About this role
Job SummaryThe incumbent is assigned to the VA Police, Executive Office Service Line of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS). This position involves administrative work such as receiving different requests for information from staff, patients, Veterans, and family members of Veterans, and being able to determine where calls are directed to within the VA Puget Sound, and facilities outside the VA facility.
QualificationsTo qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/31/2026. 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-04 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-03. 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: General Experience: You must have one year of general experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-03 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position to be filled. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 2 years above high school in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. 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 high school. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. Preferred Experience: One year of customer service 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 is primarily sedentary with reaching, dialing numbers on the console, keyboarding, carrying of light supplies required. Because calls received are emergent and so varied, the position can be emotionally taxing. Work Environment: Work is performed in an office setting. Work involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions that are typical of a Medical Center. 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/.
Major DutiesDuties may include, but are not limited to: Serves as patient information resource for staff and Veterans, provides necessary look up of Medical Center staff phone numbers and pager numbers. Operates the voice and digital paging system, long distance pagers, and hospital wide overhead voice paging system. This includes calling the emergency code pagers in the event of an emergency and also for testing the voice paging system twice on a daily basis. Provides new pagers and exchanges old pagers, as needed for medical center staff. Communicates on a daily basis with the VA Police, Facilities Management using the high frequency radio to notify them of all emergency situations. Responsible for the communication of information and dispatches of the VA Police when they are out of the office by answering calls that "roll-over" to the operator when the police are out of the office. Incumbent receives external and internal calls to the medical center on the NEC console. Functions as the emergency 911 Operator for the Medical Center. Determines the need and the urgency of each call. This includes determining if the call requires emergent or urgent clinical advice (this includes chest pain, shortness of breath, blackouts, blood loss, suicidal or homicidal threat, etc). Works on a daily basis with the Medical Center computer network by accessing VI STA, VAcinity, Outlook, Word, Excel and related computer applications for data entry of on-call schedules, quick reference guides, organizational and reference lists and retrieval of information. Primarily responsible for the completion of a database of on-call physicians that is utilized by the both the American Lake and the Seattle divisions. Work Schedule: Midnight-8:00am. Rotating schedules to include 1 weekend night. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Telephone Operator/PD40555A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not AuthorizedRequirementsYou 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. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. 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 identification 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) 5 CFR § 330.502 - General restriction on movement after competitive appointment applies. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial 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.