Duties

Summary

At the GS-07 level, the incumbent performs in a trainee capacity, work assignments will be under close technical supervision and review. The full performance GS-10 Veterans Service Representative (VSR) explains benefit programs and entitlement criteria, conducts interviews, identifies issues, gathers relevant evidence, adjudicates disability claims, and inputs data necessary to generate the disability award and notification letter to the veteran describing the decision and the reason for it.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

Full Performance level of this position is a GS -10.VSR duties include but are not limited to:

• Serves as a primary contact for veterans, their beneficiaries, and their representatives and is the decision-maker for compensation or pension claims. Explains the full range of VA benefits and all related programs.
• Makes determinations as to eligibility for the type of benefit sought and analyzes, develops, and requests required evidence for certain claims requiring a rating decision.
• Decides the necessity for and type of examination, reexamination or opinions to determine the existence of or to evaluate disabilities resulting from diseases or injuries.
• Develops comprehensive requests for these examination/opinions to ensure appropriate evidence is received from which to adjudicate the claim.
• Prepares correspondence to members of Congress and special interest groups on case assignments and other "controlled" correspondence.
• Reviews all correspondence to private attorneys; acknowledges and revokes designations for private attorneys.
• Utilizes various electronic data processing (EDP) systems for inputting data related to claims adjudication, processing, monitoring, and correspondence preparation.
• Acts as an advocate for veterans and their beneficiaries in their dealings with other VA elements and organizations that effect their claims.
  Individual(s) selected for this position must be available to attend a mandatory 8-week consecutive training session. This training may require official government travel away from the permanent duty station to a different city and/or state.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirement are met Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Position Description/ PD#Veterans Service Representative
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
10

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/16/2019.

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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. 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. NOTE: To support your claim that you have the required time-in-grade, you must submit your most recent promotion, within-grade increase, or appointment SF-50. If you previously held a higher grade, you must also submit any SF-50 showing that grade.

AND

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Demonstrated experience interpreting, regulations and applying laws required to explain, evaluate and recommend determinations of eligibility to claimant request for services and benefits. Examples of Specialized experience include but are not limited to:
1. The ability to request relevant medical or administrative evidence to make eligibility determinations.
2. Experience analyzing medical evidence, benefit and/or legal evidence to identify and recognize required actions for claim development.
3. Experience in explaining program benefit entitlements and requirements

OR

Education: GS-07: Successful completion of one (1) full year (18 credit hours) of graduate level education in an accredited college or university which demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

OR

GS-07: Completion of a full four-year (120 credit hours) course of study leading to a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, and meet one of the following conditions under Superior Academic Achievement.

OR

Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) is a means of qualifying on the basis of education, if you are within the area of consideration as stated in the "Who May Be Considered" section of this announcement (first page). S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership.
1. Class standing--Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.
2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) --Applicants must have a grade-point average of:
a. 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ('B' or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or
b. 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ('B+' or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.
Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.
3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society--Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies.

OR

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned. When substituting you can use graduate level education you have earned beyond a bachelor's degree. Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-07. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position.

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: This position is primarily sedentary with some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of lightweight items (e.g. folders, claims files, etc.)

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ .

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Receiving Service Credit or 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) 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/ .

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

If you are unable to apply online view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

After you have met the minimum qualifications and have been referred you will be rated on the following competencies based on your application for this position

• Identifies regulations, laws, rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions.
• Works with customers to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.
• Makes sound, well-informed and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action even in uncertain situations in order to assist customers and meet organizational goals.
• Displays a high level of initiative, effort and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works independently with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; sets well-defined and realistic goals that are in alignment with organizational goals and objectives.
• Expresses information (facts, decisions, and ideas) to individuals or groups clearly and concise, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); listens to others; asks questions and gains or shares information related to the claims review process.
• Uses computers, software applications, databases, and automated systems to accomplish work. This includes tasks such as entering, sorting and retrieving data; analyzing data; researching information; monitoring work; and preparing correspondence and reports.
• Prepares written correspondence to customers and co-workers via email, letters, reports, etc. using correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style; communicates information in a succinct and organized manner; provides information that is appropriate for the purpose and the intended audience.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview.Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume

Current VBA Employees : If you are seeking a reassignment/change to lower grade, you must submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (non-award) AND the SF-50 placing you into your current position.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• PCS Orders
• Proof of Marriage Status
• Resume
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.