Summary The incumbent is assigned to the Mental Health Service, reporting to the Administrative Officer. This position functions as the Program Support Assistant, which includes, Acute Care, General Outpatient Clinics, Psychosocial Rehabilitation, PRRC, Family Services, Trauma Recovery Center, Suicide Prevention, Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program, Vocational Rehabilitation, Primary Care Mental Health Integration, Substance Use Disorder Program, and the Homeless Programs. Responsibilities Duties include, but are not limited, to: Administration - 70% Collects, compiles and/or tracks statistical information in support of program operations. Tracks achievement on performance measures, goals, and objectives and receives and processes documents and reports in accordance with established procedures; uses software applications to draw information from a wide variety of sources to prepare reports; and assists in the planning, review, and reporting of data/statistical results of program studies. Retrieves a variety of computerized data, establishes protocols for incoming data, organizes and maintains program data. Tracks and trends issues related to program effectiveness and role implementation. Collaborates and communicates with Mental Health Service Management on a variety of issues to include collecting, compiling, and reporting all information for a variety of Mental Health Services Programs. Communicates with a diverse population of customers that include veterans, their families, mental health providers from a variety of disciplines, Primary Care, medical CBOC staff, technical support staff, and Veteran Service Officers. This communication includes directing patients, validation of demographics, etc., all in compliance with the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Privacy Act of 1974 and other laws and federal regulations, other applicable statues, and policies. Provides exceptional customer service by exceeding the customer's expectations. The incumbent will actively listen to customers with respect and concern, paying attention to the details of the customer's needs and help the customer arrive at a satisfactory solution to the problem. The incumbent will be flexible, adaptive, and enthusiastic to exceed the customer's needs. Customers include veterans, their families, mental health providers from a variety of disciplines, Mental Health staff, technical support staff and Veteran's Service Officers. The incumbent serves as a point of contact for the assigned program area. Utilizes statistical data to compile a monthly workload report(s) for all program staff. Assists with keeping supervisor apprised of patient census and any changes/problems that might be encountered. Participates in performance improvement activities related to the program quality improvement process and offers performance improvement advice to program staff. Responsible for providing data/reports related to the administrative, clinical, and technical aspects of the assigned program area. Clerical 30% Serves as office timekeeper for Time & Leave (T&L) assigned to MHS Program areas, ensuring accurate, timely submission of time and staff attendance. The incumbent posts times daily, follows up on T&L exceptions with employees as needed. Orders and inventories program supplies, equipment, and services. Ascertains office needs and coordinates the ordering of office equipment and services through appropriate channels. Assists with documenting, formatting, and routing correspondence to various levels of the organization and community. The incumbent ensures an accurate and professional presentation of all communication in accordance with Medical Center guidance. Promptly answers, screens, and prioritizes telephone calls in a courteous and professional manner, serving as a point of contact for patients, medical center staff and other community agencies, and answers telephone calls to the Mental Health Service in a timely manner. The incumbent demonstrates proper telephone etiquette: answers phones with name, and provides location where call is answered, determines priority of inquiries and either responds to and/or routes calls to appropriate individual(s) for resolution. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD91714A 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 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, 03/26/2026. 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. 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: Performing clerical and administrative support duties within a medical facility; preparing forms and correspondence; planning and coordinating training events and meetings; Collecting and compiling data into report format; utilizing and understanding computer operations and automated systems (such as various Microsoft Office programs) to create spreadsheets, databases, and reports; Multi-tasking and managing assignments effectively, independently with minimal supervision and Utilizing computerized scheduling. 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 primarily sedentary. Typically, the employee sits to do the work. There may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items (such as books, papers), and accessing transportation. The work may require occasional use of Department of Veteran's Affairs approved behavioral management techniques with Veterans who present a danger to self or others. 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 VA Healthcare System Serving Ohio, Indiana and Michigan (VISN 10) advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the @context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being. 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. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (or the Act) prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from requesting applicant criminal history record information before extending a conditional or tentative offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S.C § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201, certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged non-compliance to VA atvacofairchanceact@va.gov. Applicant written complaints should include the following:· Administration name: Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office name, employee name and contact information or contractor who made contact (if known) Date of contact Details regarding the job opportunity announcement applied to, and copies of any documents or other evidence related to the complaint) Visit Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) for more information
