Program Support Asst (OA)

Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

Major Program Support Assistant (OA) duties include:

Health Benefits Enrollment and Eligibility Advisor:

• Advises applicants of the health care benefits they are legally entitled to in person and over the phone, initiates administrative processes for establishing care, adjudicates eligibility when discrepancies exist, and notifies appropriate healthcare personnel accordingly.

Decedent Affairs Duties:

• Responsible for all administrative functions related to the Decedent Affairs program including details of patient death cases occurring within the Medical Center.
• Serves as a liaison between Medical Center staff, next of kin, organ/body donation recovery units and funeral directors.

Beneficiary Travel Advisor:

• Demonstrates working knowledge and technical proficiency in Beneficiary Travel program administration using eligibility criteria and regulatory authorities to appropriately administer program benefits to eligible patients and caretakers.
• Prepares and processes claims for travel reimbursement, authors vouchers to reimburse travel cost to eligible beneficiaries and communicates eligibility criteria to the patient.

HOPTEL:

• Perform administrative responsibilities in management of Hoptel services.
• Ensure guest meet eligibility requirements and are able to independently function in the Hoptel environment according to orders/Hoptel notes.

Admissions:

• Will be responsible for monitoring and processing admissions and transfer of inpatients from clinics and the Emergency Room accurately and in a timely manner.
• Is required to determine eligibility for inpatient status, including medical, surgical, behavioral health, domiciliary, and long term care and alerting management/admitting provider regarding ineligible patients submitted for admission.

Note: The above is not an exhaustive list of duties and you will be expected to perform additional tasks as necessitated by the supervisor or designee.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Physical Requirements: The work involves mostly administrative processing which requires standing, walking, sitting, stooping, bending, lifting light objects, answering the telephone and retrieving and entering data into various computer programs and databases.
Position Description Title/PD#: Program Support Asst (OA)/PD21T53A
Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment.
• 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 (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 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 period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/13/2026.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Program Support Assistant (OA), GS-05 grade: 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 includes:

• Responsible for providing clerical, technical, or customer support;
• Receiving and referring phone calls;
• Communicating and treating customers in a courteous, tactful and respectful manner while providing consistent information according to established policies and procedures; and
• Using computer programs to prepare correspondence and manage documents. OR,

Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-05 level. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have four (4) years above high school. OR,

Applicants may also have a combination of education and experience to qualify at the GS-05 level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-05. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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/.

How you will be evaluated

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

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.

Documents Accepted:

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other (1)
• PCS Orders
• Professional Certification
• 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.

Next steps