Staff Assistant.

Veterans Benefits Administration; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Benefits Administration seeks a Staff Assistant to support the Director's Office. The role involves timekeeping for staff, managing the Director's calendar, scheduling meetings, and drafting official communications for signature.

You will screen and route incoming material and brief leadership on important items. The position requires coordination with senior leadership, preparation of meeting minutes, and coordination of events or travel when needed.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to analyze, evaluate, and improve administrative processes.
• Proven experience drafting reports, letters, and policy documents.
• Strong organizational and calendar-management capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Serve as primary timekeeper for personnel reporting to the Director's Office.
• Maintain and coordinate the Director's daily activity calendar and meetings.
• Prepare minutes and distribute them to stakeholders after meetings.
• Draft communications for the Director and Assistant Director for signature.
• Coordinate correspondences and assure proper routing and timely responses.

Skills

Time management

Communication

Analytical skills

Job description

Duties

Specific duties include: As the Staff Assistant for the Director's Office, the incumbent is directly responsible and accountable to the station's senior leadership team (Director, Assistant Director, and Division Chiefs) to provide analysis and support for a comprehensive program of management improvement and control in all phases of a diverse, complex, and dynamic mission.

• Staff Assistant serves as the primary timekeeper for all personnel who report to the Director's Office for supervision.
• Sets up and maintains the daily activity calendar for the Director and Assistant Director; schedules appointments and arranges meetings and assures that daily activities are well coordinated.
• Writes original reports, letters, emails, directives, policy statements and other types of material for the signature of the Director and Assistant Director that will be released to OFO, District and VA Central Office, as well as any other internal/external entities.
• The Staff Assistant receives, analyzes, and evaluates all written or electronic material coming into the Office of the Director; determines proper routing; and is responsible to brief the Director and/or AD on correspondence or electronic information requiring their attention.
• Analyzes written or electronic correspondence prepared for the signature of the Director or AD for accuracy, timeliness, tone and appropriateness.
• Staff Assistant coordinates daily on Veteran inquiries and Congressional responses.
• Screens all incoming telephone calls for the Director's suite and independently decides who speaks to the Director or AD, and to whom any referrals should be made. Actions required from phone calls include committing senior leadership to meetings, conferences and appointments.
• Screens incoming visitors to the Director's suite and determines how best to assist and when visitor will see the Director/Assistant Director. Makes appointments and takes care of visitors as appropriate.
• Upon request of the Director or Assistant Director, attends staff meetings or other meetings that senior leadership presides over. Prepares meeting minutes and distributes copies of the minutes to the appropriate individuals.
• Coordinates arrangements for conferences and meetings, initiate contacts, and reviews available space. Responsible for coordinating events which may require travel accommodations and hospitality for important visitors (VIPs) to the RO.
• Serves as the station's Correspondence Management Coordinator. Staff Assistant disseminates and ensures adherence to directives and policies issued by VA Central Office as it relates to administrative/clerical functions.
• Responsible for preparation of statistical reports and analyses from operating performance and other reports for local study and action.
• The Staff Assistant works on and at times directs special projects assigned by the Director and Assistant Director such as Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), All-Employee Recognition events, and other various projects, as deemed necessary.

Work Schedule

Full Time, Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 4:00 pm

Compressed/Flexible:

Available

Telework

This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only.

Virtual:

This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#

Staff Assistant; PD420920

Financial Disclosure Report:

Not Required

Requirements

Conditions of employment

Required

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 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.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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
• 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:10/20/2026.

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.

• For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level.
• If you are a current VBA employee outside of the commuting area seeking reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-7 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least None.

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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT:

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

GS-09 Grade Level

• Specialized Experience: Demonstrates knowledge and experience in analytical and evaluative techniques to identify and resolve issues or problems in administration/clerical realm.

OR

• Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree (including LL.B. or J.D. if related) or two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree and which demonstrates the competencies necessary to do the work. Must provide transcripts when substituting for education.

OR

• Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement.

Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement.

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 such as walking, bending, stooping, and carrying of light materials may be required.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Education must be accredited by an

All education claimed by applicants will be verified upon appointment. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a

Additional information

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),

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 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

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.

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the

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 the

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.