Supervisory Patient Relations Assistant

Summary

This position functions as the Supervisory Patient Relations Assistant (SPRA) for the Orlando VA Healthcare System (OVAHCS). Serves as the Supervisor for Patient Relations Assistants and a Lead Patient Relations Assistant who have initial contact with Veterans, caregivers, and visitors within OVAHCS and have an extensive role in guiding their healthcare journey. The SPRA plays a key role in supporting the Veterans Experience Office.

Duties

The Supervisory Patient Relations Assistant will report to the Veterans Experience Officer. Assumes full responsibility for planning, directing, and assessing the work and competence of subordinate staff. Collaborates with other managers in the medical center to negotiate and/or make decisions on Patient Relations matters. Leads the action planning process to attain goals and resolve issues. Identifies and prioritizes problems, sets long and short-term goals, identifies action plans for Patient Relations Assistants. Builds and implements contingency plans within the section, ensuring continuity of operations in all internal and external emergency situations. First Line Supervisor, executes the training plan for the Patient Relations Assistants section employees related to appropriate policies and procedures. Duties are but not limited too: Assumes full responsibility for planning, directing, and assessing the work and competence of subordinate staff. Collaborates with other managers in the medical center to negotiate and/or make decisions on Patient Relations matters. Represents Patient Relations Assistants on projects, committees and/or workgroups within the department and facility Performs a variety of leadership functions to ensure the work of the organization is carried out including supervisory approval of leave, tour of duty changes, and overall management of the workforce within the Patient Relations section. Provides advice on work methods, practices, and procedures, and assists the section and/or individual members in identifying, distributing, and balancing workload and tasks among employees in accordance with workflow and skill level Provides and/or arranges for specific administrative or technical training necessary for the accomplishment of individual and section tasks. Monitors the status and progress of work, checking on work progress as needed and reviewing completed work to see that instructions on work priorities have been met. Consistently adapts to changing demands in a professional and positive manner with no significant adverse effect on individual productivity or efficiency. Maintains relationships with co-workers, professional and administrative staff, and counterparts that permits effective teamwork, cooperation, resource sharing and problem resolution. Maintains office calendar to include scheduling of trainings, meetings, activities, etc. to include maintenance of service SharePoint. Exercises judgment to recognize when situations must be coordinated with Patient Advocates. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Location: Lake Nona Telework: This position is not authorized for telework. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Patient Relations Assistant/PD074360 Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). 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. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) 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 the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/27/2026. 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-SF-50 Submitted GS-07 Specialized Experience: Do you 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. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to Compiling ADP security requirements, telephone inquiries. Answering queries and concerns that do not require clinical expertise for Veterans and stakeholders. Experience in customer service skills when dealing with veterans, staff, coworkers, applicants, supervisors, management, union representatives, government representatives, and the general public. Plans, assigns, and evaluates work to be accomplished by subordinates based on priorities, set and adjust short-term priorities, and prepare schedules for completion of work. Develop performance standards, effect minor disciplinary measures, such as warnings and reprimands. Identify training needs and provide or arrange for development and training opportunities. Preferred Experience: 3+ years VA Work History Experience leading a Team Administrative Skills Experience resolving patient concerns Experience working with multiple services to resolve issues 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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level. How You Will Be Evaluated

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service Leadership Organizational Stewardship USA Hire Assessments include a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. Other 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. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. 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 Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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 for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.