Summary The Transportation Assistant (Beneficiary Travel Assistant) position is aligned under the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center, Spokane, Washington Fiscal Service. The Transportation Assistant (Beneficiary Travel Assistant) acts as primary contact to Veterans for transportation needs. Responsibilities Knowledge of travel program benefits to beneficiaries and their attendants who meet eligibility criteria. Knowledge of calling ambulance and air ambulance for patients adhering to provider specifications of mode of transport, ensuring that mode is correctly denoted according to the patient's medical condition. Knowledge of reconciling invoices against authorizations for accuracy. Incumbent utilizes various software applications to accurately determine and/or verify Veteran eligibility and amount owed for travel reimbursement according to national and local rules, regulations, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Properly annotates travel arrangement in patient record, and, when needed, sends veteran travel itinerary, determining method of payment for authorized and unauthorized ambulance claims submitted for consideration. Incumbent reviews clinical requests for transportation at VA expense utilizing the Electronic Health Record, and determines best mode of transportation i.e., VTS, common carrier or special mode based on cost effectiveness and patient medical needs. Incumbent is the first contact with the Veterans and makes the first impression. Works with fellow Business Office staff, other administrative staff, and personnel to contribute and assist in attaining Business Office goals. Incumbent responds to client requests and seek resolution of family, patient, and employee complaints; will forward unresolved complaints to supervisor, when appropriate. Incumbent handles conflict and problems in dealing with customers constructively and appropriately. The incumbent will have regular and recurring contact with personnel external to the agency for the obtainment of services, sharing of information and authorization, clarification, or denial of payment. Incumbent handles conflict and problems in dealing with customers constructively and appropriately. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant/PD70537A and PD70537A 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. 5 CFR 330.502 - General restriction on movement after competitive appointment applies. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 09/18/2024. 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 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 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: Ability to apply transportation regulations and practices to perform a wide variety of administrative support; coordinate arrangements; maintaining records, utilizing databases, reconciling records, and generating reports; ability to investigate and resolve issues and taking corrective actions; and communicating effectively with a wide variety of individuals; ability to respond to all customer service inquires via email correspondence, telephone and in-person communication. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service Planning and Evaluating Product Evaluation 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 involves various physical demands requiring the employee to be versatile in the many functions performed. These include sedentary work performed at a desk with intermittent standing, walking, bending, and lifting of lightweight records or supplies. The duties and responsibilities of the position require some mobility between various clinic areas in separate building location sites, but generally the job is sedentary with some standing, stooping, reaching and lifting to 20 pounds. The employee is required to work with computer equipment at least 75% of the time which impacts on hand and wrist motions. Work Environment: The work is performed in a business office and an outpatient treatment setting. The environment involves those everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of this environment. Although the employee works in a health care facility where exposure to contagious diseases exist, the tasks required for this position do not put the employee at a serious risk for this type exposure. The work area is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated. The incumbent must always remain composed in trying to assist veterans, their families and staff, who may be upset or in distress and hostile in manner. The incumbent may work with patients who are mentally disturbed and must be alert to the risk of physical abuse. Due to changing deadlines and priorities, work may be stressful at times. Work is performed within view and hearing of patients and the general public. Immediate attention is required for Patient Funds activities, and travel arrangements must be completed timely. Meeting these obligations may present varied demands on the incumbent. Patients may present skeptical, agitated, uncooperative, and some may become hostile or dangerous. The work environment is multifaceted, complex and demanding. 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 Receiving Service Credit or 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. 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.