Summary Incumbent provides administrative assistance to the Chief, Environmental Management Section at the El Paso VA Healthcare System and provides administrative assistance to Facilities Support Service. Environmental Management Section has major operations of Environmental Management, Solid Waste Management and Medical Waste Management. Facilities Support Service's major sections include Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Maintenance & Operations, Safety and Green Environmental Management Systems. Responsibilities Overall responsibility of ensuring that all administrative requirements of the Office of the Chief are handled correctly and that the clerical work is completed in proper format and on a timely basis. Includes receiving and reviewing all incoming mail, making proper distribution and calling to the Chief's attention any correspondence that requires immediate action. Relaying suspense dates and action items to implement the Chief's intentions by explaining reporting requirements to subordinate staff. Reviewing outgoing mail and correspondence for signature of officials for proper format, tone, reflection of policy, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, address and grammar. Providing information and expertise needed to all clerical personnel in the service, i.e., format, policy, etc., of all correspondence and written material. Arranging meetings and when necessary rescheduling meetings by advising concerned individuals, arranging mutually convenient times, and advising the supervisor of pending appointments, meetings and other commitments. Maintaining a calendar for all daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual meetings as well as reports. Maintaining a suspense file and completing a weekly status report to ensure that reports and replies are submitted in a timely manner. Maintaining official copies of the data, back-up material and addresses for such reports. Submitting requests for travel, making necessary travel arrangements and preparing expense reports upon completion of travel for the service. Scheduling and attending all staff meetings, making reservations for meeting rooms, notifying participants, preparing agenda and finalizing minutes of meetings for distribution in a timely manner Identifying action items which were noted in the meeting and ensuring their timely submission back to the Chief. Serving as timekeeper for the section and reviewing for accuracy and higher level approval prior to bi-weekly submission to fiscal service. Serving as secondary timekeeper for coverage for FSS and Logistics Services. Receiving incoming work orders either electronically or by telephone and distributing them to the appropriate shop. Reviewing the work order for completeness and contacting the requester if the work order is unclear. Monitoring work orders on a basis daily to determine work orders that require attention based on priority levels assigned. Responsible for typing letters of counseling, disciplinary as well as adverse actions for the service. Maintaining and controlling the filing of such, which is considered confidential, and will require strict control and discretionary handling by the incumbent. Incumbent will be responsible for other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual/remote position. Position Description/PD#: Administrative Support Assistant (OA) / PD80101O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: 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. 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 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 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, 02/27/2026. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-5 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: reviewing outgoing mail/correspondence for signature of officials for proper format, tone, reflection of policy, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, address and grammar; arranging and rescheduling meetings as needed by advising concerned individuals, arranging times and advising supervisor; designing, developing and maintaining various logs and reports as appropriate for tracking pertinent service information and receiving incoming work orders either electronically or by phone and distributing to the appropriate shop. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have four years above high school. 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 or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school. (Transcript Required) 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 the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) to be 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. (Transcript Required) AND Typing Proficiency: This position requires the skills of a qualified typist. In addition to meeting the experience and/or education requirements, you must be able to @type at least 40 words per minute. 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. 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/. 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. 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/.
