Program Support Assistant

Duties

This is a bargaining unit position . This position is represented by AFGE. Please note that as provided for in the AFGE/VA Master Agreement the FIRST area of consideration for this position will be permanent employees of the local facility in which this position is being filled, the SECOND area of consideration will be employees at other VA facilities, and the THIRD area of consideration will be all other eligibles.

Provides specialized and general clerical assistance to the office of the Culpeper National Cemetery. Performs general clerical support in office with copying, filing, storing stock items. Assignments can vary involving routine and non-routine office functions such as preparing documents and correspondence, sorting, copying, and filing. Prepares reports for Cemetery Administrators use. Assist in budget preparation and management. Serves as purchase card holder and time keeper.

Represents the Culpeper National Cemetery meeting funeral directors, families and honor guard members who are attending committal services or burials at the Cemetery. Provides information to bereaved family members concerning gravesite and marker information. Retrieves gravesite information from the KIOSK or BOSS (electronic burial register) in assisting families locating loved ones' gravesites. Duties may include but are not limited to: maintaining control of traffic to the cemetery, directing funeral corteges so as to keep all family members together, accompanying families to committal shelters and gravesites, providing veteran burial benefit information to family members and visitors, answering general questions of family and visitors, assisting visitors and family members locating gravesites.

Performs public outreach as needed.

This is a term appointment not to exceed 13 months from the effective date of appointment. Term appointments are non-status, nonpermanent appointments of limited duration of more than 1 year, but not more than 4 years and are subject to a 1 year trial period. Should the need warrant, term appointments may be extended without further competition up to a maximum of the 4 year limitation. The appointment to a term position does not confer eligibility for promotion, reassignment, or transfer to other positions or the ability to be non-competitively converted to permanent employment.

Work schedule: Required to work Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. May include occasional weekends. Due to the mission of the National Cemetery, the cemetery cannot be closed for more than 2 consecutive days at any given time. Additionally, when a Federal holiday falls on a Monday or Friday, staff may be required to work on that holiday or a Saturday. All staff is required to work Memorial Day and Veteran's Day each year. Staff will be required to work overtime, weekends and holidays when necessary to meet the needs of the cemetery. Occasionally staff may be called back to the facility to perform emergency overtime work.
Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not available
Telework: Not Available
Remote/Virtual: This is not a virtual or remote position.

Position Description Title/PD#: Program Support Assistant - TERM NTE 13 MONTHS/PD1589519
The full performance level of this position is GS - 07.

Relocation Expenses: Not Authorized
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Subject to a background/security investigation. Designated and/or random drug testing may be required. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. You may be required to serve a probationary period. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all specialized experience and time in grade requirements within 45 days of the closing date of this announcement, 07/22/2024.

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 within 45 days of 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 your most recent non-award 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 non-award SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade.
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. Must have the ability to type at least 40 words per minute. Must possess and maintain a valid state driver's license. 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: serving in a position that is multi-faceted and involves such responsibilities as: providing great internal and external customer service, administrative operations, records management, public relations, and outreach. Excellent writing skills are required. Data collection, tracking and record keeping is also essential. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
Budget AdministrationCommunicationComputer SkillsCritical ThinkingSelf-ManagementWriting

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 performed in both an office and field setting with exposure to outside weather conditions. May require occasional travel for training purposes. Standing, walking, bending, stooping and lifting of cemetery records and other small items are required of this position. The position also requires assisting with the moving of caskets placed on biers into committal shelters.

Work Environment:
Administrative tasks are accomplished in a well-lighted, heated, cooled and ventilated office. Tasks associated service escort duties are provided in an outdoor setting, which will expose the incumbent to a wide range of environmental conditions of heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, and pollen. Escort duties may neither be deferred nor shortened due to adverse weather conditions.

Other Significant Facts Customer Service:
Incumbent meets the needs of customers while supporting VA missions. He/she consistently communicates and treats customers (veterans, their representatives, visitors, and all VA staff) in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner, while providing the customer with consistent information according to established policies and procedures. He/she handles conflict and problems in dealing with the customer compassionately and appropriately.

Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: . All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

Additional information

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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 (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at .

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

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