Summary The Primary purpose of this position is to improve the veteran and non-VA care provider experience with Community Care. This position is located within the Community Care and provides administrative and technical support within the Community Care Program at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. Responsibilities Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Monitors all aspects of the section's operating programs and makes recommendations to improve or modify methods for disseminating information to intended audiences. Researches and responds to all Community Care related correspondence including but not limited to Congressional inquiries, vendor, and veteran billing issues and complaints. Serves as a liaison between the section and numerous internal and external customers including Veterans, patient family members, other medical center departments, trainees, researchers, other VA Medical Centers, and other healthcare facilities. Provides information and assistance for routine contacts and inquiries. Monitors patient access performance metrics and works with Care Coordination team to ensure timely scheduling of community care referrals. Oversees completion of patient care encounters, clinical reports, progress notes, and other patient care documentation according to prescribed timeframes. Receives visitors and telephone calls to the work area regarding Community Care needs, patient appointments, and preparation instructions for procedures. Distributes information, solves problems personally whenever possible, refers other contacts to appropriate personnel, and monitors all subsequent contacts for appropriate and timely action. Monitors the management of records in the service by organization and distributing workload data to staff asking for follow up with all team members to ensure content, practice and knowledge of process, records, and directives. Performs work of a general, office support nature which encompasses a variety of different duties and responsibilities and performs administrative and/or clerical procedures to support a variety of office functions. Reviews medical records and generates authorizations for Clinics of Jurisdiction for Fee/Non-VA Care/Care in the Community (CITC) for the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC), and for making eligibility determinations for the various programs in Fee/Non-Care/CITC services in the Fee Basis Claims System and Vista Appointment Management System. Collects, compiles, and tracks data and information in support of the sections' operations. Completes and enters pertinent information into various tracking systems (e.g. CPRS, HSRM, VistA Imaging, DRM, etc.). Receives and processes data and information in accordance with established forms and procedures. Performs basic analysis of the data and generates a variety of reports. Meet with personnel to collect information on the quantity, kind, and level of positions in the units. Serves as the administrative patient liaison for these sections. Serves as the primary point of contact for administrative consult management. Handles patient complaints and problem solves to resolve issues promptly at lowest level necessary. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday (8:00am - 4:30pm) (subject to change based on the needs of the facility). Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Health Technician - Community Care Technical Representative/PD03930-A 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 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 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 or 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, 03/18/2026. 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. 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. Individual Occupational Requirement: Positions in this series range widely in @type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, technician experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled. In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirement, you must meet the following to qualify at the GS-06 level: 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: experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: experience in using spreadsheets and databases to keep up with work assignments; Participated in quality management activities such as checking others work and conducting training activities; able to communicate with both internal and external customers; subject matter expert for community care; experience in customer service, scheduling patients, and processing authorizations. This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Computer Skills Communications Patient Care 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 generally sedentary although there may be some walking, bending, or standing for short periods of time or carrying light items such as files, papers, books, audiovisual equipment, robes, linen, etc. The work may require heavy lifting of equipment or patients. The work requires no special physical demands. It may involve some walking, standing, bending, or carrying of light items. 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 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. 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. 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.
