Loan Assistant

Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens.

Specific duties include:

• The incumbent reviews submitted documentation including VA forms, resolving data discrepancies, to make eligibility determinations, and issue Certificates of Eligibility.

• Reviews the underwriting of loan applications submitted to VA for guaranty in-order to ensure lender compliance with VA underwriting guidelines and regulations such as fees and charges.

• Answers incoming calls and personally handles inquiries, through personal or written contacts, to guide, counsel, and instruct program participants on aspects of the VA Home Loan program, while ensuring prompt and courteous service.

• Recommends approval or disapproval of restoration of entitlement, release of liability and substitution of entitlement applications; and audits releases or assumptions processed and approved by lenders, requesting additional documentation as necessary.

• Maintains records and controls in compliance with established procedures; prepares reports and quality control reviews and performs all functions relative to the maintenance of lender files. To include lender monitoring, underwriter approvals, and review of supervised/non-supervised lender applications.

• Underwrites complex loan applications; by analyzing the financial capacity of joint mortgagors, marginal loan applicants, Veterans who receive pensions, income based on operations of business firms, multi-family housing rentals, or unstable incomes.

• Collects, researches, analyzes, interprets, retrieves, and inputs data for/from a variety of computer systems, including Microsoft Word, Excel, SharePoint, and Salesforce applications.

• Conducts training and outreach with individual lenders throughout assigned areas to survey operations and meet with underwriters, processors, loan originators, and loan closers/shippers to ensure they are complying with laws, regulations, and all VA Home Loan program directives.

• Completes post guaranty loan reviews and based on findings from the review, notifies mortgage lenders of technical errors, any actions necessary for correction, and makes recommendations of specific training needs.

• Provides preliminary recommendation for Funding Fee refunds by researching computer systems and the Funding Fee Payment System (FFPS).

• Maintains section registers, logs, feeder information, and other systems of records needed for quality control and reports. Establishes and maintains a diary system to ensure all required actions are completed in a timely manner.

• Resolves problems, which occur with coding of loans into Loan Production computer systems while protecting data from unauthorized release, loss, alteration, or deletion.

Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1 year or 2-year probationary 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.

• 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 or trial period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Required to attend an 8 week training session, which may require travel.
• 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.
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the cut-off date and/or closing date of this job opportunity announcement, 07/17/2026.

Note: All applicants must meet both the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) and the Specialized Experience as defined below:

Individual Occupational Requirement (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.

OR

Education
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.

In addition to the IOR, applicants must possess specialized experience and/or education as described below:

Specialized Experience:
To qualify at the GS-07 grade level: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-05). Specialized experience is experience that has given the applicant the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to be successful in the position. Specialized experience for this position is defined as: experience assisting with mortgage loan origination or servicing tasks related to residential mortgage loan processing OR experience with residential real estate sale transactions.

OR

Applicants may substitute education for experience to qualify at the GS-07 grade level: Applicants may substitute qualifying education instead of experience required at the GS-07 level by the following options:
Undergraduate Degree with Superior Academic Achievement. If you have been awarded a bachelor's degree in finance, business administration, economics, accounting, insurance, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, real estate operations, statistics, or another field related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology, from an accredited college or university AND that degree demonstrates one of the following Superior Academic Achievement provisions, you may qualify in full for this position without any experience:
a. Ranked in the upper 1/3 of your college class or major subdivision; or
b. Earned election to a national scholastic honor society that meets the requirements of the Association of College Honor Societies other than freshman honor societies; or
c. Earned a grade point average (GPA) of 2.95 or higher on a 4.0 scale based on all completed undergraduate courses, or all undergraduate classes completed during the final two years; or earned a GPA of 3.45 or higher on a 4.0 scale based on all completed undergraduate courses in your major, or all undergraduate courses in your major, completed during the final two years.

Regarding the Superior Academic Achievement provisions, if more than 10% of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) was taken on a pass/fail or similar basis, you can qualify only on the basis of your class standing or membership in an honor society. If you qualify based on your education, you must include a copy of your college transcript along with your application. If you are selected for the position, an official college transcript will be required when you begin work.

OR

Applicants may substitute graduate education: You must have at least one full academic year of graduate level course work from an accredited college or university with major study in finance, business administration, economics, accounting, insurance, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, real estate operations, statistics, or another field related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology. One year of full-time graduate education is normally determined by the school you attended. If that number cannot be determined, then 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered equivalent to one academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable on a pro-rata basis. If you qualify based on your education, you must include your college transcript along with your application to support your claim. If you are selected for the position, an official college transcript will be required when you begin work.

