Transportation Assistant

Full Job Description

The primary purpose of this position is to perform duties as a transportation assistant, the duties of which are to initiate and complete a wide variety of administrative and technical for the beneficiary travel program within the CTVHCS.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/19/2026.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Maintaining manual and electronic accounting records; prepares daily reports; Provides on-the-job training to new employees; utilize a computer data terminal with accuracy i.e.

computers (office PC), software applications, fax machines, scanners, etc.; Plan effectively, set priorities, coordinate activities, and have a high skill in oral and written communications; and Capacity to deal effectively with people at all levels of organization and education..

OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have four (4) years above high school (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED).

OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond four years of high school.

(TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED).

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 incumbent will work within the Beneficiary Travel (BT) Program for the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS) which has an annual budget of over $9 million.

He/she is a TA in BT in Medical Administration Service (MAS).

The BT program provides transportation at Government expense to beneficiaries and their attendants traveling to and from VA facilities and other places for the purpose of examination, treatment, or care.

This employee bears the responsibility for independent performance of all duties inherent in this position.

Obligates funds for travel fund control points, maintaining manual and electronic accounting records, performing regular reconciliation and adjusting account balances; prepares computerized/hard copy travel vouchers for payment to beneficiaries.

Employee prepares daily reports itemizing all control point activities for each day.

Incumbent contacts approval official to authorize obligations and requests for additions, deductions, and/or movement of funds and forwards to a designated Finance Service contact for final action.

Corresponds with their supervisor and/or Finance Service as necessary for clarification of posting to fund control points.

Determines travel eligibility, computes mileage/common carriers, and prepares electronic vouchers in Veterans Health Information Systems & Technology Architecture (VistA) through use of the BT Dashboard.

Incumbent solicits use of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and explains EFT benefits to Veterans to include the following: streamlines the travel claim process, improves CTVHCS' ability to track the status of the travel request, and cuts down on long lines at the Agent Cashier.

When necessary, the TA assists the Veteran with any questions pertaining to the vendorization process and ensures vendorization forms are in final format before submitting to Finance Service for processing.

Incumbent must be able to navigate the Financial Management System (FMS) to determine if a Veteran has or has not been vendorized, which will determine how the Veteran will receive travel reimbursement.

In the event of electronic network failure, the contingency plan must be implemented, which may include using hard-copy forms.

Incumbent looks up Veteran's home address in VistA and calculates the mileage to and from appropriate facility (via BT Dashboard and Internet as outlined in VA regulations).

Incumbent successfully moves back and forth between various computer software programs to accomplish duties in a timely manner.

Receives Veterans making claims for reimbursement at the time of discharge from the medical center, domiciliary, nursing home care unit, or when on an outpatient visit.

This includes claimants not in receipt of benefits who are required to certify annually their inability to defray travel expenses based on a declaration of certification orally and in writing.

Utmost tact and diplomacy must be used to elicit information from the Veteran that is factual and complete.

Closely screens BT requests for determination of eligibility, the nearest VA facility to the Veteran's home address for the type of care received, etc.

Incumbent uses extreme tact and respect in communicating with applicants who are not eligible to receive BT.

Provides Veterans with VA Form 4107, "Your Rights to Appeal Our Decision" when they are denied Beneficiary Travel.

Incumbent is able to explain the process to the Veteran in a way to reduce the need to escalate issues to the employee's supervisor.

Responsible for tracking deductible amounts when applicable and in accordance with established guidelines.

Incumbent is responsible for ensuring that appropriate deductibles are accounted for and applied in accordance with current guidelines.

Incumbent is responsible for reporting to his/her supervisor Veterans they suspect of committing fraudulent claims.

Detects instances of possible fraud by verifying if mode of travel was initiated by VA shuttle service, checking if address of Veteran has been changed multiple times to increase the distance in location, looking for multiple Veterans with the same address, etc.

Maintains appropriate computer records of each travel transaction, both cash reimbursement or special travel, and must be able to provide accurate statistics to supervisory and management personnel upon request.

Compiles and submits monthly and/or quarterly reports, as requested. Work Schedule: Mon-Fri 7:30AM-4:00PM or 8:00AM-4:30PM Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant/PD08040A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized