Clarification from the agency

This announcement is only open to current, permanent Cincinnati, OH VAMC Employees who are currently serving in the Social Work Service.

The Cincinnati VA Medical Center (CVAMC) is a two-division campus located in Cincinnati, OH and Fort Thomas, KY serving 15 counties in Southwest OH, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana with 6 Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Bellevue, KY; Florence, KY; Lawrenceburg, IN; Hamilton, OH; Clermont County, OH, and Georgetown, OH. The CVAMC also supports two off main campus locations in the Cincinnati area via an Eye Center and Mental Health Outreach Community Division.

Duties:

• Advises Veterans and their next-of kin (NOK) of burial benefits. Helps Veterans and NOK prearrange burial, interment, cremation, as desired by Veteran. Advises surviving relatives about burial benefits and other potential benefits provided by VA. Reviews eligibility and entitlement of burial and death allowances and advises on the process for applying for those benefits. Refers surviving relatives with specific benefit inquiries to a VBA point of contact, not the toll-free telephone number.
• Incumbent assists and makes recommendations for local program policies and procedures to ensure that quality provisions are planned, developed, and implemented to identify, prevent, and correct unsatisfactory conditions and elements which influence the correctness and responsiveness of transactions and services. Provides guidance on local policy guidelines, support materials, and information to facilitate participation with program initiatives.
• Incumbent maintains an updated supply of all necessary forms, to include blank death certificates, for the functioning of decedent affairs program. Incumbent maintains an Active Death File on all Veterans who die at the VA Medical Center.
• Incumbent verifies system information such as, date and time of death, the pronouncing medical provider or the person responsible for the death certificate. Completes active death file (autopsy request and approval paperwork is included as necessary), and stores information for record keeping and management.
• Informs Veteran, caregiver, and NOK of available supportive services within the medical facility, such as Chaplaincy and Social Work, to provide support at end of life and immediately following death.
• Reviews daily death notifications. Submits completed death certificates to designated Funeral Home and County Registrar's Office.
• In situations where the deceased Veteran does not have identified family, the position serves as a de facto family member, in coordinating a dignified burial to honor the service of the Veteran, including, but not limited to VA payment and viewing of the body and/or remains.
• The position collaborates with Fiscal office to financially support SAMS operations. Assesses past budget requirements, projects future budget needs, submits budget requests and manages program budget.
• Manages and analyzes several databases for programmatic and administrative purposes. Analyzes local, regional, and national databases to provide information and statistics to support the administration of the Veterans Outreach Decedent Affairs Program. Utilizes software to gather specific data related to projects. Data management will be related to compliance with performance measures, clinical services and outcomes, and operational efficiency.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Veterans Outreach Program Specialist/PD91675S

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-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.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Must possess a valid, state driver's license.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial 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 or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/11/2025.

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 by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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. 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.

GS-07 Specialized Experience:

• You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Basic knowledge of the SAMS program principles, concepts, policies, and objectives, ability to respond to inquiries, prepare reports, and communicate effectively; knowledge of standard operating procedures to assist in evaluating program efficiency; skilled in operating standard office equipment and programs; ability to gather, analyze, and input data into various systems.
• OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one (1) full year of graduate level education in an accredited college or university. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the Program Specialist. NOTE: A transcript or course listing must be submitted if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Unofficial transcripts required. Applications submitted without this information will not be considered. OR, Superior Academic Achievement.
• OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and successfully completed post-high school education to meet total qualification requirements for the grade level GS-07.

WHEN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Verbiage displayed on your resume or application must contain your own words. You may refer to the specialized experience located within the vacancy announcement, to assist with describing work experiences; however, resumes or applications received that copied verbatim from the announcement will be evaluated and may be reviewed as falsifying your experience or application.

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.

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.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. Routinely views the body and/or remains of deceased Veterans at funeral homes using an authorized vehicle.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://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 contact for 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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• License
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• A detailed resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action (this is needed for proof of Time in Grade and/ Eligibility) - The SF-50's that you upload must show that you meet the time-in-grade requirement & that you are a current, permanent Cincinnati, OH VAMC employee working in the Social Work Service.

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

• Most recent SF-50 showing proof that you are a permanent Cincinnati, OH VAMC employee who is currently working in the Social Work Service.

AND

• An SF-50 showing proof that you meet the time in grade requirements for the Grade GS-7. 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.

Note: Applicants will automatically be disqualified if the required SF-50(s) are not submitted.

Next steps