Secretary (OA)

Veterans Health Administration•Spokane, WA

9d•Onsite

About The Position

The Secretary (OA) position is located at the Veterans Health Administration’s Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center and provides clerical support to the Associate Medical Center Director and the fiscal, logistics, human resources, and voluntary services offices, as well as other direct reports to the Office of the Associate Director as needed. The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition upon meeting regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements; selection at a lower grade does not guarantee promotion. The position manages the Associate Medical Center Director’s calendar and appointments, coordinates meetings, prepares agendas and minutes, and maintains committee files and action-item tracking. It supports committee chairs with routine documentation and follows up on projects to ensure schedules and reporting deadlines are met. The Secretary composes and assembles correspondence, screens incoming and outgoing communications, checks documents for compliance with regulations and format requirements, and maintains suspense dates for required responses and reports. The role also gathers information from across the VA, prepares it for management, sends out union 10-day reviews, and prepares materials for tetrad review and signature. The position is not virtual or telework-eligible. The work schedule is Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; compressed or flexible schedules are not available. Work is primarily sedentary, with intermittent walking, bending, lifting, and carrying of supplies weighing less than 15 pounds, and intermittent keyboard and computer use for up to six hours per day.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship.
Meet the applicable specialized-experience requirements for the grade level sought: GS-6 experience equivalent to GS-5, GS-7 experience equivalent to GS-6, or GS-8 experience equivalent to GS-7.
Demonstrated experience appropriate to the grade level in clerical, secretarial, or administrative work, including relevant office procedures, correspondence review, filing, information retrieval, coordination, and meeting or conference support.
Ability to type 40 words per minute, demonstrated by an acceptable performance test, qualifying certificate, or self-certification.
Current or former federal employees applying at GS-6, GS-7, or GS-8 must meet the applicable 52-week time-in-grade requirement.
Complete the required application steps and online assessment.
Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must be registered with the Selective Service.
Pass a background/security investigation and complete the online onboarding process and required employment identification verification.
Participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program as a condition of employment.
Serve a one-year probationary period or two-year trial period, as applicable.

Nice To Haves

Experience working as an office manager coordinating high-stakes meetings and agendas.
Experience managing confidential information, compliance, calendars, and travel.
Experience in interdepartmental communication and workflow optimization.
Experience using Microsoft Office Suite, office automation, and data management.
Experience handling sensitive information, mitigating risk, and ensuring compliance with legal and ethical standards.

Responsibilities

Exercise control over the Associate Medical Center Director’s appointments and manage the Director’s calendar, including setting priorities and arranging, rescheduling, declining, or delegating appointments and meeting invitations.
Arrange meetings and prepare agendas and minutes for committee meetings for which the Associate Medical Center Director is responsible.
Maintain current files for committees and ensure committee structures are followed.
Assist and train committee chairs in compiling and updating charters, committee policies, reporting templates, and other routine committee documents.
Update and track committee action items through completion.
Follow up on projects resulting from conferences to ensure schedules are met and report progress to managers.
Compose correspondence on own initiative based on the superior’s views and prepare routine correspondence for the Associate Medical Center Director’s signature.
Assemble memoranda, letters, and other correspondence or supporting information.
Read and screen correspondence for the Associate Medical Center Director.
Review correspondence and documents for regulatory, grammatical, formatting, and medical-center policy compliance; return nonconforming communications for correction and advise subordinate offices on compliance.
Maintain suspense dates for replies and reports to ensure actions are completed on time.
Obtain and compile management information from sources throughout the VA, editing or revising it as needed.
Send out union 10-day reviews and prepare materials for tetrad review and signature.
Provide clerical support to the Associate Medical Center Director and the fiscal, logistics, human resources, and voluntary services offices, as well as other direct reports to the Office of the Associate Director as needed.