OR

Applicants may combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-07 grade level: Applicants may combine graduate level education and specialized experience to qualify for the position. If you have some, but not all, of the graduate education (as per the IOR requirements identified in this section of the announcement, as noted above) AND some specialized experience as described above, you may still qualify by combining the amount of creditable education and experience that you do have. To do so, first calculate the percentage of qualifying education you have as a percentage of the education required. Next, calculate the percentage of specialized experience you have as a percentage of the experience required. Then, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% for you to qualify for the position at the grade GS-7 level. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate education (i.e., 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of acceptable specialized experience (i.e., 50% of the experience required) would satisfy the qualification requirements for the position. If you qualify based on a combination of graduate education and specialized experience, you must submit a copy of your official or unofficial college transcript with your application.

Note: 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 you document, to include volunteer experience.

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.

Applicants who do not fully address in their resumes the experience needed for the position (as described in the job opportunity announcement), or who do not possess the education to substitute for it, will not be referred for further consideration. After you have met the minimum qualifications, if you are referred for consideration you will be rated on the following the USA Hire competencies (KSAs) based on your application for this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Flexibility
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Stress Tolerance

• Real Estate
• Teamwork
• Problem Solving
• Customer Service

1. Best Qualified Category - Candidates who meet the minimum qualification requirements and demonstrate a high level of the KSAs necessary to perform the duties of the position.
2. Well Qualified Category - Candidates who meet the minimum qualification requirements and demonstrate a satisfactory level of the KSAs necessary to perform the duties of the position.
3. Qualified Category - Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications requirements.

Required Documents:

• Resume

• You must provide a resume detailing your specialized experience and competencies relevant to the position.
• For qualifications determinations your resume must reflect hours worked per week, the inclusive dates of employment, and the level of your experience. If your resume does not reflect this information you will not receive credit for the experience.
• If you submit more than one copy of your resume, the most recent version will be reviewed. The latest timestamp will be used to determine which version of your resume is "most recent." It is your responsibility to check the status and timestamp of all documents you submit as part of your application. We would recommend that you not submit more than one version of your resume.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, we will not use it to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered further for the vacancy.

• If you are basing all or some of your qualifications on education or if a degree is required for the position, a transcript must be included as part of your application package.
• An unofficial transcript may be submitted; however, it must reflect the applicant's name, school name, course names, levels, credits earned, grades received, and degree conferred if applicable.
• Your transcript (official or unofficial) must reflect the degree conferred date if you are substituting a degree for experience.
• A photocopy of your degree is not acceptable in lieu of a transcript.
• An official transcript will be required later if you are selected for the position.
• Whenever possible it is preferable that you submit copies of official transcripts. Unofficial transcripts may lack essential information necessary for a full evaluation of your qualifications.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• CTAP/ICTAP other documents
• PCS Orders
• Performance Appraisal
• Proof of Marriage Status
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

• A legible copy of your DD Form 214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty," showing all dates of service as well as character of service (Honorable, General, etc.) is required. The member copy 2 or 4 of your DD Form 214 is preferable, as they show the characterization of service. Copies of DD-214s can be requested from the National Archives.
• Current active-duty members must submit a signed statement of service from their commander dated within the last 120 days that reflects their expected discharge date, their release from active duty under honorable conditions, any medals awarded, and the timeframe of their service so that eligibility can be determined.
• Veterans and others (Spouse, Parents, Widows/Widowers) claiming 10 point preference must also submit an SF-15 and all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference. This includes a VA letter supporting your disability claim with the overall percentage listed.
• If you are unsure as to whether you qualify for Veterans' preference, consult the U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans' Preference Advisor.

• Certification of expected separation or reduction-in-force separation notice; and your most recent performance evaluation; and an SF-50 demonstrating your separation or the position you will be separated from; or
• Worker's compensation separation (agency certification of inability to place employee and notification of separation or a separation SF-50); or
• Disability annuity termination (notification from OPM of disability annuity termination and separation SF-50 of the last position held); or
• Military reserve or National Guard technician special disability retirement annuity under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456 (certification of special disability retirement annuity from a military department or National Guard bureau and separation SF-50 of the last position held).

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