Secretary (OA)

Full Job Description

The employee is a secretary performing a variety of clerical and administrative duties which are auxiliary to the work of the organization.

The position provides assistance to the Chief of Staff and other administrative, technical, and clinical staff.

The incumbent is the primary office support staff member for the Office of the Chief of Staff and operates independently of any other such position in the office and/or as a team with the other secretarial support staff, as necessary.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/23/2026.

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-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.

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-07 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 as administrative support to a service; greeting and interacting with a variety of individuals from high-ranking executives to lower level employees; experience using multiple computer programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook; experience in scheduling administrative appointments and managing an electronic calendar; answering incoming telephone inquiries and correspondence; composing, proofreading, and editing correspondence, memorandums, policies, etc.; ensuring all correspondence, memorandums, policies, etc.

contain correct format, grammar, spelling, and punctuation; scheduling appointments and conferences; interpreting rules, regulations, and policies; and working under stress and be able to multitask.

Organizing and prioritizing work to meet supervisor's deadlines; experience in managing an electronic calendar to include scheduling appointments, organizing meetings, recording and creating meeting minutes; managing communication channels to include answering phone calls, drafting/updating memorandums, official correspondence, and form letters, appropriately filing and tracking correspondence; distributing mail, and have experience utilizing computer systems to perform job related duties including use of Microsoft office, spreadsheets and databases; and working under stress and be able to multitask; ability to determine workload priorities with minimal supervision or direction.

Proficiency Requirement: In addition to meeting the above Time-In-Grade and Specialized Experience requirements, applicants for this position must show possession of the following skill, as appropriate.

Applicants may meet this requirement 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.

Performance test results and certificates of proficiency are acceptable for 3 years.

Agencies may verify proficiency skills of self-certified applicants by administering the appropriate performance test.

40 words per minute typing speed You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Computer Skills Critical Thinking Written Communication 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 in nature. It occasionally requires carrying light objectives such as files, books, and papers.

Manual dexterity is required in operation of a calculator and/or other office machines.

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: Receives incoming telephone calls and visitors to the Office of the Chief of Staff and performs informal complaint resolution/referral, as necessary.

Screens all correspondence prepared by administrative services for the Chief of Staff's signature for clarity, completeness of reply, and grammatical and procedural correctness.

Returns inadequate submissions for retyping or recomposition. Reads incoming Chief of Staff mail, to include publications, regulations, and directives, and determines necessary action.

Incumbent is responsible for presenting a daily review of all incoming mail and Chief of Staff e-mail for the Office of the Chief of Staff Schedules appointments and makes arrangements for time, participants, and location of meetings in accordance with instructions from the supervisor.

Incumbent is also responsible for drafting the agenda for the Deans Committee, using own knowledge of current issues, as well as pending issues for joint discussions.

Sets up and maintains files and records for the Office of the Chief of Staff. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD414200 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized