Summary The Program Support Assistant in the Health Information Management (HIM) Service of the James J. Peters VA Medical Center is responsible for accomplishing a variety of specialized duties and promoting service recovery in a customer-focused environment. The PSA will provide support and complete clerical and professional activities by serving as a contact for Veterans and beneficiaries seeking care, experiencing problems, and requesting information from the medical center. Responsibilities Major duties include but are not limited to: The incumbent performs and coordinates administrative and clerical activities related for the HIM Service. Analyzes workflow to determine potential problem areas and makes recommendations to correct these areas and to improve administrative coordination between the various units and/or offices. Responsible for evaluating and identifying problem areas and weaknesses in processes and procedures (identification by observation of processes/procedures in action), reporting findings to management. Serves as liaison between HIM staff and patients in a manner that creates loyalty and improve overall patient and customer satisfaction. Works at the front desk in the HIM Service having first contact with both internal & external customers. Takes responsibility for resolving any customer service issues that are within the scope of their duties, forwarding all other matters to the appropriate personnel for resolution. Assists veterans with authorization form completion and assists veterans that present to the department to pick up medical records. Fosters good public relations when interpreting philosophy, policies/procedures, goals and objectives to staff, community agencies and the public. Assists/directs clinical staff that present to the department with records in need of scanning/uploading. Orders supplies for the entire HIM Service. Serves as primary timekeeper for the entire HIM Service. Serves as PIV (Personal Identity Verification) Sponsor for the entire HIM Service. Serves as primary Records Liaison for the HIM Service, maintaining an inventory of all federal records created, used, and/or stored by the Service. Serves as primary Automated Data Processing Application Coordinator (ADPAC) for the entire HIM Service Serves as Budget Control Point Clerk for the HIM Service, including verifying fund availability prior to placing an order, preventing delinquent obligations, and following-up on outstanding 2237s/1358s. Performs customer service guest relations, showing understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, cooperation, concern, politeness respect and dignity to others, relating well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations. Verifies identification of veterans picking up medical records. Assists veteran in filling out forms for release of health information. Receives, greets, and directs callers over the telephone and in person with precise, clear instructions. This includes answering & routing phone calls, triaging the needs of internal & external customers, and answering questions/providing information to any visitors to the department. Responsible for entering & following up on work orders for emergencies that my occur in the department. Schedules meetings, sending calendar invites and developing agendas. Records & maintains meeting minutes. Utilizes computer and photocopy machines to make copies of forms, letters, etc. from the original, assembling and stapling copied materials, and distributing completed photocopy work. Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD11352O Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/29/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS-05 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience with automated systems, tracking of electronic files and systems. Experience with Microsoft office suite: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook programs. Verbal and written communication skills. Skill creating correspondence. Customer service experience. Experience managing administrative and clerical responsibilities in a clinic or office setting. Skill in capturing, entering and summarizing information and data. Experience identifying inaccuracies in the information, and make recommendations to resolve discrepancies. Knowledge of extracting information from various sources when this requires considering the applicability of information and considering determination, verification, or termination of eligibility status. Experience managing and maintaining department records and databases. Experience with timekeeping You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accounting Attention to Detail Computer Skills Customer Service Interpersonal Skills 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: Regularly the work is sedentary, requiring some walking, bending, lifting, and filing. In addition, there may be some carrying of light items, such as papers and books. 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. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. 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.