About This Position
This position is located in the Veterans Administration (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Assistant Director, Office of the Director, Asheville, North Carolina. The incumbent works directly for the Assistant Director, who reports to the Executive Director, Western North Carolina VA Healthcare System (WNCVAHCS).
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/05/2026. 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-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7.
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. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-07) in the Federal Service to qualify for the GS-8 position. Specialized experience is defined as clerical and administrative experience related to secretarial support for a large organization and/or in a large medical center setting.
Examples may include but are not limited to: organize the work of an Executive Office Setting and perform clerical and administrative duties; receive all correspondence; prepare travel arrangements; maintain executive schedule/calendar; meeting minutes; perform full range of secretarial and administrative duties. Please
note: Your resume must support your response.
You may qualify based on your experience, as described below: You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Analysis and Problem Solving Attention to Detail Customer Service Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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.
Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.
Physical Requirements: The work requires sitting, walking, standing bending and carrying of light items such as papers, binders and books. The environment can be noisy and stressful at times. The work area is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated.
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/.
Major Duties
Duties for the Secretary (OA) to the Assistant Director includes, but is not limited to, the following: The employee provides clerical assistance to the Assistant Director, ICO and the Privacy/FOIA Office, to include processing incoming and outgoing materials such as correspondence, reports, memoranda, and other forms of written communication. The incumbent will maintain mandated Privacy/FOIA office files; prepare required and requested reports and information for submission, through the Privacy/FOIA Officer, to facility Executive leadership, VISN offices, VHA and VA Privacy Offices, Congressional offices and other Federal agencies. Coordinates scheduling for the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) including set up of meetings, event coordination, calendar management, and collection of needed documents for meetings including those with VACO, VISN, Congressional offices, and other key stakeholders.
Coordinates scheduling for the ELT including set up of meetings, event coordination, calendar management, and collection of needed documents for meetings including those with VACO, VISN, Congressional offices, and other key stakeholders. Manage equipment and supplies for the Executive Leadership Team(ELT), which includes ordering, procuring, inventory management, and maintenance. Coordinates the supply inventory in support of reordering/stocking needed items.
Serve as the public face for the ELT greeting Veterans, Congressional representatives, staff, vendors, community partners, and other visitors. Provide service recovery for Veterans and their families to include addressing immediate issues within their scope of influence, connecting with appropriate department to address their specific issue/concern, and logging/tracking issues/concerns to include in the Patient Advocate Tracking System- Replacement (PATS-R). Manage the ELT telephones; answer calls, routing to correct person/department, checking voicemail, and responding to telephone calls/inquiries.
Serve as administrator for all SharePoint and Shared Drives for the ELT Coordinate the ELT files both hardcopy and electronic to include organization, record keeping, archiving, and pulling documents as needed. Support the Administrative Chief and Enterprise Daily Management System (DMS) huddles by setting up teleconference line, running audiovisual components, updating board (when needed), coordinating schedule, and provide real-time support to manage huddle logistics. Manage Action Items for the ELT including conducting initial review for accuracy/ completion, assignment to services, tracking/collecting responses, routing for second-level and final level review, and routing for final submission.
Manage the routing of documents incoming/outgoing for the ELT. This may include inquiries, Memorandums, board actions, agreements, and other documents. The incumbent will log, track, review, and rout the document through each step of the process.
Manages reoccurring obligations such as due council/committee reports, minutes, and engagements for the ELT. Prepare documents/correspondence for the ELT including Memorandums, Letters, Reports, Policies, Standard Work, and other documents/correspondence. Works with Service Chief to ensure documents are accurate, complete, and grammatically correct.
The employee performs work involving the collection, compilation, and/or tracking of data and statistical information in support of the OIC Program. This includes all audits and monitors identified in the annual program plan. Additionally, the incumbent will have oversight of Compliance Awareness Training, analyze the data weekly and sends notifications of delinquency, tracking to completion.
The incumbent will assist in the implementation, management, and maintenance of the Privacy/FOIA program for all WNCV ARCS facilities by reviewing facility processes and products for compliance with program requirements and assessing the facility privacy posture through periodic evaluation of the facility's collection, use, storage and maintenance of sensitive personal information. Work Schedule: M-F 0800 - 4:30pm Telework: Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Secretary (OA)/PD044270
Conditions of Employment
You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Subject to background/security investigation Must be able to type 45 words per minute 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial 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.
Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Education
There is no educational substitution at this grade level.
How You Will Be Evaluated
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview.
Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment. The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.
For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement.
Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
Additional Information
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. 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.
How to Apply
All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 05/05/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12947760. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account.
Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
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. 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 recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX).
We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans.
Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies.
To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: Resume SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please make sure you have included other documents required for your application, SF-50's, CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).
You will not be contacted for additional information. Cover Letter Performance Appraisal Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility): Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee An SF-50 showing 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 Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade. Examples of appropriate SF-50's include: Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.