Admin Support Assistant

Full Job Description

The incumbent functions as an executive administrative assistant and provides administrative and support to the leadership team at the VA Western NY HCS.

Assistance will mainly support the Chief of Staff and the Associate Director of Patient Care Center.

The positions will be seated within the Buffalo VA Medical Center, with the possibility of occasional travel to the Batavia, NY Facility as needed.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/18/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement (TIG): 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service.

NOTE: Time in Grade requirements apply to applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade at any time in the past 52 weeks, as well as former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, and current employees applying for a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You must submit the following documentation demonstrating eligibility: Official Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting your current position or most recently held position, tenure, type of position occupied (i.e., Excepted or Competitive), grade level and duty location.

(Text version SF-50s or Request for Personnel Action SF-52s are not acceptable.) For current Federal employees, the SF-50 must be effective the first pay period of the current year or later.

Applicants who must meet TIG must also submit the following in addition to their most recent SF-50: Official SF-50 that shows you hold the grade for the position you are applying for (or a higher grade), or Official SF-50s that show you held the next lower grade for at least one year for the position you are applying for.

(Multiple SF-50s may need to be submitted to show this.) Examples of appropriate SF-50s to include in addition to your most recent SF-50 to meet TIG requirements include: Within grade increases (WGI) at the highest grade held; or Promotions with an effective date that occurred more than one year from the closing date of the JOA; or SF-50s at the highest grade held with an effective date that occurred more than 1 year from the closing date of the JOA.

NOTE: Do not submit Award SF-50s, as they do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.

Failure to submit any of the above required documents applicable to your submission may result in loss of consideration and a rating of ineligible due to an incomplete application package.

It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that their application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date.

We will not contact applicants for additional documentation, nor will we accept late or missing documents after the close of the announcement.

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-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: A basic foundation of administrative concepts, principles, and practices, and Department of Veterans Affairs regulations and directives sufficient to perform independently such duties as coordinating changes in administrative policies, devise and install procedures and office practices affecting the Pentad Official's subordinate organizations and foresee administrative problems and requirements and initiate action to ensure there is no adverse impact on the organization.

A current working knowledge of Department of Veterans Affairs policy and procedures enabling the incumbent to respond to inquiries regarding policy and procedures in an accurate and timely manner.

Knowledge of the substantive programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs as they relate to the local Medical Center and skill in adapting policies or procedures to local situations and establishing practices or procedures to meet local requirements.

Skill in advising and instructing secretaries in subordinate offices and organizations concerning such matters as directives, reports, correspondence and telephone procedures.

Knowledge and understanding of the Pentad 's philosophy, views and functions in order to ensure advice and direction which are consistent with the Pentad 's desires.

Skill in operating a personal computer, software such as Excel, Word, etc., and other office equipment.

Knowledge and understanding of medical terminology and other technical terminology in the fields of fiscal, supply, etc. Knowledge of Electronic Time and Attendance procedures.

Knowledge of grammar, spelling, punctuation and required formats.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Attention to Detail Clerical Communication Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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 places no special physical demands on the employee. The work includes some walking, standing, bending and carrying of light items such as books and papers.

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/.

Major Duties:

Receives calls and visitors to the Director's office, referring to staff members and forwarding to the Pentad calls or visitors requiring his/her attention.

Maintains the Pentad's calendar, scheduling appointments, committing them to attendance at meetings and conferences without prior approval.

Arranges conferences and meetings for the Pentad by selecting time and place, notification of participants and all other related details.

Takes and transcribes minutes of meetings, preparing the agenda, coordinating information and preparing material to be discussed for various committees.

Electronically maintains timecards for the Pentad and his/her subordinate offices and assures the electronic certification of timecards by the Pentad.

Reads and reviews all incoming correspondence to the Director's Office, determining proper action. Prepares routine correspondence for the Pentad.

Reviews outgoing correspondence and reports prepared by administrative and clinical services, ensuring proper format, mathematical correctness, correct grammatical content, ascertaining that all necessary coordination of facts has been completed.

Reads directives and instructional material pertaining to administrative practices and clerical procedures in order to be aware of new, revised or amended procedures for such matters as preparation and processing of correspondence, reports and forms, filing, mailing procedures, etc.

Prepares the Pentad and his/her subordinate staff's correspondence for the signature of the Director and maintains records and files for the Pentad.

Includes assisting with preparation of documents for complex action items, administrative assistance with remediation actions and administrative support on facility improvement projects with limited direction.

Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00am- 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Admin Support Assistant/PD26146A