Summary
Position is located within the Office of the Deputy Director of the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS) located in both Montgomery and Tuskegee, AL and serves as the clerical assistant and advisor to the Deputy Director. Candidate will be required to assist other Executive Secretaries and Administrative staff by carrying out and coordinating all the clerical and day-to-day administrative support activities which are typically required to accomplish the work of the organization.
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Duties
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This position ensures that the different and varied administrative support functions for which he/she is responsible for are handled in a manner to enhance the efficiency of the Office of the Deputy Director as a whole for a multi-facility healthcare system The Office of the Deputy Director has oversight of Engineering/Facilities Management, Healthcare Technology Management, Finance, Supply Chain Management, Environmental Management, Facility Planning and Employee Engagement and serves as an executive liaison for local and VISN HR, OIT and Information Security.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Determines nature of call or business of visitors, if business requires the attention of technical or staff specialists, decides whether the importance of business such as to require personal attention of superiors or if the visitor should be referred to the appropriate organizational component concerned with specific subject.
- Responds to inquiries and administrative problems brought to the Deputy Director's Office by Direct Reports, Services, and other internal and external stakeholders.
- Screens all calls and visitors, answering most questions and completing most business involving established policy or routine matters without referring people to the Deputy Director.
- Screens all publications, directives, and periodicals, and brings those of significance to the Deputy Director's attention.
- Maintains the manager's daily calendar, making appointments and arranging conferences and meetings without specific prior approval, based on a knowledge of the manager's schedule.
- Schedule appointments, audio and video conferences, and meetings
- Confirms conference rooms, coordinate attendance, reserves equipment, prepares, and distributes agendas and minutes
- Coordinate training and travel for the Deputy Director
- Prepares training request and documents attendance.
- Performs typing on a computer keyboard wherein the work requires competitive level proficiency in typing as well as knowledge of office hardware and software systems.
- Receive, review, and distributes all of the Deputy Director surface mail, inter-office mail, electronic mail and facsimile mail, delegating responsibility for replies as appropriate.
- Monitors, recommends, and implements changes in correspondence processes affecting work in the Office of the Deputy Director. Guide others in the preparation of correspondence and informs them of procedural changes.
- Advises the Deputy Director of significant items of interest in correspondence, files, and reports
- Responds to correspondence not requiring the Deputy Director's personal attention.
- Uses varied functions of several types such as word processing; data base management, electronic mail, as well as graphics, spreadsheet, and database management software.
- Prepares letters, memoranda, messages, agendas, and minutes either self-composed, from handwritten notes, dictation or recorded media with responsibility for content format, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
- Utilizes a variety of office automation systems and various software packages to accomplish work.
- Assignments include text editing; file creation, maintenance, and retrieval; use of message, calendar, and suspense systems; and use of other specialized tools in support of specific functions.
- Utilizes knowledge of software utilities and function commands to manipulate text to accomplish formats, revisions, deletions, and additions.
- Prepares a variety of narrative and statistical material, correspondence, reports, etc.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Subject to change based on agency needs.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)
/PD09306A
Travel: You may be expected to travel for this position. This is a dual campus facility. Weekly travel is required between CAVHCS campuses located in Montgomery and Tuskegee, Alabama. Occasional travel to CAVHCS Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Alabama and Georgia will be required.
Requirements
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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, 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 and/or education as described below:
GS-08 Specialized Experience:
- Specialized experience includes but not limited to: Proofreading all incoming and outgoing correspondence to ensure grammar and punctuation are accurate; editing letters and reports for accuracy and completeness, monitoring and tracking actions to ensure timely submission; independently developing and presenting information, scheduling conferences and meetings and shifting schedules as needed, providing accurate advice on procedures, and reports; preparing travel arrangements; maintaining confidentiality on all sensitive items and prioritizing actions.
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.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
- Accountability
- Attention to Detail
- Customer Service
- Decision Making
- Flexibility
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Learning
- Reading Comprehension
- Reasoning
- Self-Management
- Stress Tolerance
- Teamwork
Proficiency Requirements:
In addition to meeting experience or education requirements, applicants for these positions must show possession of the following skills, as appropriate. Applicants may meet these requirements by passing the appropriate performance test, presenting a certificate of proficiency from a school or other organization authorized to issue such certificates by the Office of Personnel Management local office, or by self-certifying their proficiency. Performance test results and certificates of proficiency are acceptable for 3 years. Agencies may verify proficiency skills of self-certified applicants by administering the appropriate performance test.
- Clerk-Typist, GS-2/4; Office Automation Clerk/ Assistant (any grade); (Typing) (any grade); and (Office Automation) (any grade): 40 words per minute typing speed
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.
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
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.
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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Benefits
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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
