Secretary

Full Job Description

The incumbent will serve as the facility's Executive Secretary and is the primary point of contact for the Director, the incumbent will also provide clerical and administrative support to the Associate Director.

They serve as the Office Manager for the Director's Office which includes all members of senior leadership (i.e., Associate Director, Chief of Staff, Associate Director for Patient Care Services, Director of Quality Management, and the Executive Assistant to the Director).

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

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.

For a GS-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7.The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service.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: (GS-7) 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: Receiving and screening visitors and telephone calls, (i.e.

identity, purpose of call and relative importance in relation to availability of staff members).

Receiving and reviewing incoming correspondence; screening for general information and determining priority or deadline dates.

Responding to routine and nontechnical requests for information such as status of reports, suspense dates, etc.

Reviewing documents for appropriate tone; conformance with regulations, grammar, format, and completeness of information.

Compiling information for and preparing a variety of recurring and one-of-a-kind detailed reports and documents using a variety of computer software.

Providing guidance and assisting personnel concerning procedures and preparation of correspondence.

Specialized Experience: (GS-8) You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Receiving visitors and incoming calls, resolving problems of both general and specific nature and referring matters to appropriate staff.

Responding to requests for information and/or developing one-of-a-kind reports covering organizational or technically-oriented matters when information is available in office records and/or files.

Screening incoming correspondence for matters which can be acted on personally and taking necessary action. Drafting letters of acknowledgement, commendation, and replying to general inquiries.

Reviewing outgoing correspondence for format, policy conformance, and typographical and grammatical accuracy and ensuring all background material is attached.

Composing letters, endorsement, messages, office instructions, and reports. Reviewing correspondence to ensure correct sentence structure, grammar, and spelling.

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 are not limited to: Oversees the daily operation of the Director's Office.

This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring there is appropriate coverage during absences and assuring continuity of the decorum associated with the expected level at the management level.

Determines what needs to be done, develop action plans to achieve positive results, and develop monitors to ensure on-going success.

Synchronizes daily office routine with those of the Pentad (Medical Center Director, Associate Director, Chief of Staff, Associate Director of Patient Care Services, and Assistant Director), ensuring that all appropriate correspondence and communications are shared and concurred upon.

A high degree of importance is placed in the secretarial relationships, coordination, and resolutions necessary to ensure the efficient and smooth operation of these offices.

Stay up-to-date on all VISN and VACO protocol, templates, and reports, and will be responsible for tracking heads-up and issue briefs submitted by the facility.

Serves as the personal administrative assistant to the Director involving a wide range and variety of administrative and secretarial duties.

They relieve the Director of as many routine day-to-day administrative details as possible, maintain a smooth flow of communication in and out of the office, and perform office management duties.

Makes decisions and acts on behalf of the Director in many situations, such as making commitments for events based on the Director's schedule, finding alternative representation for the Director at events when the Director is unable to attend, crafting documents that the Director will review with minimal review, reviewing documents otherwise examined by the director, designs and implements office administrative processes based on the Director's needs.

Serves as the subject matter expert for and provides technical guidance to all service clerical support staff (i.e., secretaries, administrative support assistants, program support assistants, etc.) across the medical center.

Coordinates, prioritizes, and distributes duties to the other secretaries supporting the Director's Office ensuring that the Director, Associate Director, Chief of Staff, Associate Director of Patient Care Services, and their Executive Assistants have sufficient administrative support.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 7:30 am to 4:00 pm or 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met.

Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Position Description/PD#: Secretary/PD040870 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized