Lead Telephone Operator

Description:

The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System is currently recruiting for (1) Lead Telephone Operator in the Health Administration Service (HAS) at Tucson, Arizona. The incumbent performs as a team leader for telephone operators and serves as a lead emergency dispatcher for all medical and fire emergency codes and emergency alarms as well as maintains current knowledge and answers questions of other employees on procedures, policies, directives, etc.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/15/2025.

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

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: provides good customer service; performs testing, monitoring and response to a wide variety of emergency alarms; maintains an accurate list of patients and key employees; establishes connections for conference calls for key medical staff; and operates a telephone console with federal telecommunication system and emergency speed dial lines.
• OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed four (4) years of education above the high school level in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. This education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. One year of full-time academic 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. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED).
• OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) to be creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. .

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Computer Skills
• Customer Service
• Emergency Management
• Lead or Supervise
• Organizational Stewardship
• Technical Credibility

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.

Note : A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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.

Physical Requirements: The work is usually sedentary in nature. Concentration is required in determining priorities. Standing and walking is necessary to consult manuals, directives, and to assist visitors. There may be stress due to dealing with callers who are distraught and/or abusive.

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/ .