Secretary (OA)

Veterans Health Administration; Salem (VA); On-site; USD 52,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

The Veterans Health Administration's Salem VA Medical Center seeks a Secretary (OA) to support the Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development and the Administrative Officer for Research & Development Service. The role focuses on clerical and administrative duties and maintaining clear communication to optimize resources and meet program objectives.

Applicants must meet all requirements by 10/21/2026 and demonstrate time-in-grade eligibility if currently a federal employee.

Qualifications

• One year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-06 in clerical/administrative support.
• Secretarial support for a large organization and/or a large medical center setting.
• Experience with meeting minutes and committee support.

Responsibilities

• Provide clerical and administrative support to the Associate Chief of Staff for Research & Development and the Administrative Officer for Research & Development Service.
• Maintain clear lines of communication to optimize utilization of resources and meet program objectives.
• Support committees and subsections, including minutes and scheduling.

Skills

Microsoft Word

Excel

Outlook Calendar

Meeting minutes

Tools

Document management systems

Job description

Come Join Our Team! The Secretary (OA) will assist the Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development (ACOS/R) and the Administrative Officer (AO) for Research & Development Service, committees, and subsections in performing a variety of clerical and administrative duties and maintaining clear lines of communication to optimize utilization of resources and meet program objectives. This position is located within the Dept of VA, Veterans Health Administration, Salem VA Medical Center.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/21/2026. 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. NOTE: Your resume must include job title, duties listed for each position, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: GS-07 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. Specialized experience is defined as clerical and administrative experience related to secretarial support for a large organization and/or in a large medical center setting. Examples may include but are not limited to: organize the work of an office and perform clerical and administrative duties; computer software and database experience such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook Email/Calendar; meeting minutes/note taking, committee experience; use of automated office equipment typical to an office setting such as: computer equipment, printer/scanner/copier/fax machines, telephones, and document management systems. Please note: Your resume must support your response. 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/. Preferred Experience: VA and/or Research experience.