Summary
Location Specific pay information:
- Des Moines, IA Salary Range: $66,522 - $86,476
- Arlington, TX Salary Range: $71,740 - $85,844
- Lincoln, NE Salary Range: $66,036 - $85,844
Clarification from the agency
This vacancy announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) employees and current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible.
Duties
The Legal Administrative Specialist (LAS) serves as a member of the Public Contact Team, located in the Veterans Service Center. The incumbent provides in-depth information and comprehensive assistance to veterans their dependents and beneficiaries concerning any matter within the scope of VA benefits and related non-VA benefits.
Specific duties include:
- Counsels Veterans, their dependents, and their beneficiaries regarding all benefits available through the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as non-VA benefits available through other agencies.
- Explains the types of documents necessary to facility timely processing of claims and provides assistance in obtaining and completing such document and forms as required by the type of claim being submitted or services requested.
- Serves as facility Point of Contact (POC) and advocate for veterans and their beneficiaries in their dealings with other VA elements and organizations that may affect their claims.
- Explains decisions made by the VA and communicates the reasons to the claimant for these decisions, orally and in writing.
- Advises on the right of appeals and assists claimants in making appeals.
- Develops a network relationship with the state and private Veteran's organizations to broaden the scope of outreach and increase the community awareness of the role VA plays in being a resource to the community.
- Provides community outreach counseling and in-home counseling to those who are geographically isolated or physically unable to go to a VA facility due to physical or mental incapacity.
- Participates in large scale outreach activities (claims clinics, tribal events, etc.), to support claims intake and benefits counseling.
- Analyzes inquiries, researches issues involved, consults with other federal, state and local agencies as necessary and prepares written replies or furnishes replies by telephone or other medium to congressional or White House staff members.
Promotion Potential: None. GS-10 is the full performance level of this position.
Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday (hours to be determined by hiring office)
Compressed/Flexible: Available as determined by the hiring office
Telework: Available as determined by the hiring office
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Legal Administrative Specialist (Contact Representation); 02108A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentive: Not Authorized
Financial Discloser Report: Not Required
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, 05/03/2024.
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-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9 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.
If you are a current VBA employee requesting a reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-10 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-10.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
GS-10 Grade Level:
Specialized Experience: For a GS-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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.
Specialized experience is defined as:
- Experience independently making decisions and orating to persons from a wide variety of backgrounds when providing benefits counseling and claims processing and (2) Experience researching local, state, and Federal laws and regulations to determine Veterans' eligibility for benefits programs.
- Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-10 level. To qualify based on education substitution, applicants must have two and a half years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a field related to the duties of this position. Such education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work. Note: Transcripts Required.
Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information.
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. The incumbent will be required to talk for long periods of time which occasionally puts a strain on the throat/vocal cords. There are no other special physical demands required to perform the work. There may be some walking, standing, and carrying of light items such as papers, books, and files from one location to another. Extensive use of a computer and a telephone is required and may often involve high levels of stress and pressures.
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
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited towards qualifications. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
All education claimed by applicants will be verified upon appointment. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript to receive credit.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
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.
- Customer Service: Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) 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.
- Problem Solving: Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.
- Reading Comprehension: Understands and interprets written material, including technical materials, rules, regulations, instructions, reports, charts, graphs, or tables; applies what is learned from written material to specific situations.
- Reasoning: Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions.
- Writing: Uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling to communicate thoughts, ideas, information, and messages in writing.
- Oral Communication: Conveys ideas, facts, and presentations orally in a clear and convincing manner to internal and external contacts.
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.
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: 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 detailing specialized experience and competencies as they relate to this position.
- For each position in your resume, you must specify the start and end dates (month/year) and a description of duties. If the position was Federal, you should also indicate the grade level. Resumes containing a general summary of all positions held, not specifying start/end dates, and/or not including documentation supporting Federal grade level(s) are insufficient to determine basic qualifications.
- Your most recent NON-AWARD SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).
- Your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade (e.g. Promotion, Appointment, etc.) in order to verify time-in-grade requirements.
- Transcript if you are using education to qualify
Additional Documents accepted:
- Most recent Performance Appraisal (VA Form 0750)
- Award SF-50s
- CTAP documentation - RIF notice, SF-50 showing VA employee, and performance appraisal
Please use this checklist to make sure you have included all documents required for your application. You will not be contacted for additional information.
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.
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 05/03/2024 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12386259.
- 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.
To verify your application is complete, log into your USA JOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Application page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USA JOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USA JOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
Next steps
Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.
You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.
|