Summary The Telecommunications Equipment Operator provides comprehensive telephone and telecommunications support to all VISN 12 facilities and customers, and is part of the VISN 12 Centralized Attendant Center located at the William S. Middleton Memorial Hospital in Madison, WI. This is an Open and continuous announcement, applicants will be reviewed and sent to the Hiring Manager as they are submitted until vacancies are filled. Responsibilities Major duties include but are not limited to: Performs telecommunications support assignments, which involves a significant amount of customer service in recognizing and routing patient and other inquiries Provides information of a routine nature and receives and directs callers to the appropriate area Provides general telephone and visitor referral services Operates VISN 12 Centralized Attendant telephone system to receive and connect incoming and outgoing calls utilizing complex computerized equipment and telecommunications software Regularly provides customer service to a variety of difficult calls requiring personal involvement on the part of the employee, such as threatening, abusive, or distraught callers Initiates a trace with local telephone and police authorities on threatening or emergency related calls Answers/places recurring @types of telephone calls such as internal network and routine long-distance calls Furnishes information to customers concerning telephone extensions, organizational functions, and staff information Operates computerized telecommunications systems, and/or performs support and service functions requiring knowledge of telecommunications processing sequences, procedures, user and/or program functions, computer requirements, and/or techniques associated with the maintenance of the system Performs work related to maintaining, listing, and monitoring computer generated telephone files Sets up, operates, and monitors. computer systems and peripheral equipment such as printers, code alarms, and other monitoring equipment as needed Work Schedule: 8:00am to 4:30 PM, rotating weekends and holidays Position Description/PD#: Telecommunications Equipment Operator/PD11166A 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 is sedentary. The employee sits comfortably to do the work.. There is some moving around to adjust equipment; carrying of light items such as papers, books. No special physical demands are required to perform the work 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, 09/30/2026. 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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 and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS- 04 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 activating, monitoring and controlling computer systems comprised of a number of different devices. Working with complex computerized telecommunications/phone systems. Providing high level of customer service and communication to internal and external customers. Experience in a position that required providing information, guidance and resources. Maintaining confidentiality of all personnel and patient information. Working with computers that process data in stored programs. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have have four years of successfully completed education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite is creditable for this position. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described above (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) 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 A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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 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. 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/.
