Job Summary

The position serves as a Patient Advocate within a VA Medical Facility (e.g., VAMC, CBOC, OPC, etc.). This position covers a variety of difficult and/or complex patient concerns, issues, and contacts for the Facility with the goal of providing resolution. The Patient Advocate works exclusively in the Patient Advocate Tracking System (PATS). The position also provides coverage for fellow Patient Advocates and may be called upon to serve as the Acting Patient Advocate Supervisor.

Job Description

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/21/2025. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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 and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience GS-09: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of Patient advocacy, Service Recovery, and working collaboratively with others; superior customer service, knowledge of patient advocacy, and helping others in the VHA system VHA Employee; excellent verbal and written skills, and ability to collaborate with others. Specialized Experience GS-11: You possess at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-09) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Patient Representative. Qualifying specialized experience includes: knowledge of Patient advocacy, Service Recovery, and working collaboratively with others; superior customer service, knowledge of patient advocacy, and helping others in the VHA system VHA Employee; excellent verbal and written skills, and ability to collaborate with others. 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 performed in an office setting with no apparent or unusual risk or discomfort. 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/.