Program Support Assistant

Captain James

A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) in North Chicago, Illinois is a VA and DoD dually integrated healthcare center providing care services to Veterans, Active-Duty Military Personnel, and their beneficiaries, including outpatient pediatric services. The primary purpose of this position is to serve as an Office of Community Care (OCC) Coordinator. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/16/2026.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5 level. 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.

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:

You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-4 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
Strong communication and interpersonal skills to coordinate with staff across clinical and administrative areas. Detailed knowledge of privacy, confidentiality, and data protection laws including HIPAA, the Privacy Act, and VA information security policies. Familiarity with VA performance improvement principles, safety practices, infection control standards, and equipment use in a healthcare setting. Coordinate meeting logistics, prepare agendas, manage correspondence, and maintain time-sensitive documents with minimal supervision.

Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed full 4-year course of study, above high school, leading to a bachelor's degree in a field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal pre-requisite.

NOTE:

Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the position as outlined above that meets the requirements of the position.

NOTE:

If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required.

You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience at the GS-5 level that equipped you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Program Support Assistant position, and that is typically in or related to the duties of this position. Specialized experience includes:
Strong communication and interpersonal skills to coordinate with staff across clinical and administrative areas. Detailed knowledge of privacy, confidentiality, and data protection laws including HIPAA, the Privacy Act, and VA information security policies. Familiarity with VA performance improvement principles, safety practices, infection control standards, and equipment use in a healthcare setting. Coordinate meeting logistics, prepare agendas, manage correspondence, and maintain time-sensitive documents with minimal supervision.

Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook), SharePoint, and VA systems such as VistA, VATAS, BMS, and HR Smart, with the ability to extract and compile operational data. Working with scheduling systems, time and leave policies for Title 5 and Title 38 employees, and the ability to reconcile complex schedules with…