Transportation Assistant

The Transportation Assistant works under the supervision of the Mobility Manager of the Veteran Transportation Service (VTS) as part of the Business Office within the Iowa City VA Health Care System (ICVAHCS). The incumbent’s main duties are to provide patient program support, program administration, administrative support, customer service to veterans in the Travel Office and perform other duties as assigned. The incumbent is primarily responsible for travel, maintaining beneficiary travel, processing requests for cash reimbursement for travel, maintaining fund control points within the Travel Office and coordinating and arranging transportation for eligible veterans.

Additional duties of the Transportation Assistant include but are not limited to:

• Accurately determines and/or verifies beneficiary eligibility for travel at government expense.
• Arranges special mode transport for patients adhering to provider specifications of mode of transport and ensuring that mode is correctly denoted according to the patient’s medical condition.
• Performs administrative support duties for the VTS Program as needed and directed by the Mobility Manager, including scheduling rides, contacting Veterans, compiling reports, and other duties as assigned.
• Accurately arranges and coordinates air ambulance travel for eligible veterans for organ/tissue transplants or other inter-facility transfers.
• Performs entitlement or post-entitlement work related to the examination of claims for transportation benefits.
• Prepares reports indicating the amount of money obligated for the previous days’ travel.
• Coordinates with local hotels for lodging patient transport to and from appointments ensuring appointment are kept in a timely manner.
• Makes arrangement for airline reservations and transportation to and from the airport and lodging for the veteran throughout the stay.
• Arranges transportation with the Motor Vehicle Operator (MVO) to transport veterans to their assigned destinations when necessary; coordinates patient transport with the state’s veteran’s home.

Job Title/PD #: Transportation Assistant, GS-2102-5, #50212-A.

Schedule: Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm.

This position is not required to file a financial disclosure report.

This position is in the bargaining unit and represented by AFGE, Local 2547.

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

Specialized Experience :
GS-5 Level: Applicants must have One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-4) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Work withcomputerized travel entitlement systems, filing and record-keeping, scheduling transportation, collecting and presenting data, creating spreadsheets and reports, and use of various computer software.

OR

Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-05 level. Four years of undergraduate-level education is qualifying for the GS-5 level. The education must have been obtained in an accredited business or technical school, junior college, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite.

OR

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-05 level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-05. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position.

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

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.

Physical Requirements: The work requires minimal physical effort and is mainly office work such as; standing, walking, bending, sitting, talking on the telephone and typing.

Work Environment: The work is normally performed in an office setting. The work area typically is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated. The incumbent observes established safety standards and practices as defined in current policy.

Time-in-grade : There is no time-in-grade requirement for?,GS-5 positions.

All applicants are required to submit the following supporting document type(s):

• Resume

Applicants may also submit the following supporting document type(s),which may not be required for all applicants:

• Cover Letter
• DD-214
• OF-306
• Other
• Other Veterans Document
• SF-15
• SF-50
• Transcript

Please use this checklist to ensure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

Veterans’ Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), or 10pt (CP/CPS, XPP, XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP), on the Occupational Questionnaire in the section(s) provided. A legible copy of your DD214(s) indicating character of service, disability certification, SF-15 (if claiming 10 pt. preference) or if you are currently serving on active duty and expected to be released or discharged within 120 days; documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), or dates of impending separation. Documentation is required for eligibility verification.

Faxing Applications or Supporting Documents: You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. If you are unable to apply online or unable to upload your supporting documents to your online application, follow the directions located at the following site: Fax Options . The Vacancy ID of the job opportunity announcement is 1951999.

NOTE : If you applied online and your application is complete, do not fax the paper application (1203-FX) as this will overwrite your prior online responses and may result in you being found ineligible.