Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) employees and Veterans Affairs (VA) employees who are CTAP eligible.

• The LPO plans, develops, organizes, coordinates, and directs the Loan Processing functions for all Veterans and Surviving Spouses in a multi-state jurisdiction.
• Monitors the work of staff who are providing information, advice, and assistance on all types of VA guaranteed and direct loans to Veterans, mortgage lenders, real estate brokers, builders, attorneys, title companies and other stakeholders who write, email, telephone or visit a VA facility.
• Participates in and leads projects and studies that could involve system enhancements, redesign of business processes and organizational planning for Loan Production.
• The LPO serves as a subject matter expert on VA-guaranteed home loan regulations, policies and procedures and represents VA at high-level meetings with stakeholders including official of lending institutions.
• Provides training sessions, seminars, and workshops for employees of lenders to inform them of various VA policies and procedures related to mortgage loan underwriting and processing requirements.
• The LPO establishes performance standards and evaluates the performance of subordinate supervisors, makes determinations on grievances, recommends training, and approves leave of subordinate supervisors.
• Ensures proper oversight of the work being performed in the section through accuracy reviews on Full File Loan Reviews and Certificates of Eligibility and spot checks of all other work products. Ensures that employees are provided prompt and frequent feedback on their work.

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 period 1-year 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
• Selectees are required to service a one-year supervisory probationary period if not previously completed in a Federal position.
• 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:03/17/2026.

INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT: This position does have an IOR (Individual Occupational Requirement) that must be met in addition to the Time-in-Grade and regular Specialized Experience qualifications. In order to qualify for this position, you must have experience listed below:

IOR Specialized 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; purchasing 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

IOR Education Requirement: Undergraduate and Graduate Education IOR: 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-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13 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.

AND

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

GS-14 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level is required. Experience that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is characterized by a thorough knowledge that demonstrated expertise in underwriting approvals, processes request for release of liability substitution of entitlement, providing training sessions, seminars, and workshops for employees of lenders to inform them of various VA policies and procedures related to the VA's guaranteed home loan program. Expertise would display advanced understanding of the concepts outlined in the VA Lender's Handbook, VA PAM 26-7 and 38 CFR 36.4337 and demonstrated leadership experience.

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.

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.

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

• Conflict Management
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Manages Resources
• Partnering
• Planning and Evaluating

Leadership - Inspires, motivates, and guides others toward goal accomplishment; coaches, mentors, and challenges subordinates; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations; models high standards of honesty, integrity, trust, openness, and respect for the individual by applying these values to daily behaviors.
Creative Thinking - Develops new insights into situations and applies innovative solutions to make organizational improvements; designs and implements new or cutting-edge programs/processes.
Decision Making - Specifies goals and obstacles to achieving those goals, generates alternatives, considers risks, and evaluates and chooses the best alternative in order to make a determination, draw conclusions or solve a problem.
Organizational Awareness - Knows the organization's mission and functions, and how its social, political, and technological systems work and operates effectively within them; this includes the programs, policies, procedures, rules, and regulations of the organization.
Conflict Management - Encourages creative tension and differences of opinions. Anticipates and takes steps to prevent counter-productive confrontations. Manages and resolves conflicts and disagreements in a constructive manner.
Technical Credibility - Understands and appropriately applies principles, procedures, requirements, regulations, and policies related to specialized expertise.
Influencing/negotiating- Persuades others to accept recommendations, cooperate, or change their behavior or opinion. Resolves points of difference by finding mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and agreement.
Manages Resources- Selects, acquires, stores, and distributes resources such as materials, equipment, or money.
Partnering- Develops networks and builds alliances. Collaborates across boundaries to build strategic relationships and achieve common goals.
Planning and Evaluating- Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.

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.

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.

Supervisory Situational Judgement Test: Applicants will be required to complete a Supervisory Situational Judgment Test (SSJT) as part of the assessment process for this position. The SSJT evaluates judgment, decision-making, and leadership competencies associated with effective supervision in a Federal work environment. This is not a timed test, however, the assessment is expected to take approximately 45 minutes or less to complete. This assessment is required for all applicants. If you do not complete the assessment, it will result in an incomplete application and you will receive no further 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.
• Current VBA Employees: If you are seeking a reassignment/change to lower grade, you must submit a copy of your most recent appointment SF-50 and an SF-50 that reflects when you entered your highest grade and step as described above.

Additional Documents accepted:

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

Please use this checklist to make sure you have included all documents required for your application. You will not be contacted for additional information.

Next steps

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