Program Support Assistant

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open to current, permanent Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) employees of the Houston, Texas Regional Office and current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible.

Specific duties include:

• Prepares, assembles, and correlates information in connection with surveys and one-time reports required by the Regional Office (RO), or Division management regarding administrative support functions from other divisions and outside sources of data.
• Processes incoming and outgoing materials such as correspondence, reports, memoranda, and other forms of written communications.
• Reviews and analyzes these materials, determines action necessary, researches and assembles background information, and refers said materials to the appropriate section when necessary.
• Edits documents, composes letters and reports, reviews correspondence for accuracy and completeness, prepares public presentation outlines, and develops standard for form letters and replies to inquiries.
• Liaises with the customer and identifies requirements for equipment purchase, lease, trade-in, excess, move to another location, warranty periods, etc. and then passes those requirements on to the appropriate Administrative Section staff for action.
• The incumbent maintains the official station control log / history file for circulars, bulletins, and memoranda and assigns numbers and dates and recession / retention folders on these as required.
• Reviews and makes changes/ corrections to the RO's controlled publications (circulars, bulletins, memoranda) to ensure proper format is used. Updates and revises publications issued by SSD and prepares "Justification for Proposed Field Station Issue" for appropriate concurrence.
• Maintains the confidential records for SSD, including records concerning individual performance, disciplinary actions, awards, and similar information for all employees of the Division.
• As a purchase card holder, always secures purchase card, identifies correct accounting string or budget object codes (BOCs) for appropriate transactions as required within VA 's credit card system.
• Maintains receipts or other necessary documentation for reconciliation purposes. Reconciles statements and forwards to approving officials within required time frames.
• Serves as the principal timekeeper for SSD and may support other division timekeeper needs by serving as an alternate timekeeper. May have duties in the PIV issuance process and may serve as one of the facility's PIV Card issuers.
• Receives all SSD visitors and callers. Screens telephone calls for the Administrative Officer and or the SSD Chief and forwards only those calls requiring the Administrative Officer or SSD Chiefs attention.

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 07:30 A.M. to 04:00 P.M.
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant; PD37329A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Conditions of employment

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 Federal service.

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.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements I-9 Acceptable Documents.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:07/06/2026.

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.

• For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 level.
• If you are a current VBA employee outside of the commuting area seeking reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-06 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least None.

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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience as described below:
GS-06 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least to the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to performing the following duties: composing, reviewing, and editing correspondence, auditing statistical data, assessing organizational workflow, providing budgetary recommendations, and serving as the principal timekeeper..

Volunteer Experience: 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.
Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.
Physical Requirements: Work requires some physical exertion such as extended periods of standing frequent bending, reaching or similar activities necessary to set up, operate, adjust and monitor operation of the equipment. The employee lifts a variety of moderately heavy materials and supplies such as mailbags or large quantities of paper stock.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Accountability
• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

• Information Assurance
• Technology Application

The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package to include the documents detailed below. Resumes may not exceed two pages and must be legible for review of eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume and supporting documentation will be verified. Failure to submit the documents as specified may result in loss of consideration for this job announcement.

• Resume:
  • Contact Information:
    • Name and how best to contact you, including email address and phone number
  • Relevant Work Experience:
    • For each relevant work experience, make sure you include:
      • Job Title and Employer (including series and grade for any Federal positions)
      • Start and end dates with month/year (e.g., 05/2019 - 08/2022)
      • The number of hours you worked per week
    • Ensure work experience descriptions are aligned with the job announcement and address all required qualifications. Brief descriptions should demonstrate your ability to perform the tasks at the required level as stated in the job announcement
  • Optional Details:
    • When relevant, include:
      • Current Security Clearance
      • Job-related training
      • Language skills
      • Organizations and affiliations
      • Professional publications
      • Eligibility for special programs (e.g., military spouses, individuals with disabilities, etc.)
• Current Federal Employees:
  • Your most recent APPOINTMENT SF-50. The most recent 1XX or 5XX SF-50 proving status. This SF-50 should identify your appointing legal authority, position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).
  • Your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade and step (e.g., Within Grade Increase, Promotion, Appointment, etc.) in order to verify time-in-grade requirements.
• Current VBA Employees: If you are seeking a reassignment/change to lower grade, you must submit a copy of your most recent appointment SF-50 and an SF-50 that reflects when you entered your highest grade and step as described above.

Additional Documents accepted:

• Most recent Performance Appraisal (VA Form 0750)
• Award SF-50s
• Documentation to be considered under non-competitive eligibility (if applicable) such as a member-4 DD-214, civil service preference letter, or Schedule A letter.
• CTAP documentation - RIF notice, SF-50 showing VA employee, and performance appraisal

Next steps