Transportation Assistant (Beneficiary Travel Assistant)

Full Job Description

This position is within the Health Administration Service at the Truman VA Medical Center in Columbia, MO.

The Transportation Assistant (Beneficiary Travel Assistant) acts as the primary contact to Veterans for transportation needs.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/30/2026.

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-5 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-4. 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 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: applying transportation regulations and practices to perform a wide variety of administrative support; coordinating travel arrangements; maintaining records, utilizing databases, reconciling records and generating reports; investigating/resolving issues and taking corrective actions; and communicating effectively with a wide variety of individuals.

OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience.

To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have (4) years of successfully completed education above high school leading to a bachelor's degree This education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite.

Transcripts Required with application (can be unofficial). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.

A combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement.

One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience.

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 is within the Health Administration Service at the Truman VA Medical Center in Columbia, MO.

The Transportation Assistant (Beneficiary Travel Assistant) duties include but are not limited to: coordinating, arranging, and processing travel request and benefits of transportation appropriate for eligible Veterans.

The duties include but are not limited to: Provide transportation at Government expense to beneficiaries and their attendants traveling to and from VA facilities and other places for the purpose of examination, treatment, and care Determine eligibility for the program and process requests Determine which of several fund control points to utilize, entering authorizations, maintaining manual and electronic accounting records, and adjusting account balances Determine method of payment for authorized and unauthorized ambulance claims submitted for consideration Receive invoices for payment of transportation services, investigate authorizations, orders, and utilize the computerized patient record system to review medical records Explain regulatory guidelines to beneficiaries Act as liaison between vendors and financial management service (FMS) for invoices pending payment Reconcile vouchers and interact with patients in a manner which is appropriate to cognitive, emotional, and chronological maturation needs of the adult and/or geriatric patient Respond to client requests and seeks resolution of family/employee/patient complaints Perform other duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant (Beneficiary Travel Assistant)/PD99910S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized