Legal Administrative Specialist (Contact Representation)

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent Des Moines, IA; Lincoln, NE; Houston, TX; San Antonio, TX; Fargo, ND; Sioux Falls, SD; and Waco, TX VBA Regional Office employees and current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible. For purposes of this job announcement, Fiduciary Hub bargaining unit employees in the commuting area are considered facility employees. Applicants may only apply to their respective Regional Office.

Specific duties include:

• Coordinates counseling sessions with Veterans, their dependents, and their beneficiaries face to face, regarding all benefits available though VA, as well as non-VA benefits available through other agencies.
• Explains in detail VBA rating decisions, and provides explanations for the decisions using extensive knowledge of VA benefits and services, claim and appeal procedures and benefit determination information and all pertinent information available in system of record.
• Assists with programs including but not limited to compensation and pension benefits, home loan eligibility, education, health care, life insurance, burial benefits, vocational rehabilitation services, general Social Security Administration benefits programs, other federal, state and local domestic relations, and assistance programs.
• Prepares technical correspondence to veterans and their dependents providing benefit information, representation rights and response to miscellaneous inquiries.
• Explains pertinent legal provisions, regulations, and related administrative practices and their application to specific cases.
• May serve as or with the Outreach Coordinator (such as the Women's Veterans Coordinator, Ex-Prisoners of War Coordinator or Military Services Coordinator.
• Initiates inquiries to resolve errors, delays, or other problems in obtaining benefits. Completes claim and appeal related work.

Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday - Friday, hours to be determined by the hiring office.
Compressed: May be available as determined by the hiring office.
Telework: Ad-hoc telework may be authorized as determined by the agency policy.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Legal Administrative Specialist (Contact Representation); PD02108A
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 Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary 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.

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:06/30/2026.

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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
GS-10 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience:

1. Experience that has demonstrated the capability of being self-reliant decision maker and possessing the ability to work independently when providing customer service benefits counseling and claims processing,
2. The individual must posses in-depth knowledge of researching relevant subject matter.
3. The experience should be significantly and directly derived from federal, military, or the private sector.

Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: orating to persons from a wide variety of backgrounds regarding VA benefits programs; performing research of local, state, and federal laws and regulations to determine Veterans' eligibility for benefits programs.

• Education Substitution:

Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have possess two and a half years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position. (Must submit transcripts.).

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 normally involves mental rather than physical exertion.

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
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

• Problem Solving
• Reading
• Computer Skills

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.

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

Next steps

Additional locations