Secretary (OA)

Full Job Description

This position is in the Executive Office, Veterans Administration Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS).

This position reports directly to the Executive Assistant to the Director and provides daily administrative support to the Deputy Director, Patient Care Services (DDPCS)/Chief Nurse Executive and Deputy Chief Nurse Executive.

This position supports the Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Patient Care Services (PCS) which has 8 Divisions that report to the Chief Nurse Executive.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet time-in-grade, proficiency requirements, and specialized experience within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 04/20/2026.

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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. For a GS-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07.

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.

Proficiency Requirements: Applicants must be able to type 40 words per minute.

Applicants may meet this requirement by passing the appropriate performance test, presenting a certificate or proficiency from a school or other organization, or by self-certifying their proficiency.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below: GS-7 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: Processes incoming and outgoing materials such as correspondence, reports, memoranda, and other forms of written communication; Uses programs such as data management software, SharePoint, MS Teams, excel, Webex; Schedules appointments, coordinates meetings, travel and/or schedules conferences; Acts as a liaison and maintains communications with persons and/or groups , speaking for leadership on administrative issues.

Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, GS level (if a federal position), duties, month & year starting and ending dates AND hours worked per week.

GS-8 Specialized Experience: 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: Processes incoming and outgoing materials such as correspondence, reports, memoranda, and other forms of written communication; Uses programs such as data management software, SharePoint, MS Teams, excel, Webex; Schedules appointments, coordinates meetings, travel, and/or schedules conferences for Executives and other members of the leadership team; Acts as a liaison and maintains communications with persons and/or groups within and outside of the department, speaking for the Executive and leaders on administrative issues; Develops background information and prepares outlines for public speaking engagements, papers, and correspondence/reports; Ensuring reports, correspondence and other matters requiring action or response have systems in place to meet deadlines and have quality results along with the preparing of presentations and other documents as requested.

Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, GS level (if a federal position), duties, month & year starting and ending dates AND hours worked per week.

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:

This position involves a multi-grade career ladder.

The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-08, however a selection can be made at any of the following grade levels: GS-07 OR GS-08.

At the GS-07 grade level, you will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-08.

Major Duties: Works in a highly independent capacity to perform administrative work, which includes management of the Executives' schedules or day-to-day plans.

Identifies schedule/time required, and estimates resources required. Develops plans or schedules using standard references and existing information.

Assists and updates office documents, standard operating procedures and related materials.

Schedules appointments, coordinates meetings, and/or schedules conferences for Executives and other members of the executive team.

Attends meetings, prepares meeting minutes, and independently follows up on action items with appropriate staff members on behalf of the Medical Center Executives.

Researches and provides background on subject matter of meetings without direction.

Manages the Executive Level Staff's (Deputy Director, Patient Care Services, Deputy Chief Nurse Executive, and Executive Assistant) schedules appointments without prior approval, resolves all scheduling conflicts daily by exercising the delegated authority to prioritize and understand what is considered critical vs non-critical and reconciling any conflicts.

For weekly staff meetings incumbents provide an overview of the upcoming two weeks, tracks and manages to do items, assists on assigned projects and follows through on ensuring the Executive Staff is fully briefed on matters to be considered before the meeting starts.

Establishes and maintains files of correspondence and other documents related to investigations, performance appraisals, and other sensitive matters.

Independently searches and provides all appropriate reference material and makes travels arrangements for Executives and other members of the Executives' staff or visitors as needed.

Act as a primary timekeeper for his/her Executive and follows policy for the purchase of supplies for the Executive Office.

Performs a variety of complex administrative work, such as: Develops and implements various tracking systems for suspense items, signature logs, and performance tracking.

Receives approximately more than 30 signature items a day for review and processing. Making the determination of routing to the Executive or their assistant.

Employee Relations / Labor Relations documents and meetings including Step 3 grievances, oral replies, suspension of privileges, etc., and works with Legal Counsel to develop these types of documents.

Coordinates search committees for Division Leaders and Service Chiefs that report directly to an Executive.

Provides administrative support for the Medical Center committees, e.g., Executive Leadership Board, and Organizational Health Council.

Routinely collects, compiles and tracks data on staff performance measures such as meeting attendance, training, and timekeeping, and generates reports.

Daily use of the hospital computer system(s), including commercial software, to prepare reports, correspondence, and other presentations.

Programs include Microsoft Office Suite, SharePoint, Vista, and the computerized patient record system to access pertinent patient information on an as needed basis.

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. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday 7:30am-4:00pm PST Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD21356-0 and PD21351-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized