Summary The Battle Creek VA Medical Center is recruiting for a Transportation Assistant. The Transportation Assistant will function under the Veterans Transportation Service and will report to the VTS Supervisory Mobility Manager. The incumbent will be responsible for transportation workload forecasting, scheduling design, procedure development, and quality improvement implementation, modification of processes, evaluation and ongoing operational flow of the Veteran Transportation Services program. Responsibilities The duties of the position may include but are not limited to: Coordinates patient travel requests, ensuring compliance with VA travel policies, eligibility requirements, and authorizations. Reviews and verifies travel claims, mileage reimbursements, and special transportation arrangements for accuracy and completeness. Schedules and arranges transportation services, including specialized transport, common carrier arrangements, and vendor-provided travel. Researches and interprets VA, federal, and local travel regulations to provide guidance to Veterans, staff, and vendors. Enters, updates, and tracks transportation data in automated systems (e.g., travel modules, reimbursement systems). Communicates with Veterans, caregivers, clinical staff, transportation providers, and administrative personnel to coordinate travel needs and resolve issues. Maintains records, files, and documentation for audits, program reviews, and quality assurance activities. Identifies discrepancies or potential fraud in travel claims and escalates issues according to policy. Provides customer service by explaining travel benefits, entitlements, procedures, and required documentation. Assists in monitoring travel program expenditures and preparing basic reports related to transportation operations Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm, Hours may be changed to meet the needs of the medical center. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant/PD99780S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Approved 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 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 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, 10/23/2026. 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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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 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: Coordinating, scheduling, or arranging transportation services for customers, patients, clients, or passengers (e.g., medical transport, common carriers, vendor-provided transport). Reviewing travel requests, mileage claims, vouchers, or reimbursement documentation for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with governing regulations or policies Applying transportation, travel, or reimbursement guidelines; interpreting applicable regulations, procedural requirements, or eligibility rules to ensure proper processing. Communicating with customers, staff, vendors, and/or other stakeholders to obtain information, resolve issues, clarify requirements, or coordinate transportation arrangements. Using automated systems to input, track, and update travel or transportation data, maintain records, and generate routine reports. Identifying discrepancies, incomplete information, or potential errors in travel/transportation documentation and taking corrective action or escalating as appropriate. Providing customer service by explaining transportation processes, required documentation, benefit entitlements, or program procedures You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Preferred Experience: coordinating transportation in a medical or healthcare setting; managing patent transportation scheduling, workload tracking, and daily operational support; familiarity with VTS procedures, clinical workflows and clinical computing systems; ability to communicate with Veterans, families, clinical staff and external transportation partners; demonstrate tact, diplomacy, and professionalism in resolving transportation concerns, ability to work in high volume, fast paced environments while maintaining accuracy and compliance with privacy and safety standards; ability to manage and coordinate patient transportation activities using clinical scheduling systems and transportation workflow tools; sill communicating with clinical and administrative personnel to resolve scheduling conflicts and ensure efficient patient flow; capacity to interact professionally with Veterans and the public using strong customer service principles; sensitivity to age related and cultural needs of diverse Veteran populations; and skill supporting transportation program operations through workload forecasting, procedure development, and quality improvement. 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: Incumbent will be exposed to stressful working situations that require a professional attitude and collective reasoning. The incumbent is subject to a high volume of work, the need for accuracy, frequency of interruptions and ever-changing demands due to program changes. 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 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.
