Program Support Assistant

About this role

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/02/2026. 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-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 as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Comprehensive knowledge of VA automated systems including CPRS, VistA, TMS, and consult management platforms sufficient to independently identify errors, resolve access discrepancies, generate analytical reports, and ensure data integrity across the service.

Knowledge of VA Access and Scheduling policy, VHA Directives, Joint Commission standards, HIPAA, the Privacy Act, and VA Records Management requirements is required not merely to follow procedures, but to interpret and apply them to non-standard situations, such as determining appropriate consult routing for urgent mental health referrals or coordinating multi-disciplinary discharge plans for Veterans with complex care needs.

Knowledge of mental health clinical terminology, diagnostic categories, and care pathways sufficient to communicate meaningfully with psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and nursing staff; triage administrative issues with clinical implications; and prepare technically accurate reports and correspondence on behalf of service leadership. Knowledge of program planning principles and analytical methods is required to compile, interpret, and present performance data, track compliance metrics, and identify trends requiring corrective action.