Telephone Operator

Department of Veterans Affairs•Seattle, WA

35d•Onsite

About The Position

The incumbent is assigned to the VA Police, Executive Office Service Line of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS). Occupation involves administrative work such as receiving different requests for information from staff, patients, Veterans, and family members of Veterans, and being able to determine where calls are directed to within the VA Puget Sound, and facilities outside the VA facility.

Responsibilities

Responds to incoming calls, electronic mail, and instant messages from Veterans, staff, and other callers.
Communicates with the VA Police using the high frequency Police radios.
Communicates calmly and respectfully with angry callers to deescalate the situation and refocus the caller on a solution.
Physically operates features of Multi-line NEC telecommunications switchboard console processing and transferring incoming calls.
Operates the digital and voice code pager systems including overhead voice paging systems/Fire Safety Public Address Systems.
Accesses the VA system and resources to quickly connect callers to the correct resources and phone numbers to bring effective resolution to the callers' inquiries.
As the first point of contact for VA Puget Sound, communicates effectively using diplomacy and discretion with callers on the telephone.
Actively listens to customers with respect while paying attention to details in order to provide assistance, guidance, and information to resolve issues.
Patiently gathers, interprets, and analyzes information to provide optional solutions to customers requests.
Serves as a resource for Veterans and staff to transfer callers to staff using the approved directories.