Telephone Operator

Job title: Telephone Operator

Responsibilities

• operating telephones
• processing alarms
• directing calls

Requirements

• Requires one year of general clerical or office experience, or two years of post-high-school education, or an equivalent combination. Must demonstrate customer service

• Information management

• Technical competence, and telecommunications skills

• Summary

• This position is located in the Telecommunications Unit at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), VA Medical Center, in Baltimore, MD. The primary purpose of this position is to perform a variety of functions, including providing 24/7 coverage for both telephones and security services, process incoming calls and other alarms.

Duties

• THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION Major duties and responsibilities will include: Operates the medical center's telephone line; Uses courtesy, tact, diplomacy, manual dexterity, clear speech, and voice modulation in dealing with customers, staff, employees, and patients; Handles calls from mentally incompetent, alcohol or drug addicted persons who require special attention by the operator while attempting to locate the correct personnel to handle the call; Verifies patient appointments; Maintains the confidentiality of patient and employee information received; Uses a personal computer to retrieve information as needed to direct calls in a timely and accurate manner; Handles a full range of telephone calls including local, long distance and overseas calls; Deals with multiple phone calls or situations simultaneously and displays good common sense and quick decision-making skills; Perform other related duties as assigned Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; Full - Time, 7:00am - 3:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical

Skills

• Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Qualifications

• To qualify for this position at the GS-4 level, you must meet one of the following: EXPERIENCE: At least one (1) full year of general experience that has equipped me with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of a Telephone Operator GS-4. 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 in your resume and must include job title; duties; month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. OR EDUCATION: Successful completion of 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. (Transcripts must be submitted at time of application) OR COMBINATION: Equivalent combinations of post-high school education and specialized experience, as described above. Note: only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to 1 year of specialized experience. (Transcripts must be submitted at time of application) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Information Management Technical Competence Telecommunications 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 sedentary. The employee sits comfortably to do the work but may involve some standing and walking around adjusting equipment or consulting directories and manuals. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. 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/.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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. Acceptabl