Program Specialist

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees or current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible.

Major Duties
The Program Specialist is primarily responsible for establishing adjudication of all VAF 28-1900 Disabled Veterans Application for Veteran Readiness and Employment VR&E (chapter 31, Title 38, U.S.C.) claims , ensuring that all necessary information is accurate regarding claim dates, etc. in VA systems. Responsible for updating claims as needed with entitlement usage and extensions, Initial Rating Notification Dates, dependent changes, and other claimant contact information.

• Updates information which pertains to laws, regulations and manual changes.
• Responsible for purchasing supplies for VR&E participants; reviewing monthly credit card statements for division personnel, ensuring that all required paperwork is part of the justified credit card statement, and reconciling purchases within policy requirements.
• Responding to a variety of personal, telephone, and written inquires, including but not limited to status of counseling, case status, Chapter 31 awards, entitlement calculations, tuition, fees, books, supplies, subsistence and general procedures, and policies of the Division, as well as the Veterans Benefits Administration. Incumbent independently determines and collaborates regarding resolution of issues and proceeds to proper solution.
• Assists VR&E staff in maintaining supervisory schedules. This may include but not limited to scheduling appointments, collecting documents, ensuring documentation is in Veterans files, and analyzing workload reports as directed by VR&E management.
• Responsible for primary or alternative time keeping duties.

Work Schedule: Full time, varied work schedule to provide contact center coverage Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). Tour will be determined after final selections. Tour is subject to change based on program needs.
Compressed/Flexible: Not available
Telework: Not available
Position Description/PD#: Program Support Specialist GS9 PD 051330
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Bargaining Unit: Yes

How You'll Work: The employee will be required to travel to the closest VA Regional Office, VA Medical Center, or other VA facility for issuance of equipment, and as needed for technical support. Government furnished equipment includes a laptop computer, camera, docking station, monitor screens and headset. A secure VPN will be used to access Microsoft Office products and specific communications software including a soft phone to educate and connect Veterans with the benefits they have earned.

Conditions of employment

• Selectees are subject to a background/suitability investigation.
• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
• A probationary period may be required for employees and supervisors.
• You will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
• Remote: This is not a remote position.
• Telework: This is not a telework position
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Qualifications

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who are/were 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. To support your claim of time in grade, you must submit your most recent appointment, promotion, or within grade increase SF-50 (not an award or general adjustment SF-50). Some applicants may have to submit more than one SF-50 to demonstrate their eligibility. See the required documents section for more information.

Specialized Experience:

Must have one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-07, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in this organization. Specialized experience is defined as:

• Experience in administrative, customer service, and technical work;
• Experience using and referencing applicable state, federal and local Veteran benefit programs as well as federal regulations and legislation that pertain to the full array of Veteran benefits and programs;
• Experience and demonstrated skill in technical management of governmental caseloads and providing assistance to Veteran clients;
• Experience in timekeeping duties; scheduling appointments; and mail management;
• Experience in administrative tasks and fiscal responsibility in supply procurements.

Or applicants may substitute education for the experience required to qualify at the GS-09 level:

• Education Substitution: You may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have:
  • A master's or equivalent graduate degree in an accredited or pre-accredited college or university; or
  • 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or
  • Possession of a LL.B. or J.D degree, if related. or
  • Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position. or

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 employee 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, claims folders, and files from one desk to another or for returning to storage. Extensive use of a computer and a telephone with a headset is required.

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.
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.

• Accountability- Holds self and others accountable for measurable high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results. Determines objectives, sets priorities, and delegates work. Accepts responsibility for mistakes. Complies with established control systems and rules
• Contracting/Procurement - Knowledge of various types of contracts, techniques for contracting or procurement, and contract negotiation and administration.
• 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.
• Clerical- Knowledge of filing, typing, entering data, maintaining records, taking shorthand, and using and completing forms.
• Operating Systems- Knowledge of computer network, desktop, and mainframe operating systems and their applications.
• Decisiveness- Makes sound and well-informed decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, in order to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.
• Flexibility- Is open to change and new information; adapts behavior or work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles; effectively deals with ambiguity.
• Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job-related information, which may include, but is not limited to responses to the knowledge, skills, and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment. Notice to Applicants: It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. Information about an individual's employment experience will be used only to determine the person's qualifications and to assess his or her relative level of knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Although an individual's personal conduct may be relevant in any employment decision, including conduct during periods of unemployment or evidence of dishonesty in handling financial matters, financial difficulty that has arisen through no fault of the individual will generally not itself be the basis of an unfavorable suitability or fitness determination.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package to include the documents detailed below.
Failure to submit the required documents may result in your application being considered incomplete and you being deemed ineligible. It is your responsibility to ensure your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. We will not request additional documentation or accept late or missing documents after the announcement has closed.

• Resume, limited to 2 pages, 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 reflects when you entered your highest grade (e.g. Promotion, Appointment, etc.) to verify time-in-grade requirements.
• Transcript if you are using education to qualify.
  • Your transcript must show coursework and the total number of credits earned to include graduation date and degree. A diploma is NOT sufficient to determine qualifications.

The following documents are accepted and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position.

Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

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

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
• An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.
• Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Next steps