Summary This position is located in the Chaplain Service of the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville, NC. The incumbent will assist the Chaplain by performing a variety of administrative and secretarial duties. Responsibilities The incumbent assists the Chaplain Service to include the Clinical Pastorial Educational Program and Veteran Facing functions in day-to-day activities, including but not limited to the following: The incumbent is regularly involved in high level contact with visitors and callers from many organizations, including members of Veterans service organizations and members of the clergy across a broad spectrum of community congregations. Sensitivity is inherent in this position, in that the incumbent is the first contact for patients, family members and visitors who may be in great spiritual and/or emotional pain and distress. The incumbent receives and refers individuals to the chaplains. Performs all timekeeping duties for the Chaplain Service and other calendar maintenance functions to include the on-call schedule. Produces a wide range of documents using a variety of office automation technologies for the Chaplain Service. Provides administrative service that includes review of correspondence, tracking reports, receiving and filing important documents, mail management, and managing supplies to include ordering and inventorying Chaplain Service literature and associated items. Prepares invitations and programs for Chaplain Service programs and assists with preparations and administration of Chaplain Service events and services. Assists staff with scheduling calls/video/teleconferences/conference calls for meetings and training events. Responsible for scheduling Veteran appointments and maintaining provider grids and associated reports to include open encounters, consult management, unsigned notes etc. Responsible for assisting with facility, VISN, and national level reports, pulling data from a variety of systems to maintain compliance with a variety of requirements to include clinic utilization. Responsible for collecting, compiling, researching and or tracking data and assisting Service Chief and CPE Educator with analysis of trends and planning for Chaplain Service functions. Serves as administrative support for the Clinical Pastoral Education Program, providing all support to the service chief, clinical educator, chaplain students, credentialing body, and academic affiliation section. This may include Contracting Officer Representative (COR) duties for Chaplain Service. Serves as records liaison for Chaplain Service maintaining files and records such as policy correspondence files, policy manuals, stations memorandum etc. Serves as the Automated Data Processing Applications Coordinator (ADPAC) for Chaplain Service and is responsible for all computer support for the services. Serves as the Human Resources liaison for the service assisting with recruitment requests and associated documents. Serves as the service level patient advocate and point of contact for secure messaging. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant (OA)/04148A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required 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. 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). Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial 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, 03/03/2026. 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: Clerical skills (typing, entering data, maintaining records , etc.), effectively communicate information to multiple audiences through clear oral and written communications, computer skills, and the ability to manage and organize information. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Attention to Detail Clerical Communications Computer Skills Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Manages and Organizes Information Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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 is basically sedentary, but a considerable amount of walking to all parts of the medical center is required since the incumbent will be working with a variety of clinical and administrative services. In addition to walking, there may be some standing, bending, carrying oflight items such as papers, books, and small parts; or driving an automobile. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. 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.
