Summary The VA Caribbean Healthcare System (VACHS) is an extremely complex medical facility, which is constantly evolving within a highly complex and competitive geographic area. This level 1A Healthcare System, which serves Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, consists of a 331 beds actively affiliated general medical, surgical and psychiatric hospital, a 149 beds Nursing Care Home Unit, plus 12 beds Blind Rehabilitation Center. Responsibilities The employee serves as the personal Secretary/Executive at a senior level for the Director. Performs a wide spectrum of secretarial, administrative, and clerical work to relieve the Director of numerous administrative details and ensure efficient office operations. Plans, coordinates, and carries out the full range of secretarial duties for the Director, including all clerical and administrative tasks associated with the role. Manages the flow of correspondence and work documents. Arranges meetings and follows up with all services to ensure required actions are completed. Ensures that policies and procedures used by secretaries in subordinate offices are consistent with those of the Director's Office. On own initiative, recommends changes to administrative policies. Advises on and implements office policies and procedures for use by secretaries in subordinate offices (Clinical and Administrative Services). Supports services under the Director's oversight, including: Quality Management Service Patient Safety Program Compliance and Business Integrity Program Research Compliance Office EEO Office Public Affairs Office Performs research tasks as needed. Engages in special projects as directed by the Director. Plans and oversees the daily workload of all secretarial and clerical staff in the Office to ensure coverage is always available. Ensures due dates for correspondence, action items, and other assignments are met according to established timelines. Work Schedule: Mon - Fri 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD794200 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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 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, 05/08/2026. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-08. 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-08 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: managing high-level customer and public interactions by screening and responding to telephone calls and visitors on behalf of senior leadership; independently resolving inquiries and handling routine administrative matters in accordance with established policies; coordinating and communicating with internal staff, executive offices, federal agencies, congressional staff, and external stakeholders; addressing and resolving sensitive administrative and clinical issues, including complaints from patients and the public; preparing, reviewing, and managing correspondence, reports, and official documents for executive signature, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and compliance with policies; analyzing incoming communications and routing them appropriately with clear instructions; establishing and maintaining tracking systems to monitor correspondence, action items, and deadlines to ensure timely completion; safeguarding confidential and sensitive information in accordance with regulatory requirements; and maintaining logs, records, and control systems for correspondence and projects under executive oversight. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Attention to Detail Clerical Computer Skills Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Organizational Awareness Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Technology Application Writing 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 sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items like papers or books. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. Nevertheless, the position is mentally taxing and psychologically stressful. The flow of information, requests, deadlines and decisions is rapid and unpredictable. The employee has to frequently use his/her best judgment to ascertain the continuity of office operation and the meeting of deadlines and requests. 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 This occupation is being considered for a Veterans Health Administration enterprise-wide Critical Skills Incentive (CSI). Candidates may be eligible for a lump sum CSI. The amount of lump sum CSI is determined based on appointment date and may be pro-rated as determined by the end date of the CSI. Eligible candidates will be required to sign a service agreement agreeing to an obligated service period and failure to complete the obligated service period may result in a debt for the unearned portion of the CSI. This occupation is currently approved for a Veterans Health Administration enterprise-wide Critical Skills Incentive through [insert date]. Candidates may be eligible for a lump sum CSI for a pro-rated amount if onboard prior to the CSI expiration date. Eligible candidates will be required to sign a service agreement agreeing to an obligated service period and failure to complete the obligated service period may result in a debt for the unearned portion of the CSI. 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.
