Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent VBA employees and current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible.

Specific duties include:

• Coaches the LP team in the selection and application of appropriate problem-solving methods and techniques, provides advice on work methods, practices and procedures, and assists the team and/or individual members in identifying the parameters of a viable solution
• Responsible for tracking and monitoring overall LP performance goals established by LGY and reporting any out of line or potential situations to LP management
• Responsible for all normal case reviews, which include the underwriting of all prior approval loan applications, early payment default reviews, giving technical guidance for more complex and unusual cases including inquiries on disapproved prior approval loans
• Required to work on special projects for LGY and such assignments may involve liaison with or visits to other LGY locations. Special projects will require creating and achieving project goals, communicating recommendations and outcomes to LGY leadership and serving as a change management champion for new initiatives or LGY directives
• To ensure employee decisions and recommendations are accurate, conducts frequent formal and informal reviews of work and analyses of operations to verify work produced complies with law, regulation, manual requirements, local and agency directives and good business practices.
• Makes recommendations to the Assistant Loan Production Officer (ALPO) and Loan Production Officer (LPO) founded in program data regarding changes to increase efficiency and economy in the section
• Responsible for reporting unique problems or out-of-line workflow situations along with recommendations for correction.
• Must be familiar with and assist in preparation of the annual Systematic Analysis of Operations (SAO's) and quarterly/monthly briefings. There must be ongoing interaction, communication, and cooperation between all employees.
• Ensures that the organization's strategic plan, mission, vision and values are communicated to the team and integrated into the team's strategies, goals, objectives, work plans and work products and services.
• Communicates to the team the assignment, project, problem to be solved, actionable events, milestones, and/or program issues under review, and deadlines and time frames for completion
• Establishes and maintains complete and accurate Loan Production (LP) section records, both those prescribed by LGY and those created locally to assure that current information is available for timely report preparation and for maintaining proper controls over all work phases
• Responsible for conducting and maintaining a comprehensive program of training materials for program participants to include Veterans, Lenders, Realtors, and other program stakeholders. Incumbent must be able to present training to groups of all sizes or conduct training at distance locations

Promotion Potential: None

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday 6:00 am - 6:00 pm
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Lead Loan Specialist; PD 39038A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period OR 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period OR 2-year trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

• 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

Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements I-9 Acceptable Documents.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:03/09/2026.

INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATION REQUIREMENT (IOR): This position does have an IOR (Individual Occupational Requirement) that must be met in addition to the basic Specialized Experience qualifications. In order to qualify for this position, you must have the education or experience listed below:

IOR EDUCATION: This position requires Undergraduate and 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.

OR

IOR EXPERIENCE: 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.

AND

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.

• For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 level.

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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Specialized Experience: For the GS-12 you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Specialized Experience is defined as experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrating a thorough knowledge and expertise in all phases of the loan guaranty program. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

Specialized experience which includes (1) applying advanced underwriting practices to income credit and quality borrowers across a variety of employment types to include self-employment for government guaranteed loan program(s); (2) reviewing and making program eligibility recommendations for borrowers is characterized by a thorough knowledge and demonstrated expertise of underwriting practices required of government guaranteed loan program(s); (3) collaborating with a broad range of real estate professionals to include realtors, lenders, servicers, appraisers and other professionals to educate and support access to government guaranteed loan programs(s).

There is no education substitution for this grade level.

Volunteer Experience: 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.

Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.

Physical Requirements: The work is mostly sedentary; however, there may be some walking, standing, and carrying of light items such as papers, books, folders, and files.

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/.

How you will be evaluated

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

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 an interview.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

• Real Estate - Knowledge of real estate principles, practices, markets, and values.
• Problem Solving - Identifies and analyzes problems; uses sound reasoning to arrive at conclusions; finds alternative solutions to complex problems; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information to make logical judgements
• Customer Service - Works and communicates with clients and customers (e.g., any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit provides, including individuals who work in your agency or in other agencies or organizations outside the Government) to satisfy their expectations. Committed to quality services
• Teamwork - Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.

The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package to include the documents detailed below. Resumes may not exceed two pages and must be legible for review of eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume and supporting documentation will be verified. Failure to submit the documents as specified may result in loss of consideration for this job announcement.

• Resume:
  • Contact Information:
    • Name and how best to contact you, including email address and phone number
  • Relevant Work Experience:
    • For each relevant work experience, make sure you include:
      • Job Title and Employer (including series and grade for any Federal positions)
      • Start and end dates with month/year (e.g., 05/2019 - 08/2022)
      • The number of hours you worked per week
    • Ensure work experience descriptions are aligned with the job announcement and address all required qualifications. Brief descriptions should demonstrate your ability to perform the tasks at the required level as stated in the job announcement
  • Education/Certification/ Licensure:
    • When relevant or required for the position, include your possession of education/ certification/license and provide any required documentation such as transcripts, and/or details (type and date) of certifications and/or licenses
      • Education information should include:
        • Name of school/institution
        • Completion date
        • Degree type
        • Cumulative Grade point average (GPA)
  • Optional Details:
    • When relevant, include:
      • Current Security Clearance
      • Job-related training
      • Language skills
      • Organizations and affiliations
      • Professional publications
      • Eligibility for special programs (e.g., military spouses, individuals with disabilities, etc.)
• Current Federal Employees:
  • Your most recent APPOINTMENT SF-50. The most recent 1XX or 5XX SF-50 proving status. This SF-50 should identify your appointing legal authority, position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).
  • Your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade and step (e.g., Within Grade Increase, Promotion, Appointment, etc.) in order to verify time-in-grade requirements.
• Current VBA Employees: If you are seeking a reassignment/change to lower grade, you must submit a copy of your most recent appointment SF-50 and an SF-50 that reflects when you entered your highest grade and step as described above. [remove if internal facility ONLY posting]

Additional Documents accepted:

• Most recent Performance Appraisal (VA Form 0750)
• CTAP documentation - RIF notice, SF-50 showing VA employee, and performance appraisal

Next steps

Additional locations