The Veterans Transportation Program (VTP)/Beneficiary Travel (BT) department administers beneficiary travel program benefits to Veterans who meet eligibility criteria. Staff review, adjudicate and authorize claims for costs incurred while traveling from their home to a VA medical appointment at the VAPORHCS, the Veteran's assigned community based outpatient clinic, and a VA authorized non-VA medical facility as well as other facilities within VISN 20 who refer patients to VAPORHCS for care.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 06/23/2025. 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 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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 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: Assisting customers in person and on the phone to process requests. Arranging various modes of transportation to include, air ambulance, commercial air, taxi, ambulance, bus, and/or contracted transport services. Determining eligibility for programs and processing requests for travel pay. Preparing appropriate documentation and/or scheduling for traveler according to government rates or substantial rates. Determining which of several fund control points to utilize, obligating funds, maintaining manual and electronic accounting records, performing regular reconciliations and adjusting account balances. Determining method of payment for authorized and unauthorized claims submitted for consideration. Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month & year starting and year ending dates AND hours worked per week. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Clerical Computer Skills Customer Service 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 involves various physical demands requiring the employee to be versatile in the many functions performed. These include sedentary work performed at a desk with intermittent standing, walking, bending, and lifting of lightweight records or supplies. Work Environment: Work is performed in an office setting. Work is performed within view and hearing of patients and the general public. The Transportation Assistant has direct contact with the Veterans and possible exposure to contagious diseases. Immediate attention is required for patient funds activities, and travel arrangements must be completed timely. Meeting these obligations may present varied demands on the incumbent. Patients may present skeptical, agitated, uncooperative, and some may become hostile or dangerous. The work environment is multifaceted, complex and demanding. 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 duties include but is not limited to: Utilizes various software applications to accurately determine and/or verify Veteran eligibility and amount owed for travel reimbursement Assist Veterans with waiver applications Reviews clinical request for transportation at VA expense utilizing CPRS and determines best mode of transportation Arranges complex transport i.e. Cabulance, Ambulance and air ambulance for patients adhering to provider specifications of mode of transport and ensuring that mode is correctly denoted according to the patient's medical condition Coordinates patient transfer with other VA ensuring the patient arrives at a specified time for admission Accurately arranges and coordinates air ambulance travel for eligible Veterans Makes travel arrangements from basic information from the traveler en route to resolve problems Continually assess the status of the Beneficiary Travel program through the use of quality assurance measurement tools to ensure compliance with existing directives, guidelines and regulations Arranges all modes of transportation via Veterans Transportation Service (VTS), air ambulance, commercial air, taxi, ambulance, bus and/or independent transport Corresponds with physician, traveler, and vendor to determine the most dependable and economical mode of transportation Prepares appropriate documentation and/or scheduling for traveler according to government transportation availability, government rates or substantial rates Makes special arrangements per physician documentation according to traveler's medical condition and/or preference Secures reservations and tickets from carriers 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 Processes a claim as Electronic Funds Transfer, paper check or denial of benefits reviews claims for accuracy and ensures all required documentation is attached Receives in-person, telephone and written contacts from Veterans, their representatives and staff regarding questions or problems related to transportation or reimbursement benefits collect, organize, track and count all beneficiary travel reimbursement forms from various locations throughout the facility Orders office supplies for the section and tracks and organizes orders May also be assigned the task as time keeper Work Schedule: Monday to Friday; 8:30 am - 5:00 pm (PST), or, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm (PST) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Transportation Assistant/PD21145A