Summary The incumbent is assigned as a Transportation Assistant, Veterans Transportation Service at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS), and is responsible for independently managing the Beneficiary Travel Program. Incumbent authorizes transportation at government expense to beneficiaries traveling to and from VA and private sector facilities for the purpose of examination, treatment, or care. Responsibilities Ability to interpret and apply guidelines set forth in local policies and directives. Knowledge of medical terminology in order to review medical records and provide appropriate information and/or supplies with patients. The incumbent is expected to independently interpret and apply guidelines to determine eligibility for beneficiary travel and consults w/ the supervisory admin asst. Knowledge of beneficiary travel reimbursements. This includes funds for mileage payments, ambulance, wheelchair cab, and taxi for authorized and unauthorized claims. Knowledge of accounting principles in order to track and trend expenditures, reconcile control points, and produce data driven reports. Customer Service and direct patient interactions through telephone, email, or fax from patients, their families, or private sector medical facilities. Arranges all modes of transportation via air ambulance, commercial, taxi, ambulance, bus and/or independent transports. Makes special arrangements per physician documentation according to traveler's medical condition and/or preference. Responsible for completion and administrative control of various documents and vouchers utilized in expenditure of government funds and must maintain statistical data for planning, tracking, and budget purposes Knowledge of internal organization and content of CPRS and VistA to retrieve information necessary to determine patient's medical and legal eligibility for travel. Knowledge of the review process to make determination on ambulance bills and if request for payment in legitimate. Ability to extract information and mileage from Internet or road atlas to determine appropriate reimbursement of beneficiary travel. Knowledge of accounting principles in order to track and trend expenditures, validate annual funding requests, maintain sufficient funding for projected expenditures, reconcile control points and purchase orders and produce data driven reports. Knowledge and organization skills to organize and maintain documentation and records supporting beneficiary travel and reimbursements and vendor payments. Knowledge of Microsoft Office Applications (Word, Excel, PPT) Knowledge of operating a telephone for support of Call Center, dispatching information to vendors for travel support. Incumbent will utilize LEAF to identify appropriate routes for coordinating Veteran pick-up and drop-for scheduled appointments. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am-4:00pm, 8:00am-4:30pm, or 10:00am-6:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: 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 To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. 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) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/02/2026. 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 two lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Operating computer automation programs and internet/intranet resources, such as MS Office products, Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistaA) email, Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) and MapQuest, to access information for services offered to determine mileage for calculating mileage between patient residence and nearest medical facility; AND Composing correspondence using proper English grammar, spelling and punctuation to send to stakeholders. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4 years above High School. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 4 years above High School. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) 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. 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: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application. 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 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. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and 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 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/.
