Program Support Assistant

This position is organizationally aligned to the Veterans Health Administration at the Tomah VA Health Care System in the Health Administration Service, in Tomah, WI. The incumbent will facilitate all administrative aspects of the enrollment eligibility process and serve as a liaison between the VA Medical Facility, the Health Eligibility Center, and Member Services. Duties include, but not limited to: Analyzes and resolves complex eligibility questions to ensure Veterans, non-Veterans, and beneficiaries receive appropriate medical benefits. Interprets VA rules and regulations relating to determining legal entitlement to benefits. Ensures that appropriate legal, regulatory, and policy requirements are met. Provides written and oral reporting of incidents involving beneficiaries, employees, as well as other safety issues. Responsible for achieving management objectives and supporting the decision of management. Directly intervenes when problems regarding patient activity occurs, advising clinical staff of appropriate administrative actions. Receives and responds to non-routine patient condition inquiries and other administrative inquiries from concerned veterans, family visitors, and law enforcement officials. Collaborates with the Public Affairs Officer to share accurate eligibility information with the public, including through outreach events and coordination with news media. Provides advice to medical staff regarding VA administrative actions. Provides administrative authority and guidance to Medical Officer of the Day, Nursing Officer of the Day, and other clinical staff concerning administrative matters necessary for operation of the medical center. Managing the Enrollment Program to include all administrative processes, health benefits eligibility determinations, and all aspects of the health benefits package. Coordinating the implementation of all enrollment software changes to the Electronic Health Records (EHR) with the local Information Resource Management Staff and the Business Office Program Integrator (BOPI). Assists in the New Enrollee Appointment request (NEAR) Coordinator, with managing the NEAR List and NEAR processes. 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. Work Schedule: Fulltime; Monday • Friday 8:00am • 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD253610 and PD253620 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. . To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/01/2026. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4 years above high 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 beyond. 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/. 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. 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 Service 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 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) 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. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.