Telecommunications Equipment Operator

Telecommunications Equipment Operator

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Madison, Wisconsin

Salary Range: $40332 - $52426 Per Year

Job Summary: The Telecommunications Equipment Operator performs a variety of different duties relating to the provision of telephone and related telecommunications services to all facilities.

Major Duties:

• ***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** The major duties include but are not limited to: Performs telecommunications support assignments which involve a significant amount of customer service in recognizing and routing patient and other inquiries to the correct location and program; Represents the Veterans Affairs (VA) with positive interactions enhancing the Veteran/Customer experience; Greets telephone customers, assesses needs and accurately transfers calls to appropriate department or individual; Provides general telephone information and visitor referral services upon request such as: appointment details, telephone numbers, resources and clinic hours/location; Operates telephone system to receive and connect incoming and outgoing calls by utilizing complex computerized equipment and telecommunications software; Interviews incoming callers and routes the calls to their proper destination; Regularly provides customer service to a variety of difficult calls; Initiates a trace with local telephone and police authorities on threatening or emergency related calls; Processes reports of telephone system outages and documents the issue in a technical log; Operates the internal and external paging system; Maintains, lists and monitors computer generated telephone files; Performs file maintenance work such as updating usernames, departments and telephone directories; Operates and monitors computer system and peripheral equipment such as telephones and printers; Performs routine tests on computer and telecommunications equipment for operation; Performs appropriate system maintenance procedures; and Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full-Time-, 33 hours per week, Monday through Friday 8 am-4:30 pm. Rotating weekends and holidays Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved NOTE: The full-time position (33 hrs. per week). The salary listed represents full-time employment and will be pro-rated based on the actual number of hours worked each pay-period. Likewise, benefits and time-off accrual will also be prorated and based on your full-time work schedule.

Qualifications: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-4) in the Federal service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Telecommunications Equipment Operator and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience includes: providing information of a routine nature; receiving and directing callers; providing general clerical and referral services; connecting incoming calls using telecommunications system; and operating and monitoring computer systems. NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must clearly indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. ~OR~ EDUCATION: Successfully completed four (4) years above high school in any field 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 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 (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total qualification requirements for this grade level. This education must have been obtained at an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. 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: Analytical Reasoning Interpersonal Skills Problem Solving 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/Work Conditions: The person selected for this position will spend most of their time standing, sitting, and moving about in the clinical setting. A degree of manual dexterity is required in manipulating the controls of instrumentation and use of computers. The work involves the common risks or discomforts (requiring normal safety precautions) typical of offices, meeting rooms, libraries, and the like. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. Work areas in or near computer rooms may be environmentally controlled and, although cool, require only normal clothing to compensate for minor 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/.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 01/05/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12855572. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. If initial application submission is updated and resubmitted with a new resume, only the most current resume will be reviewed for consideration. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities (i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities), and/or disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. For more information on how to apply using this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator within the office, contact the facility Human Resources Department at (608) 256-1901. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more before any Veterans preference points) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Application Deadline: 2026-01-05