Summary Transportation Assistant is responsible for a range of duties which include responsibility for interpreting and verifying travel eligibility, travel claims, transportation arrangements, and accommodations in accordance with VHA and New Mexico VA Health Care System (NTv1V AHCS) regulations, policies and procedures At this level the Beneficiary Travel, Transportation and Accommodations Clerk verifies patients' appointments that support travel. Responsibilities Responsible for determining veteran eligibility status for Beneficiary Travel reimbursement in accordance with applicable directives and completing travel payment vouchers. Accurately determines eligibility for travel reimbursement, amount and completes travel voucher for payment or denial of travel claims. In addition, is able to ascertain the correct number of family dependents, income levels, and other information to substantiate a veteran's eligibility. The employee processes eligible veteran travel claims, processes travel arrangements and transportation services, and is the first level of response to travel claim questions. Employee accurately and correctly interprets and applies all federal, state and local laws, regulations and guidelines, DV A regulations and medical center policies related to patient funds, beneficiary travel and accommodations. Prepares recoupment /Bill of Collection letters for payments made to unauthorized veterans. Arranges all modes of transportation via air ambulance, commercial air, taxi, ground ambulance, bus, and other approved modes of transportation for veterans and caregivers. Communicates verbally and in writing with clinical providers, veteran (appropriate care giver when applicable) and vendors to determine the most appropriate, dependable and economical mode of transportation. Prepares appropriate documentation and/or schedules travel according to government regulations. Is the subject matter expert on government travel regulations, and communicates the regulations to other involved (clinical providers, veteran, vendors, etc.). Ensures written authorization is documented/maintained for all approved special mode travel. Maintains communication (verbal and written) with the sending/receiving facilities regarding beneficiary travel arrangements. Communicates and interacts with the veteran in a customer-focused manner, appropriate to the cognitive, emotional and chronological maturation need of adult and/or geriatric veteran. Responsible for explaining regulatory requirements and guidelines to the veteran (caregiver when appropriate) and vendors for all beneficiary travel and transportation issues in a manner that can be easily understood. Confirms veteran (caregiver when appropriate) understands the information provided. Employee is responsible for establishing and maintaining office files in accordance with good business function. Aware of the file requirements and quality standards to support the section's goals of timely, high-quality service. Employee supports compliance with processes and procedures for the obligating of travel funds and the ability to transfer funds laterally among several fund control points to support the availability of resources to meet obligations. Responsible for determining veteran eligibility status for NMVAHCS Heroes' Hall accommodations. Processes requests for on-campus accommodations. Schedules and assigns veterans to accommodation resources based upon policy and processes. Communicates verbally and in writing (phone, fax. mail, email) as appropriate to inform veteran of overnight reservations and program features and requirements while in compliance with the Privacy Act and other applicable laws and regulations. Employee prepares the necessary paperwork for all veteran short-term accommodations in available NMVAI-JCS overnight resources (Heroes' Hall). This includes scheduling veterans and adult caregivers as needed into NMVAHCS overnight accommodations. Maintains communication (verbal and written) with the sending/receiving facilities regarding accommodations. Employee is responsible for establishing and maintaining office files in accordance with good business function. Aware of the file requirements and quality standards to support the section's goals of timely, high-quality service. Ensures written documentation of accommodation regulations and guidelines are provided to Heroes' Hall lodgers. Communicates and interacts with the veteran in a customer-focused manner, appropriate to the cognitive, emotional and chronological maturation need of adult and/or geriatric veteran. Responsible for explaining regulatory requirements and guidelines to the veteran and/or caregiver in a manner that can be easily understood. Confirms veteran and, when appropriate, caregiver understands the information provided. Employee provides information/orientation to veterans using the overnight accommodations to the rules and regulations on the NMV AHCS grounds. Work Schedule: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant/PD502400 and PD50240O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment 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 Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/29/2024. 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: applying transportation regulations and practices to perform a wide variety of administrative support; maintaining records, utilizing databases, reconciling records and generating reports; investigating/resolving issues and taking corrective actions; and communicating effectively with a wide variety of individuals. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 4 years of education above the high school level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial or technical school. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education to meet total qualification requirements at the GS-5 level. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Insurance Manages Resources Written Communication 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: Work is sedentary but requires walking, standing and carrying of light to medium weight items, such as patient records. Employee works extensively in the hospital computer system. Employee must have an even temperament and act in a professional manner during work performance. Employee is able to deal with emotionally-charged situations and individuals on a daily basis. Employee is exposed to stressful working situations which require a mature attitude and collective reasoning to overcome. Employee is subject to stress because of the high volume of work, the need for accuracy, frequency of interruptions. Employee solves highly complicated problems in a consistent, independent, accurate and timely manner, acting as the subject matter expert. He/she demonstrates good decision making in elevating issues to the next level to be addressed. He/she provides proactive, timely briefing to the next level staff person prior to the affected individual speaking to that staff person. 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 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 Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. 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-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.