Veterans Claims Examiner (Education Case Manager)

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent Muskogee, OK VBA Regional Office Education Call Center employees and current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible.

The Education Case Manager (ECM) in the Education Call Center Division of the Muskogee Regional Processing Office (RPO) processes and authorizes education awards involving difficult issues that result from all sources. The ECM advises education claimants and their representatives through phone contacts, and written correspondence (letters and/or email) of the benefits, rights, and privileges they are entitled to under the laws administered by VA. The claims adjudicated by an ECM are some of the most difficult and complex awarded or disallowed records in the RPO. The ECM must possess the highest technical and communication skills to effectively carry out the duties of this position. The ECM is usually the education claimant's last resort for resolving the perceived problem or situation.

Specific duties include:

• Authorizes and processes education awards for basic eligibility and entitlement for education claimants under Chapter 30, 32, and 35 of Title 38, as well as Chapter 1606 of Title 10 and Section 903 of Public Law 96-342
• Provides analysis of education program issues to Veterans, dependents, school officials, and other interested parties relative to their rights and benefits, submission of evidence, disposition of claims, and all subsequent actions
• Applies knowledge of relevant federal and state laws and common law principles, where applicable, concerning domestic relations issues, in order to make proper dependency determinations
• Adjudicates, authorizes, and/or advises Veteran Claims Examiners (VCE) on all awards, including especially complex issues
• Prepares correspondence concerning decisions made within the Education Division and reviews correspondence prepared by VCEs and releases the correspondence when applicable to Veterans, their dependents, accredited service organizations, school officials and other government agencies
• Prepares Statements of the Case on authorization appeals, and potential fraud where applicable
• Works with appellants and representatives to focus issues and resolve disputes
• Makes determinations on appeal cases as to whether reconsideration of the claim is necessary and assembles all necessary supplemental or new evidence and evidence and data in connection with review of appeal cases for submission to Board of Veterans Appeals
• Provides specialized instruction and guidance to other VCEs when required on difficult call inquiries
• Provides and assists with instruction to trainees during on-the-job training on the use of phone equipment, customer service handbook, and intranet/internet resources
• Identifies developmental and training needs and keeps supervisors apprised of employee progress
• Monitors and analyzes the quality of contacts with the public, including telephone calls, and e-mail
• Handles the more difficult, complaint, and/or escalated calls that are transferred from VCEs to effectively manage irate or unhappy callers in such a way as to reflect well on the station and VA
• Exercises an extremely high degree of independence in information dissemination for handling such things as escalated calls, finance payment procedures, check tracers, hardship cases, etc.
• Provides refresher training to other ECC employees or assists in the development of trainees during on-the-job training portion of new hire training
• Acts as advocate for Veterans and their beneficiaries in their dealings with other VA elements and organizations that affect their claims
• Performs other related duties as assigned

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday to be determined between 7:00 AM to 6:30 PM Central Time
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
Telework: This is a remote position.
Virtual: This is a remote position.
Position Description/PD#: Veterans Claims Examiner (Education Case Manager); PD06266A
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 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
• 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: 07/20/2026.

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-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 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-10 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level or higher in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

OR

Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have two and a half (2.5) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D., LL.M. or equivalent doctoral degree.

One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours will be considered as satisfying the one (1) year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. Note: Transcripts are required.

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 work involves mental rather than physical exertion. Work requires lengthy periods viewing video display terminals and extensive use of computer keyboarding.

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.

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 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
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

• Problem Solving
• Oral Communication
• Planning & Evaluating
• Technology Application

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.)
• 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
• CTAP documentation - RIF notice, SF-50 showing VA employee, and performance appraisal

Next steps