Duties

Summary

The Loan Assistant (Reality) position is location in the Loan Production Section of the Regional Loan Center (RLC) at the VBA Regional Office located in Roanoke, VA. The RLC serves Veterans, mortgage lenders, and other real estate industry processionals in connection with obtaining and processing a VA mortgage loan. The Jurisdiction of the RLC is: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky and the District of Columbia.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

Major Duties:

• Guide program participants on aspects of the VA Home Loan Program through personal and/or written contacts.
• Counsel program participants on aspects of the VA Home Loan Program through personal and/or written contacts.
  
• Complete post -guaranty loan reviews for refinances.
  
• Make eligibility determinations, resolve data discrepancies, and issue Certificates of Eligibility
  
• Prepare and maintain a manual of Standard Operating Procedures for the duties and procedures required for each position in Loan Production.
  
• Maintain manuals, circulars, loan guaranty memoranda, and other reference materials that are related to the VA Home Loan Program.
  
• Possess knowledge of guidelines for prior approval and automatic lenders.
  
• Possess knowledge of requirements for lenders and the Expanded Lender Identification and Electronic Lender folders computer programs.
  

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

Work Schedule: 8:00am to 4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Loan Assistant/03715A 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
11

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• 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, 02/02/2021.

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-05. 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. 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:

The Loan Specialist has an individual occupational requirement (IOR) for the specialized experience and education. Below is the IOR for specialized experience and education. READ CAREFULLY.

Specialized Experience:

For the GS-07 grade level you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. This experience must meet the IOR below.

IOR for specialized experience is experience that demonstrated competence in agricultural, commercial, realty, or other types of loans. Experience may have been gained in such work as reviewing and passing upon applications for agricultural, commercial, bank or mortgage loans; servicing a loan portfolio of a bank or other loan association; performing financial analysis of commercial concerns for investment purposes; appraising real estate to determine property valuation; or similar work.

You may substitute the IOR specialized experience for the IOR educational requirement.
GS-07: To qualify for the GS-07 grade level based on education for this grade level you must have one (1) full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement. The educational requirement must meet the IOR below.

TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED

IOR for education: Graduate Education: Major study -- finance, business administration, economics, accounting, insurance, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, real estate operations, statistics, or other fields related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology.

You may have a combination of specialized experience and education to qualify for the GS-07 grade level.

Combination requirement: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-07 grade level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of education you have earned (when substituting for the GS-07 grade level, only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at the GS-07 grade level. Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for the GS-07. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. You still must meet the IOR for the specialized experience and education when using the combination to qualify.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
Competency 1. Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, with employees and program participants using applicable terminology and approach to both individual and group presentations.
Competency 2. Ability to make decisions quickly, applying sound business judgment and the principle of equity in evaluating diverse data against the requirements of law and regulations.
Competency 3. Ability to work independently and prioritize workload adjusting to changing situations and procedures.
Competency 4. Knowledge of the real estate laws, Mortgage Banking Industry and regulations pertinent to the home loan programs and the loan processing, underwriting and closing of guaranteed mortgage loans.
Competency 5. Knowledge of principles of personal financial management and financial counseling techniques.

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 sedentary. Typically the employee may sit comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending or carrying of light items such as papers and books. No special physical demands are required to perform the work. The Department of Veterans Affairs provides reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities

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 or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, 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.

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
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

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

• Resume

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.

• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Other (1)
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

If applying as a status candidate with current or former Federal Service, provide a copy of your most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" showing you are/were in the competitive service and the highest grade or promotion potential held. 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.

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.