supervisory Mobility Manager for transportation workload forecasting, scheduling design, procedure development, and quality improvement implementation, modification of processes, evaluation, and ongoing operational flow of the Veteran Transportation Services program. Responsibilities This position is required to have an overall knowledge of the organization, its mission, goals and impact on patients, personnel, community and the nation. The Transportation Assistant will serve as a primary contact for Veterans, doctors, nurses and administrative staff to arrange travel for eligible Veterans to appointments and residence when appropriate, using laws and regulations to distinguish/ensure reimbursements are legitimate or if fraudulent activity is being conducted by the beneficiary. They must must have some knowledge of clinical services, related software and programs as they relate to computing and office automation. Major Duties: Independently manage the Beneficiary Travel Program. Investigates authorizations and orders utilizing Computerized Patient Record System. Gathers documentation and forward completed actions for supervisory approval and certification for payment. Selects or drafts the appropriate letter explaining the disposition of unauthorized travel claims. Explains regulatory guidelines to beneficiaries for submitting unauthorized ambulance claims to the VA for payment consideration. Arranges transportation to include air ambulance, commercial air, taxi, ambulance, bus and/or independent transport. Corresponds with physician, traveler, and vendor to determine the most economical mode of transportation. Prepares documentation and/or scheduling for traveler according to government rates. Makes special arrangements documentation according to traveler's medical condition and/or preference. Reviews requests for reimbursement of travel costs assuring compliance with regulations and procedures. Reconciles vouchers against authorizations. Determines eligibility for travel reimbursement prior to preparing certification for payment. Prepares travel vouchers for eligible veterans who are receiving travel by cash, check, or electronic payment methods. Determines the most economical mode of travel via common carrier, or on a mileage basis for payment. Contacts the contractor for dispatch of appropriate vehicle when an ambulance or wheel chair care is required to transport a patient for admission. Processes requests for inter-hospital transfers by making transportation arrangements either by common carrier, air ambulance, ambulance or med-car as requested by the provider. Utilizes various software programs in processing internal consultations, to review patient data, and process claims for benefits associated with the program. Creates, copies, edits, stores, retrieves and prints a variety of correspondence and documents. Transmits, receives and acknowledges faxes, electronic mail and messages. Receives and answers routine telephone calls, inquiries or refers to staff member. Establishes helpful relationships with patients and others and interacts in a courteous manner. Provides emotional support, friendly assistance, sympathetic understanding and encouragement to patients and families. Effectively communicates with various individuals, patients, visitors and staff both verbally and in writing. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant/PD23506A 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 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 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, 12/16/2025. 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 6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 5. 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. You may qualify based on your experience as 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: Experience in positions which require knowledge of eligibility and entitlement to medical care or services; knowledge of beneficiary travel regulations; knowledge of electronic medical record software and how to search and navigate records to acquire information; skill in the operation of computers, copiers, scanners, fax, calculator, and software programs such as MS Word, Excel and Office or other compatible software; and skill in oral and written communication and interpersonal relations, to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communication Computer Skills Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Interpersonal Skills 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; religions; 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. 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: The work requires no special physical demands, but will require some physical effort such as standing, walking, bending, or sitting. Work Environment: The employee will be working in various clinical settings throughout the medical center. This is to provide expeditious services to Veterans from the location of their clinic appointments or as determined by the supervisor. 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 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: 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. 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. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The 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 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.
