Telephone Operator

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ VA St. Louis Health Care System seeks a Telephone Operator within the Health Administration Service (HAS). You will handle hospital services calls, direct requests, and provide urgent notifications to support patient care and administrative operations.

Responsibilities include processing inbound/outbound calls, using VistA to retrieve information, maintaining on-call listings, and coordinating emergency notifications. Various tours available; not virtual.

Qualifications

• One year of progressively responsible clerical or office work, or education that demonstrates required knowledge.
• Education can substitute for required experience per the notice.
• Combination of education and experience may qualify at this level.

Responsibilities

• Processing incoming, outgoing, networked, and interoffice calls for hospital services and patient information.
• Receives, interprets, and directs telephone requests to appropriate locations.
• Provides customer service to difficult calls including threatening or distraught callers.
• Retrieves and uses patient opt-in/out listings and maintains on-call listings for departments.
• Contacts on-call staff when requested by medical administrative personnel.
• Uses VistA to retrieve information and direct calls in a timely manner.
• Initiates emergency notifications for Code emergencies and Rapid Response.
• Work schedule offers various tours (not virtual).

Skills

Customer service

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Multitasking

Education

Education substitution: two years of education above high school

Tools

VistA system

Job description

Summary

The VA St. Louis Health Care System Telephone Operator (VASTLHCS) position is in the Health Administration Service (HAS). The primary purpose of this position is to provide comprehensive telephone and tele-communications support to the VA St. Louis Healthcare System and all associated sites.

Summary

The VA St. Louis Health Care System Telephone Operator (VASTLHCS) position is in the Health Administration Service (HAS). The primary purpose of this position is to provide comprehensive telephone and tele-communications support to the VA St. Louis Healthcare System and all associated sites.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 09/25/2026. 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-4 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-2. 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 and/or education as described below: General Experience: You must have one year of 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: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have two years of education above high school. OR - Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Note: If you are basing your qualifications on education (or a combination of education and experience) you must submit a copy of your transcripts with your application. 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/.

Duties

• Processing incoming - outgoing - networked - and interoffice calls regarding hospital services - patient information - and providing emergency notification information
• Receives - interprets - and directs incoming and outgoing telephone requests to proper locations
• Provides customer service to a variety of difficult calls including threatening - abusive - or distraught callers
• Retrieves and utilizes the patient opt-in and opt-out listings and maintains an on-call listing for various departments
• Contacts on-call employees when requested by medical administrative personnel
• Using a computer to retrieve information from VistA as needed to direct calls in a timely manner
• Initiates emergency notifications for Code emergencies and Rapid Response
• Work Schedule: Various tours available
• Tour 1: Thursday-Monday - 1530-midnight
• Tour 2: Wednesday-Sunday - 0800-1630
• Tour 3: Friday-Tuesday - 1130-2000 Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Telephone Operator/PD10479-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized