Job Summary

The Western NY VA Healthcare system is currently recruiting for one Program Support Assistant for the Buffalo location in the Business office. This position performs a broad range of complex administrative activities in support of access to healthcare related benefits; enrollment, eligibility determination and travel services.

Job Description

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/27/2024. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Program Support Assistant (OA) , GS-05 grade: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-04 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Responsible for providing clerical, technical, or customer support; Receiving and referring phone calls; Communicating and treating customers in a courteous, tactful and respectful manner while providing consistent information according to established policies and procedures; and Using computer programs to prepare correspondence and manage documents. OR, Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-05 level. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have four (4) years above high school. OR, Applicants may also have a combination of education and experience to qualify at the GS-05 level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-05. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Program Support Assistant (OA) , GS-06 grade: 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. Specialized experience includes: Ability to analyze, evaluate, and provide recommendations on administrative issues; Ability to apply eligibility principles to gather information, determine entitlement, process applications and claims, and coordinate benefit needs; Ability to monitor, track, audit, and implement corrective actions across all managed programs; Skill in operating multiple computer systems and applications to accurately enter or extract information; Ability to manage funds in regard to billing and travel; Administrative support such as preparing responses to correspondence, scheduling appointments and meetings, tracking time and attendance, and generating reports. There is no educational substitution for the GS-06 level. Physical Requirements: The work involves mostly administrative processing which requires standing, walking, sitting, stooping, bending, lifting light objects, answering the telephone and retrieving and entering data into various computer programs and databases. 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/.