Administrative Support Assistant (OA)

Full Job Description

Incumbent provides administrative assistance to the Chief, Environmental Management Section at the El Paso VA Healthcare System and provides administrative assistance to Facilities Support Service.

Environmental Management Section has major operations of Environmental Management, Solid Waste Management and Medical Waste Management.

Facilities Support Service's major sections include Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Maintenance & Operations, Safety and Green Environmental Management Systems.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/27/2026.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-5 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: reviewing outgoing mail/correspondence for signature of officials for proper format, tone, reflection of policy, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, address and grammar; arranging and rescheduling meetings as needed by advising concerned individuals, arranging times and advising supervisor; designing, developing and maintaining various logs and reports as appropriate for tracking pertinent service information and receiving incoming work orders either electronically or by phone and distributing to the appropriate shop.

OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have four years above high school.

This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university.

One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school.

(Transcript 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 beyond the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) to be creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement.

One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience.

(Transcript Required) AND Typing Proficiency: This position requires the skills of a qualified typist.

In addition to meeting the experience and/or education requirements, you must be able to type at least 40 words per minute.

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:

Overall responsibility of ensuring that all administrative requirements of the Office of the Chief are handled correctly and that the clerical work is completed in proper format and on a timely basis.

Includes receiving and reviewing all incoming mail, making proper distribution and calling to the Chief's attention any correspondence that requires immediate action.

Relaying suspense dates and action items to implement the Chief's intentions by explaining reporting requirements to subordinate staff.

Reviewing outgoing mail and correspondence for signature of officials for proper format, tone, reflection of policy, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, address and grammar.

Providing information and expertise needed to all clerical personnel in the service, i.e., format, policy, etc., of all correspondence and written material.

Arranging meetings and when necessary rescheduling meetings by advising concerned individuals, arranging mutually convenient times, and advising the supervisor of pending appointments, meetings and other commitments.

Maintaining a calendar for all daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual meetings as well as reports.

Maintaining a suspense file and completing a weekly status report to ensure that reports and replies are submitted in a timely manner.

Maintaining official copies of the data, back-up material and addresses for such reports.

Submitting requests for travel, making necessary travel arrangements and preparing expense reports upon completion of travel for the service.

Scheduling and attending all staff meetings, making reservations for meeting rooms, notifying participants, preparing agenda and finalizing minutes of meetings for distribution in a timely manner Identifying action items which were noted in the meeting and ensuring their timely submission back to the Chief.

Serving as timekeeper for the section and reviewing for accuracy and higher level approval prior to bi-weekly submission to fiscal service.

Serving as secondary timekeeper for coverage for FSS and Logistics Services. Receiving incoming work orders either electronically or by telephone and distributing them to the appropriate shop.

Reviewing the work order for completeness and contacting the requester if the work order is unclear.

Monitoring work orders on a basis daily to determine work orders that require attention based on priority levels assigned.

Responsible for typing letters of counseling, disciplinary as well as adverse actions for the service.

Maintaining and controlling the filing of such, which is considered confidential, and will require strict control and discretionary handling by the incumbent.

Incumbent will be responsible for other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual/remote position.

Position Description/PD#: Administrative Support Assistant (OA) / PD80101O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized