Program Support Assistant in Diagnostic Imaging/Radiology
About This Position
Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System (SAVAHCS) Diagnostic Imaging Service in the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), is hiring for a Program Support Assistant (PSA) to support Radiology efforts in the Diagnostic Imaging Service. The primary purpose of this position is to provide image filing and release, timekeeping, general administrative support and arrangements of patient actions in the designated sections.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. GS-05 grade level: 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 may include applying office administrative practices and procedures for managing and preparing correspondence, memoranda, letters, and reports; reviewing documents for accuracy; communicating with customers to answer routine questions; scheduling appointments and maintaining service calendars.
OR
Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-05 level. Four (4) years above high school. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university.
One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 365 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school. For example, a bachelor's degree from an accredited school per the Department of Education would suffice.
OR
Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-05 level. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience.
Example: The position to be filled is a Program Support Assistant, GS-5. The applicant has 9 months of specialized experience and 75 semester hours of college (15 semester hours beyond the second year and the equivalent of 3 months of specialized experience). The applicant meets 75 percent of the required experience and 25 percent of the required education.
The applicant meets 100 percent of the requirement for 1 year of specialized experience and is qualified for the position. 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.
Major Duties
Duties include but are not limited to: Major duties include, but are not limited to the following: Serving as a central point of contact to provide authoritative explanations of requirements, regulations, and procedures and to resolve operational problems. Maintaining calendars and coordinates reception of mail, telephone calls, and visitors to ensure a smooth flow of business in Whole Health. Screening mail closely to determine priorities and appropriate distribution within the department.
Maintaining departmental management files in accordance with guidelines provided by Central Office. Instructing applicable staff in areas of new techniques, policies, procedures, etc., and provides feedback on any associated problem in implementation. Advising professional staff, supervisors, and service program clerk(s) in the procedural aspects, deadlines required, and reporting requirements.
Summarizing and transcribing Whole health staff meetings for individual and/or combined campuses. Coordinating and providing reports to support for the many facets of quantitative and qualitative health services research. Identifying and recruiting Whole Health providers and patients for participation in research.
Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Position Description Title/PD#: Program Support Assistant in Diagnostic Imaging/Radiology/99895-S Physical Requirements: The work involves sitting, typing on a computer and answering phones. Moderate walking to different areas of the hospital Some standing and bending when searching accessing filing areas.
Conditions of Employment
You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job Subject to a background/suitability investigation Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan.
Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job.
Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.
Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.
Your resume must be 5MB or less. We accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. Please use the resume builder in USAJOBS to help you create a resume using these recommendations.
Education
IMPORTANT: 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.
How You Will Be Evaluated
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.
Additional Information
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. A 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. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies.
To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. Receiving Service Credit for 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.
VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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. 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.
How to Apply
All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 03/09/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12883660.
- To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account.
Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2.
Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement.
You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
Required Documents
Documents Accepted: Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (Schedule A) Disability Letter (VA) Any Additional Supporting Document(s) Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript Documents Required: Resume Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application.Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).You will not be contacted for additional information.
Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted. Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position. Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.