Transportation Assistant

Clarification from the agency

1. Current, permanent employees of the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL

The coordination of transportation function is multi-faceted and diverse. The three major areas of responsibility are: (1) Scheduling, Data Collection, & Tracking Support; (2) Consult Management responsibilities; (3) Program Support responsibilities. The incumbent must have knowledge of clinical services, related software, and programs as they relate to clinical computing and office automation.
Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Performs work involving consult management, appointment scheduling and admissions scheduling.
• Daily responsibilities include collecting, compiling, and tracking data and statistical information in support of Veteran Transportation Service (VTS).
• Performs a basic analysis of the data and generates a variety of reports.
• Reviews documents, reports and/or applications for omissions and inconsistencies and ensures data entry is complete and accurate.
• Enters pertinent information into an automated tracking system.
• Coordinates service practices that decrease waits and delays for patients in all specialty areas.
• Utilizes the Veterans Health Information System & Technological Architecture (VISTA), Computerized Patient Record Systems (CPRS) or SharePoint Consult/Request Tracking System in processing internal consultations.
• Plans for, organizes, administers, and directs how the work will be accomplished for the VTS program.
• Planning responsibilities require consideration of support services e.g., systems management, operations, workload forecasting, review, and reporting of data/statistical results of program/project studies, vehicle maintenance and repair, etc.
• Coordinates the day-to-day operation of VTS program flow, processes, and functions.
• Plans and provides support services in the following types of program areas: electronic records management; driver scheduling setup & management; space utilization services.
• Provides advice to operating managers and supervisors on how provided services assist in accomplishing their missions and programs.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant/PD23494A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Services Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

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, 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, 09/03/2026.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-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.

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

• Specialized Experience GS-5: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: preparing written instructions and a variety of correspondence; performing data entry into an automated system; scheduling appointments and admissions; collecting, compiling, and tracking of data; and ensuring compliance with regulations and procedures. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have at least 4 years beyond high school. (Transcripts Required).OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the second year. 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. (Transcripts Required)

• Specialized Experience GS-6: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-05) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Transportation Assistant - Transportation Coordinator. Qualifying specialized experience includes performing transportation support duties such as coordinating connections/scheduling, documenting travel information; collecting, compiling, and tracking data on a daily basis; Performs a basic analysis of data and generates a variety of reports; entering data into automated tracking data bases; and planning and directing a program that provides support services.

Physical Requirements: The incumbent will be exposed to stressful working situations that require a professional attitude and collective reasoning. The incumbent is subject to high volume of work, the need for accuracy, frequency of interruptions and ever-changing demands due to program changes.

Work Environment: The duties will be predominantly performed in one of the Veteran Transportation Program offices with intermittent trips to various locations throughout the Hospital catchment area both in and near patient care areas where there may be risk of exposure to disease. The incumbent must always remain composed in trying to assist veterans, their families and staff who may be upset or in distress and hostile in manner. The incumbent may work with patients who are mentally disturbed and must be alert to the risk of physical abuse. Due to changing deadlines and priorities; work maybe stressful at times. 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/.


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 MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

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.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps