The Telephone Operator is organizationally aligned to the Business Operations Service section within the Health Care Administration Service Line at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center (MGVAMC) in Spokane, WA. The Telephone Operator receives, interprets and directs a high volume of routine and priority telephone calls and responds to general inquiries from Veterans, families, visitors, community providers and health care system clinical and administrative staff.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 04/21/2025. 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 within 30days of 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: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of general experience that indicates you have the ability to perform the duties of the telephone operator position. Examples of general experience would typically include, but are not limited to: customer service, knowledge of telephone regulations and procedures, and other progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates ability to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the telephone operator position. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 2 years above 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 high school (Transcripts Required) . You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications Customer Service Telecommunications 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 is primarily sedentary in nature with prolonged periods of sitting and use of a keyboard, computer terminal and telephone. Infrequent walking, standing, bending and occasional lifting of items less than 15 pounds (such as papers, books, or small parts) is required at times. Employee is exposed to constant telephone activity that may be stressful during peak times. Work Environment: The work is normally performed in a well-lighted, temperature-controlled room. Normal safety precautions are required. The employee may need to work different tour(s) of duty or holidays/weekends as workload or need arises. May be subject to verbal abuse and/or threats from callers, patients and/or visitors. 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/.
Duties include but are not limited to: Uses professional, customer service oriented dialog to direct inbound calls to proper locations throughout the health care system based on organizational familiarity and knowledge of telephone regulations and procedures. Operates telephone equipment and utilizes tact and diplomacy to manage interactions with a diverse range of callers, sometimes under very difficult and stressful circumstances. Maintain Veteran privacy and confidentiality in accordance with applicable laws and regulations as well as VA statutes and policies when furnishing information related to patient admission status and location. Receives, reviews, screens and acts upon requests for notifications using the audio paging system. Ensures pages are indicated, adequate and comply with patient privacy and confidentiality guidelines. Operates a computer terminal and telephone equipment with speed and accuracy. Provides training in console and information duties to new employees, work study employees and any other staff responsible for relief and leave coverage in this area. Responsible for maintaining up-to-date informational resources, directories and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) specific to the Telephone Operator Position Retrieves and distributes daily hospital inpatient rosters within the work unit. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Telephone Operator/PD70443A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized