Loan Specialist (General)

Clarification from the agency

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

Specific duties include:

• Conducts extensive audits and approvals of various property preservation and tax invoices including reimbursable expenses, reimbursable taxes, property taxes for Real Estate Owned (REO) properties, performing fees, nonperforming fees, and penalties and interest to ensure proper payment and compliance with contractual requirements and applicable laws.
• Prepares complex, comprehensive reports including the tracking of any pattern or trend that could indicate fraud or misuse of funds.
• Utilizes their expertise to identify areas of opportunity to improve billing processes and presents recommendations to senior management.
• Prepares written responses, or fact sheets on high profile and politically sensitive Congressional inquiries as required.
• Responses reflect the decisions of the Department in final draft form when submitted to senior level executives for signature. Reports may be reviewed by higher level management, but the Loan Specialist's recommendation is generally accepted without major changes.
• Exercises expertise in reviewing benefit deduction cases to instruct the service provider when Veteran benefit amounts are insufficient to meet newly established payment amounts occurring due to a change in escrows.
• Conducts approvals for loan modifications, short sales, and deed-in-lieu requests as government representatives due to inherently governmental function to afford borrower every opportunity to retain their home or avoid foreclosure.

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. The full performance for this position is GS-12..

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday 6:00AM-6:00PM
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework:Available - This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only. The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval. Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Loan Specialist (General); Loan Specialist PD-37445A
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 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, 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:07/27/2026.

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): There is an IOR that must be met to qualify for the GS-1165 series. In order to be found qualified position, your resume must demonstrate you have:

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

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:
GS-12 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience: It is defined as experience in either Special Adaptive Housing (SAH) and/or Loan Administration performing tasks in Post Audit (PA), Adequacy of Servicing (AOS) or Mortgage Servicing. Examples of this include but not limited to:

• Experience in conducting nationwide audits of private sector Mortgage Servicers participating in VA's Loan Guaranty Program
• Ensuring these entities are following Program regulations, policies, and procedures as well as to identify and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.
• Experience in preparing written reports of audits, audit actions, documenting quality review findings;
• Possessing an in-depth knowledge of governing statutes, regulations, policies, processes and procedures pertinent to VA or another national home loan program (for example - loan servicing, SAH, PA, and AOS).

Education Substitution: There is no Educational Substitution at the GS-12 level.

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 performed is usually sedentary, but does involve walking, bending, lifting and carrying of objects and the operation of a motor vehicle.

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.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

• Auditing - Knowledge of generally accepted auditing standards and procedures for conducting financial and compliance, economy and efficiency, and program audits.
• 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 judgments.
• Written Communication - Expresses facts and ideas in writing in a succinct and organized manner.
• Oral Communication- Expresses ideas and facts to individuals or groups effectively; makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others; facilitates an open exchange of ideas.
• Organizational Awareness - Knows the organization's mission and functions; this includes the programs, policies, procedures, rules, and regulations related to VA or another national home loan program (i.e., loan origination, loan servicing, construction and valuation/USPAP principles or knowledge, adapted housing, property management, etc.)

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

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.)
• A copy of 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 To verify you meet Time-in-Grade requirements, also submit a SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade held (e.g. Promotion, Appointment, etc.).
• Current VBA Employees seeking a reassignment/change to lower grade: you must submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (non-award) AND the SF-50 placing you into your current position.

Additional Documents accepted:

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

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