Telephone Operator

US Department of Veterans Affairs; San Juan (PR); On-site; USD 27,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

The US Department of Veterans Affairs in San Juan recruits a Telephone Operator within Health Administration Services at the VA Healthcare System, including Community Based Outreach Clinics. The role is frontline, handling calls, directing inquiries, and facilitating transfers to ensure timely access for patients and the community.

Applicants must be fluent in English and Spanish; basic clerical abilities are evaluated against GS-4 qualification standards.

Qualifications

• One year of general clerical, office, or related experience.
• Two years of education beyond high school in any field ( transcripts required ).
• Combination of education and experience may satisfy GS-4 requirements ( transcripts required ).

Responsibilities

• Serve as frontline operator, managing incoming and outgoing calls to the facility.
• Facilitate internal telephone transfers and external call routing for patient access.
• Meet English and Spanish language requirements to support diverse callers.

Skills

Customer Service

Information Management

Technical Competence

Telecommunications

Education

Two years of education beyond high school

Job description

This Telephone Operator position is within the Health Administration Services at the San Juan VA Healthcare System to include several Community Based Outpatient Clinics. The Telephone Operator serves in a critical front-line role to patient and community access and manages telephone calls to the facility, to include external calls to the facility as well as internal service to service telephone transfers. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

English Language Requirement: You must be fluent in spoken and written English, including speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing to meet the requirements of this position.

Spanish Language Requirement: You must be fluent in spoken and written Spanish, including speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing to meet the requirements of this position.

You may qualify at the GS-4 level if you fulfill one of the following qualifications:

• GENERAL EXPERIENCE: One (1) year of general experience that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. General experience is progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position to be filled. -OR-
• EDUCATION: Successful completion of two (2) years of education above the high school level in any field. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial or technical school. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) -OR-
• COMBINATION: Equivalent combinations of education and general experience (as described above) to meet the requirements at the GS-4 level. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED)

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Information Management
• Technical Competence
• Telecommunications

IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

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; religious; 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.

Physical Requirements: The work is usually sedentary but may involve some standing and walking to consult directories and manuals.

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/