Program Support Assistant - Mental Health Outpatient Clinics

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Shreveport (LA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Mental Health Outpatient Clinics, seeks a Program Support Assistant to provide administrative and programmatic support within a busy clinical environment. The role emphasizes data entry, reporting, and effective coordination between providers.

The incumbent will assist with scheduling, training coordination, and ensuring certification maintenance across the team while supporting patients and staff with compassionate, professional service.

Qualifications

• One year of specialized experience in the normal line of progression for the occupation.
• Must be familiar with the mission and programs of VA Mental Health services.
• Experience entering data into a database and preparing reports.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative and program support for the Mental Health Outpatient Clinics program.
• Create reports and spreadsheets related to mental health metrics.
• Maintain administrative files pertaining to the program and ensure updated SOPs.
• Coordinate with outpatient providers to integrate information into the medical record.
• Assist with scheduling and coordinating services to Veterans and others.
• Answer telephone inquiries and direct calls appropriately.
• Assist with training coordination and maintain staff certifications.
• Provide advisory and technical assistance in screening and coordinating services.
• Gather, interpret, and analyze information to support program decisions.

Skills

Data gathering

Oral and written communication

Medical terminology

Word processing

Database programs

Analytical thinking

Time management

Interpersonal skills

Tools

Word

Vista

Job description

Summary

This position is assigned to the Mental Health Outpatient Clinics Program. The incumbent acts as Program Support Assistant under the supervision of the Mental Health Operations Manager - providing administrative - programmatic - and management support and leadership. As the Mental Health Outpatient Clinics program is rapidly expanding - the incumbent will provide administrative and management support to outpatient clinic team members as well.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 11/20/2026. 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-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 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: Must be familiar with the mission - organization and programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs - the Medical Center - Mental Health Service - the Mental Health Outpatient Clinic program - and related community agencies. Must be able to communicate effectively - both orally and in writing - with all employees. Must have experience in working with those with Mental Health concerns. Must have data gathering skills to in order to enter this information into a database. Must have knowledge of medical terminology - grammar - spelling - punctuation - and required formats to prepare correspondence and reports. Knowledge of the medical records - evaluation forms - filing - and distribution systems. Skill and knowledge in computer operations including word processing - database programs and other software (i.e. Word - Vista). Must be able to compile and summarize information and data - identify inaccuracies or anomalies in the information - and make written recommendations to resolve discrepancies based on interpretation of applicable regulations and procedures. Must be able to gather - interpret and analyze information in order to arrive at a logical conclusion. Must be able to plan - organize and implement assigned tasks under strict deadlines and multiple changing priorities. Must have the ability to interpret and apply written instructions - guidelines - policy memorandums - etc. This includes the ability to gather - organize and compile factual material. Must have knowledge of medical administration procedures for securing patient records - admission policy - collecting information in support of Social Security and VA claims - etc 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/. WORK ENVIRONMENT: The position will encounter individuals who have a range of mental health concerns. May encounter individuals with medically emergent conditions including those with contagious diseases. Normal features of this environment include being surrounded by patients - physicians - psychologist(s) - social workers - nurses - students - and other administrative staff members. At the same time - he/ she must maintain composure while carrying out the duties and responsibilities assigned. Will have frequent contact with Veterans in various stages of a wide variety of mental illnesses and will be required to exhibit an extraordinary level of compassion in the handling and care of these patients.

Duties

• The Program Support Assistant is responsible for administrative and program assistance in the areas of day to day operations and program planning/evaluation for the Mental Health Outpatient Clinics Program
• Must have general knowledge of the mission and functions of the program and understand how it relates to the overall medical center's mission
• This includes creating reports and/or spreadsheets related to mental health metrics - including but not limited to utilization of measurement-based care and SAIL metrics
• Maintains administrative files pertaining to the program
• This individual must possess clinical and administrative expertise - as they will act as a liaison between Mental Health Outpatient and Mental Health Service
• As such - this individual will assist with ensuring policies and other program-related documents (e.g. - memoranda of understanding - standard operating procedures - service agreements) are maintained and updated on a routine basis
• The PSA will run daily reports identifying outstanding alerts and actions required needing resolution
• Responsible for assisting with coordination of training - requiring collaboration with all other VA facilities in VISN 16
• Through database management - s/he ensures all staff maintain the certifications needed on an annual basis to practice in the outpatient environment
• The PSA assists with this task through the creation of spreadsheets and other tools to facilitate seamless training and competency maintenance
• The PSA provides advisory and technical assistance in screening - processing - and coordinating services to Veterans - beneficiaries - family members - and outside interested parties presenting themselves at the reception area of Mental Health Outpatient Clinic Program
• Coordinates patient scheduling activities to ensure a smooth flow of the daily services
• This includes ensuring providers' schedules maintain open access availability throughout the day - coupled with scheduled appointments - as well as resolving problems that arise from late appointments - emergencies - or walk-ins that could delay scheduled patients being seen in a timely manner
• Also - the incumbent is responsible for gathering information from the Veteran and coordinating with outpatient providers to integrate the information gathered into the medical record
• The PSA receives incoming telephone calls - determines identity of caller - nature of call and appropriate distribution of the call
• answers inquiries from other employees/or the general public seeking information relative to medical and administrative matters and screens representatives from various companies
• Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory - qualification - and performance requirements are met
• Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level
• Work Schedule: Monday through Friday
• 8:00AM-4:30PM - Subject to change by supervisor to meet facility needs
• Telework: This position may be authorized for telework
• Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant - Mental Health Outpatient Clinics/PD076050Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized