Summary This position is located in the Veterans Administration (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), VA Medical Center (MC), Fayetteville, North Carolina, in the Executive Offices, and is a member of the Medical Center Executive Team support administrative staff. The incumbent provides executive level administrative and secretarial services to the supervisor and provides direction to subordinate clerical and administrative staff. Responsibilities Public Contact Work: Receives telephone calls and greets visitors to the office. Uses judgment and initiative to screen or refer as appropriate. Screens callers/visitors by ascertaining name, affiliation, and purpose of call/visit, and based upon subject matter, determines whether matter should be referred to supervisor or other appropriate staff members, or whether information can be supplied personally. Obtains needed background information before referring calls to supervisor, and uses independent judgment in referring, initiating, or disposing of inquiries and requests. Arranges for personal interviews and receives applicants reporting for interviews. Acts as liaison to other managers and staff within the organization and provides accurate advice on procedures, reports, requirements, and other matters necessary to implement the supervisor's policies, directives, and instructions. Informs them of the supervisor's views on current issues and programs. Maintains a master chronological list containing the names and background information of recurrent civilian dignitaries, Federal, state, and county community leaders, and local affiliated organizations' correspondents in the surrounding communities. Information is available to the staff for the planning of special hosted events, activities, and programs at the Medical Center, to prepare guest lists, invitations, and related data for official functions. Clerical Duties: Receives and processes all correspondence and documents transmitted through the Light Electronic Action Framework (Leaf) portal and the Executive office for review, approval, and signature, establishing controls on certain items (to include Medical Advisory Opinions and Board of Veteran Appeal Claims, performance appraisals, and awards). Acts as a backup for EDMS and suspense actions in the absence of the primary administrative support assistant. In the absence of the supervisor, the incumbent assumes responsibility for ensuring requests for action or information from the Executive Office are made known to the responsible personnel to satisfy the request. Monitors resulting activities for the purpose of briefing the supervisor and decides whether matters should be brought to the supervisor's attention. Serves as liaison between the management staff and supervisor by providing accurate, timely information and advice on procedures, reports, requirements, and other matters necessary to implement policies, directives, and instructions for the VAMC. Reviews communications and develops standard paragraph and form letters. Develops internal routing and flow patterns for communications. Establishes Executive Office secretarial policies and procedures and provides guidance for subordinate clerical staff. Maintaining Appointments, Calendars, & Schedules: The incumbent exercises control over supervisor's appointments with complete authority for commitments of time; establishing priorities at own discretion; setting up, rearranging, and when necessary, coordinating meetings with staff offices. Arranges for meeting space, speaker, and support arrangements for large conferences. Makes appointments for the supervisor, cancels, and accepts invitations; checks requirements for engagements, i.e., necessity for speech, etc.: Maintains a calendar of future events for up to the next 12 months, on monthly, bimonthly, and weekly basis; scheduling briefings and updating the calendar for a two-month period. Planned conferences, major inspections, visits by high-ranking officials and other information that may impact on scheduling appointments and activities for the supervisor are added as information is received from various sources. The Executive Office and other management staff coordinate with the incumbent in scheduling conferences involving a large number of staff which may or may not Involve the supervisor to avoid conflict of schedules. Independently determines staff who should attend meetings or represent the organization at conferences. Such decisions are made based on knowledge of the supervisors' views on such issues. Attends meetings, notes commitments made, informs staff of commitments, and arranges for staff to implement commitments during the meetings, All other assigned duties. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 0800 - 1630 Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework. Ad-hoc telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD083570 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. 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 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. 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 identification 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, 07/13/2026. 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-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: providing clerical and administrative assistance to the organization; receives telephone calls and greets visitors within the office setting using independent judgement in referring, initiating, or disposing of inquiries and requests; creates and maintains administrative files and records; preparing official correspondences such as memos, letters, and reports; maintaining supervisors calendar and scheduling meetings, briefs and appointments. 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/.
