Program Support Assistant

Full Job Description

This position is located in the Managed Care Division of the Office of Community Care (OCC) at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, IL.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/27/2026. 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 as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: performing clerical duties in support of an office/clinic; providing courteous and efficient customer service by phone and in person; using a computer to perform administrative duties.

This experience must be detailed in your resume to receive credit. Resume must clearly support the duties and experience required for this position. We will not make assumptions regarding experience.

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:

Duties include but may not be limited to: Providing administrative care coordination support to clinicians and other administrative and/other professional staff.

Scheduling and coordinating appointments, prioritizing requested procedures based on urgency. Checking eligibility determination for Non-VA medical care in accordance to the MISSION Act.

Generating authorizations of pre-authorized medical care.

Works closely with Community Care Nurse Coordinators to ensure proper authorizations are issued and appropriate correspondence is sent to vendors.

Acting as a liaison between the Veteran and the vendors with regard to OCC section and VA clinical services and/or primary care services.

Obtaining requested medical records including reports, x-rays, labs, and any pertinent information required to complete consults in Federal Electronic Health Record (FEHR) or applicable software system.

Ensuring all necessary components and documentation are distributed to appropriate services at the private institution where service will be provided.

Updating and verifying demographic information, data entry, administratively managing referral requests, making and notifying the patient of his/her scheduled appointment with the outside provider(s).

Generating correspondence to the Veterans and various providers and managing all received correspondence related to care.

Providing advisory and technical assistance to Veterans and staff in answering questions related to OCC processes. Answering and directing phone calls in a timely and courteous manner.

Performs related duties as required. Work Schedule: Full Time, 7:30am - 4:00pm Compressed/Flexible: Not available Telework: This position may be authorized for telework.

Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD06498A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized