Telephone Operator

To qualify for this position at the GS-4 level, you must meet one of the following requirements: GENERAL EXPERIENCE: At least one (1) year of general experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of a Telephone Operator position. General experience is defined as progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates your ability to perform the duties of this position. 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. ~OR~ EDUCATION: Two (2) years of education above the high school level for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. This education must have been obtained at 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. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. ~OR~ COMBINATION: Equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education and general experience, as described above, which meet the total qualification requirements for this grade level. NOTE: Your experience must be documented in your resume and transcripts are required. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Attention to Detail Customer Service Oral Communication IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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 is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort such as walking, standing, reaching, dialing numbers on the console, keyboarding, carrying of light supplies required. Because calls received are emergent and so varied, the position can be emotionally taxing. The work is performed in an office and/or in a call center setting. Work involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions that are typical of a Medical Center. 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/.
This position is located within the Business Office at the VA Medical Center in Portland, OR. The Telephone Operator position involves technical work concerned with processing and transferring incoming calls and performs duties as the emergency 911 operator.