Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to current, permanent (career/career conditional) employees of the Houston VBA Regional Office and CTAP eligible only. For purposes of this job announcement, Fiduciary Hub bargaining unit employees in the commuting area are considered facility employees.

Specific duties include:

• The Coach is responsible for advising the Assistant Veterans Service Center Manager (AVSCM) or Veterans Service Center Manager (VSCM) on the daily operation of the assigned team(s) (e.g. performance and workload management), in order to achieve goals and objectives of VA benefits programs as they relate to the VSC.
• Understands the relationship of tasks routinely assigned to the team, to effectively plan and assign work to the team. The supervisor demonstrates expertise in all phases of the claims activity that directs and, as needed, develops ways to improve production, improve timeliness and/or improve the quality of work.
• Responsible for ensuring team meets local and national performance goals.
• Ensures continuous staff productivity throughout tour of duty to accomplish local and national performance goals of VSC.
• Directs, plans and assigns work priorities for subordinates and has technical authority over the final work product. Ensures employees have the competencies required to provide the best service to their customers by recommending specific training needs as a result of observation, performance management or program changes.
• Keeps division level management informed of changes to programs and how those changes affect other programs administered by VA. Interprets laws, regulations, and rules to ensure compliance. Liaises with other government and non-government agencies such as Veterans Service Organizations (VSO) to facilitate cooperative efforts/exchanges in programs benefiting Veterans.
• Addresses work issues where the nature of work requires the ability to analyze, interpret, and apply sound judgment so that consistent outcomes are accomplished where existing guidelines do not readily yield identical decisions on similar facts.
• Requires a high degree of technical proficiency and is responsible for interpretation and application of all pertinent laws, rules, regulations, and policies pertaining to VA claims processing.
• Responsible for administrative actions affecting the team and provides advice, counsel, and instruction to individual employees on technical and administrative matters. Additionally, the supervisor is responsible for personnel administration and actions (e.g. issues supervisory instructions, evaluates subordinate performance, hears and resolves employee complaints, effects disciplinary actions, identifies training needs, and conducts interviews to include making recommendations for position appointments, promotions, or reassignments).
• Assigns special projects based on local and national workload priorities, completing Systematic Analyses of Operations (SAO), and ensuring that the team's efforts support the overall goals of the VSC.
• Serves as a Subject Matter Expert when responding to higher level inquiries or obtaining necessary information or evidence to ensure pending claims are properly adjudicated.
• Gathers and interprets a wide range of qualitative and quantitative data to recommend appropriate actions.
• Manages small group dynamics to ensure VSC goals are met.

Promotion Potential: None

Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday - Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
Telework: Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Veterans Service Representative (Coach); PD02101A
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 Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary 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.

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:06/05/2026.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 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.

Specialized Experience:
To qualify at the GS-13 Grade Level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level or higher. Specialized experience is defined as performance of technical assignments affecting the entire field of VA's Compensation and Pension (C&P) Benefits Programs. These assignments could require interpretation of the full range of Federal, state, local laws and regulations, C&P laws and regulations, or include precedent opinions of the Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims and authoritative opinions of the General Counsel. Examples of specialized experience would typically include:

• Performing the duties of an Assistant Coach and assisting Coaches in their daily responsibilities.
• Ensuring that the teams quality and timeliness of service meets performance indicator goals.
• Responsible for the cost-effective use of resources to accomplish the team's assigned outcomes.

Education Substitution: Applicants may not substitute education for the experience at the GS-13 level.

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: This position is mostly sedentary.

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.

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):

• Technical Competence- Knowledge of Federal, state and local laws, regulations, policies, guides, procedures and judicial determinations applicable to Veterans Benefits Programs or similar programs.
• Problem Solving - Ability to analyze (i.e., review and evaluate), comprehend and apply decisions derived from a variety of data or complex information.
• Leadership - Ability to manage and/or supervise (plan, organize, direct, control, review, etc.) the work activities of subordinates.
• Communication - Ability to establish and maintain effective oral and written communication with persons both within and outside an organization, from many different backgrounds and with different levels of education and competence.
• Conflict Management - Ability to manage and resolve conflicts between individuals from varying diversity and backgrounds that may not share the same perspectives or opinions.
• Influencing/Negotiating - Persuades others to accept recommendations, cooperate, or change their behavior; works with others towards an agreement; negotiates to find mutually acceptable solutions.
• Manages Human Resources - Plans, distributes, and monitors work assignments; evaluates work performance and provides feedback to others on their performance.
• 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.

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
  • 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.

Additional Documents accepted:

• Most recent Performance Appraisal (VA Form 0750)
• Award SF-50s
• Documentation to be considered under non-competitive eligibility (if applicable) such as a member-4 DD-214, civil service preference letter, or Schedule A letter.
• CTAP documentation - RIF notice, SF-50 showing VA employee, and performance appraisal

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