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Veterans Health Administration; Smyrna (GA); On-site; USD 35,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A federal agency supporting veterans is seeking an Administrative Assistant in Smyrna, Georgia. This role focuses on responding to inquiries, providing administrative support to pharmacies, and assisting veterans and their families. Applicants must possess strong customer service skills, knowledge of regulations, and experience in data entry. Ideal candidates may qualify with relevant education or a combination of experience. This position requires effective time management in a customer service environment.

Qualifications

• Ability to prepare responses to internal and external customers.
• Experience in managing time and resolving conflicting information.
• One year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-04 level.

Responsibilities

• Respond to basic questions from veterans and VA employees.
• Provide administrative support for medical center pharmacies.
• Assist customers with inquiries and issues pertaining to services.

Skills

Customer service

Data entry

Knowledge of regulations

Time management

Education

Four years of education above high school

Combination of education and experience

Job description

Overview

The primary purpose of this position is to respond to basic questions and resolve issues pertaining to administrative support of medical center pharmacies and other related services to veterans, veteran family members and/or representatives, the public, and VA employees.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/17/2026.

GS-5 Time-In-Grade Requirement: There is no Time-In-Grade Requirement for the GS-05 level.

GS-6 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-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 and/or education as described below:

• GS-05 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
• Ability to research and apply knowledge on regulations, policies, and/or procedures
• Prepare oral/written responses to internal and external customers.
• Perform data entry in various computer systems.
• Provide customer service to customers/patients.
• The ability to provide instructions to customers/patients.

• or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school.
• OR
• GS-05: Combination of Education and Experience (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIED): A combination of successfully completed education and experience to meet the total experience requirements. (i.e. 6 months of specialized experience and 3 years of education above the high school level). NOTE: Only education beyond the second year can be used in combination with specialized experience to qualify for this grade.

GS-06 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:

• Ability to manage time and work effectively.
• Provide guidance to patients/customers on laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Process requests to update customer/patient information in a computer database.
• Perform telephone calls in a high-volume response environment (i.e. customer call center).
• Resolve conflicting or inconsistent information in customer/patient files.

GS-05: Substitution of Education for Experience (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Four (4) years of education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university.

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.

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/.