Summary Serves as a principal executive advisor to the Executive Director or Deputy Executive Director on significant organizational, administrative, and operational matters affecting Education Service. Provides executive leadership with timely analysis and recommendations concerning emerging program concerns, sensitive management matters, operational risks, organizational effectiveness, resource requirements, implementation problems, and matters requiring executive attention. Duties
Specific duties include:
- Represents the Executive Director or Deputy Executive Director in meetings, conferences, workgroups, briefings and discussions involving Education Service headquarters components, VBA headquarters organizations, district and regional offices, other VA organizations, federal agencies and external stakeholders.
- Incumbent performs daily in-person administrative work, including direct management of the Executive Director or Deputy Executive Director's schedule and monitoring day-to-day plans.
- Serve as an expert in short and long-range planning, recommends and participates in developing strategies to ensure timely and adequate participation of the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, and other EDU senior leaders in key official events.
- The incumbent serves as a direct link between the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, and other staff, working with program management and operations officials to ensure complete, factually correct, and timely responses on behalf of EDU.
- Develops long-range management plans, such as strategic plans and milestones for each measure, for efficient and effective EDU operations.
- Interprets and communicates established executive direction, approved management decisions, administrative requirements, and operational guidance to appropriate officials and organizational components.
- Maintains continuing awareness of sensitive program developments, emerging risks, legislative and regulatory changes, operational concerns, and other matters that may affect Education Service objectives.
- Incumbent works in-person with the Executive Director or Deputy Executive Director to access and manage sensitive, confidential, or time-sensitive materials and documents to meet strict deadlines while ensuring proper handling.
- Develops and prepares meeting and conference materials for EDU senior leaders, often under tight deadlines.
- Personally coordinates and manages special on-site events initiated or sponsored by the Executive Director or Deputy Executive Director.
- Plans, organizes, conducts, and completes comprehensive management studies and evaluations concerning significant administrative and operational aspects of Education Service programs.
- Evaluates the effects of new or revised legislation, regulations, national program requirements, management priorities, and organizational changes on Education Service operations and the administration of education benefits.
- Responsible for coordination and programming of multiple executive sessions including the agenda, topics to be discussed, logistics, etc. Accompanies or represents the EDU Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, or other EDU senior leaders in on-site conferences, meetings, hearings, and presentations which involve problems and issues of consequence and importance to EDU and VBA.
- To the maximum extent possible, sees that essential work continues during absences of EDU's Executive Director or Deputy Executive Director and Executive Management Officer (EMO) by taking appropriate actions.
- Conducts executive review of correspondence in assigned areas requiring concurrence and/or signature of the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, or EDU senior leader officials.
- Delegated signature authority to commit the support and concurrence of the Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, and EMO in assigned areas and on specific projects.
- Participates in executive assistant, budget, space, administrative controls, organizational planning, and other management committees or working groups. Provides information, recommendations, and follow-up concerning issues affecting Education Service operations.
Promotion Potential: N/A
Work Schedule: Full Time 8:00am- 4:30pm (+-60 minutes)
Compressed/Flexible: No
Telework: This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only. The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval. Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Executive Assistant; PD42317A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:11/13/2026.
TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: As a current Federal, GS employee you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
- For a GS-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13 level.
- If you are a current VBA employee requesting reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS- 13 or higher and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-14.
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.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience as described below:
GS-14 Grade Level:
- Specialized Experience:
- (1) Managing executive calendars, meetings, briefing materials, sensitive correspondence, and time-critical follow up actions.(2) Analyzing complex national program or operational issues and recommending strategies, controls and corrective actions to program management.(3) Preparing high-level correspondence, briefings, speeches, and reports and representing program management with internal and external stakeholders.
Volunteer Experience: 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.
Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.
Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may require.
For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education There is no substitution for the GS-14 level.
Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), https://www.va.gov/EMPLOYEE/documents/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review: Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport-usastaffing.opm.gov/hc/en-us/sections/45063131363475-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information)
For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.Requirements As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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.
Additional Conditions of Employment are as follows:
- You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
- Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
- You may be required to serve a probationary or trial period
- Subject to background/security investigation
- Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements 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.
How you will be evaluated IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.
You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
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- Attention to Detail
- Customer Service
- Decision Making
- Flexibility
- Influencing/Negotiating
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Learning
- Reasoning
- Self-Management
- Stress Tolerance
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Analytical Thinking
- Advisory
- Interpersonal Skills
- Organizational Awareness
Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.
To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13113202
The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.
Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or an interview.
Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.How to apply Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section.
To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on 11/13/2026 or 11:59 p.m. (EST) on the day the applicant count limit is reached, whichever comes first.
The application process is as follows:
The application process is as follows:
- Click the Apply Online button.
- Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
- Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
- If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
- Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
- Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
- Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
- Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us.To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
You may update your application documents and some questions related to your personal information at any time during the announcement open period. However, you will not be able to make changes to questions related to assessing the minimum qualifications and competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics) mentioned in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section above. To make an allowed update to your application, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.
Other information VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting your current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
