Program Specialist

Clarification from the agency

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

Specific duties include:

• Conducts studies to determine immediate and long-range training needs, analyzes information obtained, and submits recommendations to the Director and RO managers by identifying and determining training priorities, conducts surveys, provides training, administer programs and maintain employee records.
• Coordinates and manages the implementation, maintenance and updates of centrally developed mandatory developmental and technical training programs. Ensure consistency and quality among the Division training activities with national training policies.
• Provides information concerning available training. Arrange for instruction, prepare reports, and help facilitate courses for an organization having a well-defined and readily understood mission. Prepares training plans for RO employee development programs. Acquires, provides and updates training information.
• Reviews, analyzes and evaluates training courses and programs at the RO level to ensure that they follow national training policy to achieve greater consistency in VBA. Assists the Office of Employee Development and Training in the review and analysis of training programs and courses for a large, diverse and complex organization whose mission is dynamic and rapidly changing, and whose training needs are especially urgent.
• Develops, updates and implements internal procedures, training plans, course material and methods, and recommends new training sources for the RO which has multiple missions or one whose mission is highly dynamic, rapidly changing and whose training needs are especially urgent.
• Conducts analytical reviews of business line performance to evaluate such performance in relation to VA, Area and individual station goals, and recommends remedial action. Reviews, analyzes and evaluates division reports and statistical data, to include such items as workload, productivity, effectiveness, FTE and budget, to advise RO management on trends, out-of-line situations and anticipated training needs. Communicates findings, results and recommendations, both verbally and in writing to RO management.

Promotion Potential: None
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
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
Telework: 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 Title/PD#: Program Specialist; PD030100
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary periodduring 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 or trial 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.
• 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 closing date of this announcement: 08/04/2026.

GRADE REQUIREMENT: To receive CTAP selection priority, your grade level upon Reduction in Force must be at least 12 with promotion potential of at least None.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who are current/former Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements.

• For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 level.

To support your claim of time-in-grade, you must submit your most recent appointment, promotion or within grade increase 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.The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. A Standard Form 50 (SF-50) that shows your TIG eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. Applicants must submit their most recent Notification of Personnel Action, SF-50:

• Official SF-50 that shows you held the grade (or higher) for the full performance level of the position you are applying for, or
• Official SF-50 that shows you held the next lower grade for at least one year for the position you are applying for. Multiple SF-50s may need to be submitted to show this.

Examples of appropriate SF-50s to include which show TIG requirements have been met include:

• Within grade increases (WGI) at the highest grade held; or
• Promotions with an effective date that occurred more than one year from the closing date of the job opportunity announcement; or
• Most recent appointment

NOTE: Do not submit Award or General Adjustment SF-50s, as they do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying TIG.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: For the GS-12 Applicants must have One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience may have been gained in positions where the applicant has analyzed or reviewed the work of others. This experience should demonstrate skill and knowledge of analytical methods for the assessment and improvement of complex management processes; the ability to plan, assign, and review work; and the ability to train, coach, or mentor others.Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Experience analyzing and evaluating reports.
• Administering a training program.
• Development or review of training/course materials, aids, devices, etc., and evaluation of training results.
• Work in the occupation or subject-matter field of the position to be filled that required training or instructing others.
• Effective communication skills across various audiences.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

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 primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required

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. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):Rating Factors:

• Skill in interpersonal skills to include the ability to work with people from a wide variety of backgrounds and skill levels.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing on issues of complex analytical, technical, and policy related matters.
• Ability to utilize current VBA computer applications and programs to include proficiency in Excel, to develop, maintain, and query data, as well as generate a wide range of reports and presentations of data.
• Ability to conduct comprehensive analysis and make innovative recommendations to improve training to employees.
• Knowledge of, and skill in applying, learning theories, principles and methods.

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• 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.

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. 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.

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 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.
  • 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.

Next steps

Additional locations