Summary
The incumbent serves as Transportation Assistant for the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. This position resides within Beneficiary Travel, Veterans Transportation Program and reports to the Lead Transportation Assistant of Beneficiary Travel who designates assignments consistent with veteran and department needs per established policies and procedures. The incumbent must have the capacity to plan and address the needs of this population.
Responsibilities
Provides support to the medical center including planning, organization, and control of all patient transportation to and from other VA and non-VA facilities. Accurately explains VA eligibility criteria for beneficiary travel to patients, families, and staff including information about VISN 11 catchment areas and availability of services at each location as they relate to travel benefits, Interfaces with patients, family members, staff, visitors, consultants, agency representatives, congressional representatives and others when they present themselves in person or on the telephone. Personal judgement, sensitivity, and through knowledge of Travel and are required to assure appropriate responses by the incumbent. Appropriately utilizes various transportation providers including VA travel and contractual providers keeping in mind traveler's preference and needs as well as associated costs. Computes the cost of travel allowances and advises prospective travelers of available and most suitable routes and accommodations. Effectively communicates with carriers to secure reservations and tickets for travelers. Reviews requests for reimbursement of travel costs for the purpose of assuring compliance with regulations and procedures, completeness, accuracy, internal consistency, and agreement with basic authorization. Accurately completes all necessary paperwork and collects data as needed for preparation regarding patient travel. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant/PD05693A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/08/2020. 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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: 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: Strong interpersonal and customer service skills, ability to communicate well verbally and in writing, ability to provide necessary information, take appropriate action and respond with proper demeanor to telephone calls, and/or visits by patients, family, agency representatives, congressional representatives and others. Ability to work independently and use initiative to solve problems that arise during the course of work independently and use initiative to solve problems that arise during the course of work. Knowledge of Microsoft Office software package, VISTA, Outlook, CPRS to compile and maintain data and verify patient information. An understanding of and ability to review bills ad validate for voucher audit. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4 years of education above high school (transcripts must be provided at time of application). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e. beyond the second year) One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: 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 activity is primarily sedentary in nature; face to face discussions with patients and families, consultation with other staff, telephone calls, and deskwork, etc. Sitting, bending, holding and handing over papers, and some walking to other areas of the medical center is necessary. There are many situations which require attention at any given time, therefore; the employee must be able to multitask. 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/.
Education
There is no educational substitution at this grade level. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.
Additional Information
The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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-