Secretary (OA)

Full Job Description

This position is in the Executive Office, VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS) and reports directly to the Executive Assistant to the Director.

The incumbent provides daily administrative support to the Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, and to the Associate Director.

During the absence of other Executive Office support staff, the incumbent supports all executives to include the Director, Deputy Director, Chief Nurse Executive, and Deputy Chief Nurse Executive.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet time-in-grade and specialized experience requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 02/12/2026.

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 Requirement: In addition to meeting experience requirements, applicants must be able to type 40 words per minute.

Applicants may meet these requirements by passing the appropriate performance test, presenting a certificate of proficiency from a school or other organization authorized to issue such certificates by the Office of Personnel Management local office, or by self-certifying their proficiency.

You may qualify based on your specialized experience as described below: Minimum Qualifications, GS-7: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Qualifying examples of specialized experience is providing administrative support in an office setting and would typically include but are not limited to: attending meetings, preparing meeting minutes, and independently following up on action items with appropriate staff members; developing plans or scheduling using standard references and existing information; assisting and updating office documents, standard operating procedures and related materials; and scheduling appointments, coordinating meetings, and/or scheduling conferences.

Minimum Qualifications, GS-8: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Qualifying examples of specialized experience is providing administrative support to a management/executives in an office setting and would typically include but are not limited to: attending meetings, preparing meeting minutes, and independently following up on action items with appropriate staff members; developing plans or scheduling using standard references and existing information; assisting and updating office documents, standard operating procedures and related materials; and scheduling appointments, coordinating meetings, and/or scheduling conferences.

Skilled in reviewing correspondence for correctness of style, format, typographical errors, and adherence to procedural instructions Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week.

Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities.

Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to do the work.

However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items like papers or books. No special physical demands are required to perform the work.

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:

The Secretary (OA) supports the Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Chief of Staff and the SBU Associate Director.

The incumbent is responsible for providing complex administrative work, planning, and management essential to ensuring smooth operation of Executive Office and Health Care System activities.

Major duties and responsibilities include but not limited to: 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. 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 (Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, Associate Director and Executive Assistants) calendars/events 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.

Tracks and manages to do items, assists on assigned projects and follows through on ensuring the Executive Staff is fully briefed on all matters.

Welcomes, schedules, refers, and contacts members of the staff, agency, and persons outside the agency ranging from other government agencies to the public.

Serves as a conduit for items that must be discussed with the Executives when they are off station for extended periods.

Processes incoming and outgoing materials such as correspondence, reports, memoranda, and other forms of written communication including the following: edits letters; composes letters and reports; reviews correspondence for accuracy and completeness, providing editorial and grammatical review of important communications.

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 - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm, PST Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD213480 and PD213490 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized