Secretary

Summary

This Secretary position is located in the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, Office of the Director, Customer Service and Outreach, New Orleans, Louisiana and supports the provisions of supplemental services through volunteers and service organizations and through programs directly benefiting the Veteran patient.

Duties

The duties of this Secretary position include but are not limited to: Assists with reviewing and interpreting directives and regulations. Assists with internal policies, procedures, and work methods affecting administrative management operations and ensures compliance. Reviews correspondence prior to signature of the Director before being forwarded outside the organization. Responsible for the disposition of obsolete material; maintaining reports and a diary on service circular expirations and coordinating with Veteran Experience Coordinator on updating and making revisions to these circulars. Arranges meetings, seminars, or conferences, including reserving meeting rooms, notifying participants. Interprets and utilizes VISTA and other computer programs such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Publisher, Purchase Card credit entries, and staff time card data entry. Receives telephone and personal calls: handles routine matters not requiring technical knowledge and refers technical matters to the person having responsibility for such. Serves as primary focal point for the organization. Takes notes from Veteran Experience Coordinator for numerous letters, memoranda, reports, etc. takes minutes for various meetings and conferences. Edits correspondence, types correspondence, reports, bulletins for staff members transcribing from either own notes or handwritten drafts. Remains fully cognizant of VA procedures for preparation and clearance of correspondence and action documents; advises other within the service of such procedures to ensure accuracy and compliance with policies and regulations. Promotes positive relations between VA staff and the complement of voluntary workers. Stays informed of rules, policy changes, as well as initiate needed record keeping as required for reports and evaluations. Keeps calendar of the supervisor to setup interviews, speeches, tours, meetings and other community commitments. Work Schedule: Typically, Monday-Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm; subject to change based on the needs of the facility. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Secretary/PD07298O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2026. 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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: For a GS- 05 position - Per 5 CFR § 300.604(c) Advancements to positions up to GS-5: Candidates may be advanced without time restriction to positions up to GS-5 if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade the employee held within the preceding 52 weeks under his or her latest nontemporary competitive appointment. Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 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 using the VISTA Computer Program System to interpret and utilize VISTA and other computer programs. Skill in interpersonal relation practices to promote positive relations between VA staff and voluntary workers. Skill in scheduling to keep calendar of the supervisor to setup interviews, speeches, tours, meetings, and other community commitments. Skill in written communication to prepare correspondence, information papers, reports, memorandums and other documents ensuring proper grammar, spelling, format, and attachments. Skill in oral communication to complete everyday secretarial duties i.e., answering phone calls, teams calls and messages, and emails. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have four years of successfully completed education above the high school level (transcripts required). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year). 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

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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/.