Secretary (OA) (Surgical Service)

Full Job Description

The incumbent serves as the Secretary for the Surgical Service of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System.

Incumbent directly reports to the Service Chief for Surgical Service or designee as necessary. Position requires close collaboration with the Chief and Administrative Officer (AO) of Surgical Service.

Additional contact will be with Chief of Staff and Director's Office as necessary. The incumbent provides administrative clerical support to the Chief of Surgical Service and the AO.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/20/2026.

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 by the closing date of this announcement.

For a GS-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of and organizational skills to accomplish tasks ad manage multiple assignments; Skill and ability to work under stressful situations; Ability to prioritize tasks to be completed; Skill in written and oral communication; Knowledgeable of complex medical and scientific terminology; and Knowledge and understanding of personal computer software programs, specifically Microsoft Office..

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 may include but are not limited to: Ensures timely completion of reports and action documents concerning clerical issues of the service as assigned by the AO or Service Chief; Assists the AO to enforce suspense dates for work distributed to the Surgical Section Secretaries; Provides written and verbal instructions to the Section Secretaries, helping them to adhere to applicable VA policies, regulations and formats; Coordinates meetings, travel arrangements, and appointments for the Service Chief and AO, and employees whose supervisors are either the Service Chief or the AO; Maintains the files for the Surgical Service office, including reports, on-call rosters, administrative and professional publications, correspondence, 6-Part personnel folders and other files; Serves as the timekeeper for the Surgical Service administrative staff and serves in the absence of assigned timekeepers in the Surgical Sections.

Ensures timecards are accurately recorded before submitting for approval by the AO or Service Chief; Monitors correspondence sent by the AO for surgeons' input and ensures that correspondence is in proper format.

Keeps logs of controlled correspondence as instructed by the AO and Service Chief; Receives and screens incoming phone calls and refers calls to the appropriate staff.

Obtains background information on incoming calls and correspondence, assembles and summarizes information relaying it to the Service Chief or his subordinates for action; Proofreads all documents prepared for Chief, Surgical Service's signature.

Finalizes outgoing correspondence, special reports, etc. for format, grammar, clarity and conformation to agency style and policy.

Identifies errors in format of correspondence and forwards to appropriate staff for correction; Plans, reserves room, and prepares and coordinates information for the Operative and Invasive Procedures Committee, the Operating Room Committee, Surgery Chief's Meeting, Surgery Facility Workgroup meeting, Surgery Safety Subcommittee meeting, and the Surgery Administrative Staff Meeting.

Takes, transcribes, and distributes the minutes to committee and meeting members; Maintains appointment calendar and scheduling of personal appointments for the Service Chief and the AO.

Arranges and coordinates meeting, conferences, seminars and lectures for the Service Chief and the AO.

Schedules and monitors the Surgical Conference Room; As the TMS Administrator, serves as the Service-level liaison to Education Service for training issues; Serves as the primary Alternate Preparer for travel for the Service; Serves as the Record Liaison office for the control of files and records for Surgical Service; Manages On-going Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE), Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE), Clinical Pertinence, and Peer Review programs for Surgical Service by keeping data up to date and ensuring reviews are completed timely by appropriate clinical staff; Serves as PIV Sponsor for Service.

Assists staff, contractors, volunteers, and WOCs will obtaining fingerprints and badges; The incumbent works collaboratively with other Surgical Service Section Secretaries and provides administrative coverage to other Surgical Sections during times of absence by secretarial staff.

Provides handoff of assignments to section secretaries prior to planned absence from work. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:00am-3:30pm Telework: Available Ad-hoc.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA) (Surgical Service)/PD0256-O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized