Summary This position, located at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System, serves as a Transportation Assistant responsible for the overall planning, coordination, implementation, management, and evaluation of clinical applications of patient transportation. Responsibilities Major duties of this position include but are not limited to: Collaborates in a team-oriented, custom-driven professional environment to develop new models of care that emphasize prevention and improve access and coordination of care Reviews and processes beneficiary travel claims for the purpose of reimbursing Veterans for travel to and from VA medical appointments Prepares data processing report for daily batch review Compiles and submits daily clerk report summarizing all vouchers processed, phone calls, and customer service interactions Maintains timekeeping accountability and accuracy within the VATAS program Schedules and reserves tickets for eligible patients requiring airline transportation Coordinates daily for Special Mode Transportation with vendors Evaluates all aspects of fraud research and prevention in accordance with VA policy Demonstrates customer care in accordance with VA policy Communicates with others in a team environment to accomplish goals Obtains, clarifies and provides facts or information to individuals Gathers information and analyzes problems while proposing solutions Manages priorities and responds to demands from several competing sources Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant/PD11139A 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. 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. Driving may be 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, 03/11/2026. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 level. 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-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: knowledge and application of an extensive body of transportation regulations, methods and practices to perform a wide variety of interrelated or non-standard transportation support assignments and resolve a wide variety of problems; knowledge of travel rules and regulations regarding legal entitlements to travel reimbursement; knowledge on how to extract information and mileage from a road atlas and city street maps; ability to interpret contracts for transportation services; knowledge of how to organize and maintain documentation and records supporting beneficiary travel reimbursements and vendor payments; ability to conduct fraud research and prevention; ability to handle all situations with the upmost professionalism with regard to customer service and patient care; knowledge of validation, control and maintaining accounting records for many travel accounts and make frequent dollar amount adjustments for those accounts; ensures compliance with procedures for obligating travel funds; knowledge of the review process to make determination legitimacy of ambulance bill payment; skilled at office automation abilities, to include knowledge of email system, MS Office, spreadsheets and other office equipment; prepares correspondence to Veterans concerning eligibility and advises ineligible Veterans who do not meet criteria for transportation reimbursement; ability to ascertain number of dependents, income levels and other information to substantiate a Veteran's ability to pay; knowledge of beneficiary travel reimbursements, including mileage payments, airline tickets, ambulance, gurney and wheelchair vans, and taxis for authorized and unauthorized claims, providing periodic fund control reports to the Business Office, and knowledge of the review process for special transportation to Veterans requiring unusual accommodations, which includes air ambulance as applicable and assuring that we use the most cost efficient manner. Preferred Experience: Experience in data processing and automation; knowledge and application of validation, control and maintaining accounting records; experience in travel reimbursements; knowledge in special mode transportation to include vehicles, ambulance, and airlines; experience in computer knowledge (MS Office). 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. 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/.
