Supervisory Telephone Operator

This position is under the Health Administration Service at the Truman VA Medical Center in Columbia, MO, which is a Complexity Level 1c facility.

Major duties

The purpose of this position is to supervise the telecommunications unit and provide comprehensive telephone and telecommunications support to the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital (HSTMVH) and all associated sites. The duties of this position include but are not limited to: Oversees the daily operation of the unit, ensures that agency policies and priorities are being followed, develops performance standards, and evaluates work performance of subordinates Provides advice, counsel, and instruction to employees on both technical and administrative matters Completes administrative supervisory duties including performance appraisals and ratings, writing position descriptions, and other HR actions Resolves minor complaints from employees. Refers group grievances and more serious unresolved complaints to a higher-level supervisor or manager Ensures a welcoming and positive first impression of the HSTMVH by overseeing the processing of incoming, outgoing, networked, and interoffice calls regarding hospital services and patient information; providing emergency notification information; and overseeing the facility's communications Reproduction Program Develops policies and operating procedures for all services being served by the telecommunications unit Assists in training medical center personnel in the proper use, operation, and care of telecommunication equipment Sets up, operates, and monitors computer systems and peripheral equipment such as printers, code alarms and other monitoring equipment Tests the telecommunications equipment for operation, monitoring, and controlling operations during processing, and takes prompt action in response to programmed instructions, machine failures or unscheduled halts Maintains Communications Section manuals, reference books, and software instructions associated with the programs and systems used in the medical center Tracks and monitors call traffic volume including incoming and outgoing calls, emergent calls to security, police, and fire department, and overhead broadcast announcements through communications management system and completes other telephone studies for quality assurance purposes Performs work in support of the facility Telecommunications system that includes Federal telephone systems, long range and short-range digital pagers, public address systems, and other emergency communications equipment Makes routine and emergency broadcast announcements during environmental disasters or emergent medical situations. Serves as telephone trouble desk liaison, reporting all emergency communication outages to the maintenance section Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Telephone Operator/PD023990 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/19/2026. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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 as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: supervisory functions necessary for the operation of the mall and telephone services, knowledge of state-of-the-art voice and data communications and mail delivery systems, publication and revision of the facility's telephone directory, Emergency Information, Vocera and Mail Routing Symbols, hiring and termination process of employees, leave administration, disciplinary actions, performance awards, budgeting requested, certifying invoices for payment, prepares reports, and audits. 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: Conflict Management Influencing/Negotiating Manages Resources Partnering Planning and Evaluating Supervisory Situational Judgment Test. Applicants will be required to complete a Supervisory Situational Judgment Test (SSJT) as part of the assessment process for this position. The SSJT evaluates judgment and decision-making skills that align with relevant competencies, organizational values, and best practices. Assessment results may be used as part of the evaluation, ranking and referral process. This is not a timed test, however, the assessment is expected to take approximately 45 minutes or less to complete. The assessment for this application does not include a cut score for a minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. However, you must answer each item in the assessment. 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 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. 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. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

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. This position requires the application, assessment, and questionnaire to be fully completed. The assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 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 or 2-year trial 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 or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.