To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/15/2025.
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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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.
An Individual Occupational Requirement must be met by all applicants applying for GS-4 and above:
Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Positions in this series range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, technician experience is experience that required application of the knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled.
You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: the ability to adapt basic nursing measures to meet physical, social, emotional, and rehabilitative needs of the resident; ability to bend, lift, stoop, etc. while working with Veterans in the department; provide care and conduct small group sessions with residents in the department; ability to work independently and with other Health Techs as a team; ability to prioritize tasks and manage time efficiently; ability to document treatment accurately and in a concise manner; provide motivational skills and techniques to work with Veterans in the department for tasks of daily living.
There is no education requirement for the GS-6.
Note: Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
- Communications
- Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
- Decision Making
- Learning
- Patient Care
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: Position requires extensive periods of standing and walking. Working with Veterans requires bending, lifting, stooping, and other similar activities. The use of correct body mechanics is required. Must be able to lift objects 35lbs using proper lifting techniques. Must be able to perform range of motion exercises, ambulation on multiple Veterans daily. Must possess the momentum to perform these tasks repetitively on a daily basis. This position also requires an ability to remain stable under prolonged physical and psychological pressure; a sense of humor; a willingness to examine own behavior as it impacts on the environment. Must be a "people person", with enthusiasm to relate effectively to both Veterans and staff, an ability to identify the potential for safety hazards, is courteous, cheerful, compassionate, sincerely concerned for the delivery of quality care, maintains a high degree of objectivity-by nature, self-direction in utilizing available resources.
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/.