Job Information
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration Lead Program Support Assistant in Wilmington, Delaware
Summary Incumbent functions as the Lead Program Support Assistant assigned to the Associate Director for Operations service line. Provides administrative support to the leadership of specific departments. The incumbent receives assignments from the Executive Assistant to the Associate Director, the services to which assigned, or appropriate designees to ensure that the medical center mission is actualized. Responsibilities The following duties include, but are not limited to: Lead a minimum of three Program Support Assistants working within Patient Care Services in identifying, distributing, and balancing workload and tasks; adjusting, when necessary, in order to accomplish the workload in accordance with established priorities and to ensure timely accomplishment of assigned team tasks. Lead Program Support Assistants to achieve specific tasks, produce work products and services and meet program and production goals. Lead the team through knowledge and application of leadership and team building skills and techniques such as group facilitation, coordination, coaching, problem solving, interpersonal communication, integration of work processes and products, obtaining resources and liaison with the supervisor. Train or arrange for the training of Program Support Assistants in methods and techniques of team building and working in teams to accomplish tasks or projects and provide or arrange for specific administrative or technical training necessary for accomplishment of individual and team tasks. Represent the team in dealings with the supervisor or manager for the purpose of obtaining resources (e.g., computer hardware and software, use of overtime or compensatory time), and securing needed information or decisions from the supervisor on major work problems and issues that arise. Receive and screen all incoming email and telephone correspondence for the assigned services, Veterans and/or family members, contractors, and the public involving technical, complex, and confidential matters. Accurate recording of messages and prompt disposition of inquiries is essential, as well as accurate recordkeeping of incumbent's actions taken regarding inquiries and correspondence. Use independent judgement in determining the nature of the correspondence and assessing those that he/she can handle without prior approval, those to be referred to the staff for appropriate action, and those requiring immediate attention to be directed to the appropriate staff, management, or Director. Maintain the calendar, meeting and conference schedules for the assigned service chiefs and staff, without prior clearance, using initiative to establish priorities. Keep accurate employee time records for all of the staff assigned to the office. Prepares, maintains and submits electronic timecards for designated staff; reminds approving official of deadline to approve timecards. Distributes or mails pay statements, if applicable. Maintains a filing system of correspondence, manuals, regulations and documents, files reports appropriately. Order supplies, maintains fund control data, recommends increases or decreases in funding for the Fund Control Point to leaders. The incumbent is responsible for attending appropriate acquisition training and signing VA Form 0242, Government-wide Purchase Card Certification, to become the contracting officer of record for any purchases made with the card. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Telework: ADHOC only Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Lead Program Support Assistant/PD063420 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/16/2026. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Train or arrange for the training of team members in methods and techniques of team building and working in teams to accomplish tasks or projects and provide or arrange for specific administrative or technical training necessary for accomplishment of individual and team tasks; Verifies accuracy and completeness of employee time records for all of the staff members assigned; Identify, distribute and balance workload and tasks among other Program Support Assistants in accordance with established work flow, skill level and/or occupational specialization; making adjustments to accomplish the workload in accordance with established priorities to ensure timely accomplishment of assigned team tasks; Orders supplies, maintains fund control data, recommends increases or decreases in funding for the Fund Control Point; Sets up and coordinates travel arrangements to include preparation of itinerary hotel reservations, and appropriate authorization and travel vouchers. 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: Work is primarily sedentary in nature and requires occasional walking, standing, bending and carrying of light items such as books, papers, medical records, etc. Occasional commuting between the Medical Center divisions and the local affiliated institution is 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/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.