Program Support Assistant (OA)

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Sioux Falls (SD); On-site; USD 42,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Environmental Management Service in Sioux Falls, SD, seeks a Program Support Assistant to deliver essential administrative and clerical support for daily EMS operations.

You will assist staff and management with scheduling, records management, and office automation tasks, contributing to efficient department functioning in a largely sedentary role.

Qualifications

• Typing proficiency of 40 WPM is required.
• Education may substitute experience: 4 years above high school.
• Combination of education and experience allowed; transcripts required.

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative and clerical support to EMS staff and management.
• Assist with scheduling, calendars, and meetings.
• Prepare correspondence, reports, and maintain records.

Skills

Typing 40 WPM

Office software

Communication

Education

4 years of education above high school

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Databases

Job description

This position is a Program Support Assistant (OA) within the Environmental Management Service (EMS) at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The role provides essential administrative and clerical support to ensure the efficient operation of the EMS department. The position requires strong organizational, communication, and office automation skills to assist staff and management in daily operations. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/19/2026.

Typing Proficiency Requirement

You must be able to type at least 40 words per minute.

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

• Specialized Experience GS-05: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-04) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include: providing administrative and/or clerical support to include preparing correspondence, reports, and maintaining records; scheduling appointments, managing calendars, timekeeping, and/or coordinating meetings for a team or department; utilizing office automation software (e.g., word processing, spreadsheets, databases) to create, edit, and manage documents and data; and communicating with staff, management, and external stakeholders, both verbally and in writing, to relay information and resolve routine issues. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 4 years of education above high school. NOTE: This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university; transcripts are required. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an equivalent combination of successfully completed post‑high‑school education and specialized experience as described above to meet the total experience requirements. Note: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. NOTE: Transcripts are required.

Physical Requirements

You will be asked to participate in a pre‑employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre‑employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. The work is mostly sedentary. It requires sitting, walking, standing, bending and carrying light items such as books, papers and files. At times, long hours may be spent operating a personal computer and/or typing.

Work Conditions

Work is performed in an office setting. The work requires the use of safe work practices that include office equipment, avoidance of trips and falls, and observation of fire regulations. The work area is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated.

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/.