Program Support Assistant - Compensation and Pension

Full Job Description

The position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Charles George VA Medical Center, Asheville, NC (CGVAMC) in the Compensation and Pension Service.

This position performs a wide variety of administrative and support tasks associated with maintaining the work of Compensation and Pension Service.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/09/2026.

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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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: 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: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled.

To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level.

Applicants who have the 1 year of appropriate specialized experience, as indicated in the table, are not required by this standard to have general experience, education above the high school level, or any additional specialized experience to meet the minimum qualification requirements.

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:

Work Schedule: 07:30 AM - 4:30 PM Monday-Friday Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized. Telework: This position may be authorized for telework.

Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.

Duties: The purpose of the work is to identify and procure data that allows Compensation and Pension leadership to assess the productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency of Compensation and Pension Service operations and to analyze and resolve problems in utilization, effectiveness and efficiency of the outpatient clinics, patient flow, and other vital areas of Compensation and Pension Service.

Provides data and makes recommendations to resolve conventional problems and situations in workflow, work distribution, clinic efficiency, patient flow, Performance Measures, and other areas of concern.

Identifies and procures data to support higher level information systems which reflect clinical practice and provider practice patterns; training and retraining Primary Care staff.

Provides direct program assistance to the Chief of Compensation and Pension. Compensation and Pension Service consists of Medical, Mental Health, and Audiology providers.

Responsible for development, organization, management and application of information systems pertaining to the operations of both C&P and Environmental Health (Special Registry) clinics.

Ensures collection of data for the clinical and administrative activities of Compensation and Pension Service.

Serves as the Environmental Health Coordinator (EHC) for the administrative aspects of the VA Registry Programs/Environmental Health Program (EH).

The administrative aspects of EHC includes but is not limited to: being the point of contact for veterans interested in Registry evaluations, disseminating educational information regarding Registry issues, evaluating if a veteran meets administrative criteria for inclusion in a Registry, educating and assisting veterans on the EH and Registry evaluation process, proper scheduling and coordination of Registry exams (to include the preparation and mailing of appointment letters), completing Registry Worksheets, updating applicable electronic records, tracking and sending follow-up letters, ensuring entry of the worksheet data to VA Web portal for Environmental Agent Service (EAS) Registry and proper disposition of examination records.

Ensures that timely follow up and scheduling as indicated is carried out, and that scheduling guidelines are met.

Given the nature of environmental registry exams being one of flux, it is essential that the incumbent continually review SOPs/guidance from Post Deployment Health Services (PDHS) to ensure clinic practices meet expectations.

Clerical duties include: answering telephone calls, contacting veterans via telephone to schedule C&P evaluation appointments, making changes to scheduled appointments as needed, preparing reminder letters for scheduled C&P for mailing, preparing notification letters of scheduled C&P appointments for mailing to veterans without accurate telephone contact information, tracking notification letters, inputting veteran check-in/check-out in C&P department, arranging volunteer transport within the Medical Center as needed, assisting providers in securing ancillary testing for veterans within and outside of the VA system as required, sending and receiving fax transmissions, and mailing test results to veterans as needed at the direction of providers.

Provides data to the Service Chief to support statistical analyses of current clinical operations and clinic practice patterns.

The data supports the ongoing efforts of the service Chief to proactively identify opportunities to maximize clinic efficiency.

Assures front line contact with patients and staff by setting the tone for perception concerning quality of C&P services at the VA.

A caring, compassionate and sensitive manner is essential when explaining VA disability claims procedures and determinations to veterans and their family members both in person and on the phone.

Must screen/receive phone calls in a courteous and timely manner, determine the nature of requests and provide the information desired using privacy rules and established clinic processes.