Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open ONLY to current, permanent VBA Regional Office Claims Assistants and those who are eligible for priority consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP).

The Veterans Service Representative (VSR) explains benefit programs and entitlement criteria, analyzes claims material, identifies issues, gathers relevant evidence, conducts interviews to adjudicate claims and inputs data necessary to generate the award and notification letter to the veteran describing the decision. Specifically, the VSR will:

• Make determinations as to the eligibility for the type of benefit sought to include questions relating to adequacy of military service, medical evidence and the evaluation of evidence of income, employability, dependence and relationship
• Request examinations, re-examination or opinions to evaluate disabilities resulting from diseases or injuries
• Review claims cases to assure all issues have been addressed, applies and interprets VA laws, including veterans' case law, existing statutes and procedures, precedent rulings and state law in the adjudication process
• May conduct interviews in person or by phone with veterans, representatives and advocates to explain the full range of VA benefits and related programs
• Prepare and release correspondence for use by other federal, state and local agencies
• Utilize various electronic data processing (EDP) systems to input data for processing claims and generating automated correspondence.

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. The grade progression for this position is GS-07/09/10.

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: May be available at supervisor's discretion
Telework: May be available at supervisor's discretion
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Veterans Service Representative, 42109A(GS5), 37300A(GS7)
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Required to attend an 6-12week training session, which may require travel.
• VSR Skill Certification required at the GS-10 level
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Mandatory Overtime May Be Required
• This is a bargaining unit position

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 03/06/2020.

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 (unless if in the commuting area and eligible for a non-competitive hiring authority such as Schedule A, VRA, or 30% or more disabled Veterans).

• For a GS-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-03 .
• For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05.

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. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
General Experience:
To qualify for GS-05: You must have three (3) years of general experience, one (1) year of which was equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

General experience is defined as the ability to analyze problems to identify significant factors, gather pertinent data, and recognize solutions; ability to plan and organize work; and/or the ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

Specialized Experience:
To qualify for GS-07: 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.

Specialized experience is defined as interpretation or application of laws, regulations, or procedures to analyze evidence to make determinations and research routine issues to resolve discrepancies.
Examples of experience include, but are not limited to:

• Technical assignments related to claims or benefits processing or eligibility determinations.
• Quality assurance or auditor functions
• Compiling income and legal documentation to determine basic eligibility for benefits or programs.
• Claims processing for: A state or federal agency, Insurance company, Worker's Compensation, Disability Retirement or Pension Program.
• Human Resource positions which involved determining employment qualifications, job classification, or determining eligibility for benefits.
• Positions involved in assisting veterans with claims applications

OR,

Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience.

• GS-05: 4-Year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree.
• GS-07: Successfully completed one (1) full year of graduate level education or a Bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement (3.0 GPA or higher) Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) is based on: 1) class standing, 2) grade point average or 3) honor society membership. For more information on calculating SAA please visit www.opm.gov

OR,

Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. (When crediting education that requires specific course work, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.)

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 normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. The work is mostly sedentary; however, there may be some walking, standing, and carrying of light items.

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 rated on the following competencies based on your application for this position:

• REASONING: Identifies regulations, laws, rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions.
• CUSTOMER SERVICE: Works with customers to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.
• DECISION MAKING: Makes sound, well-informed and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action even in uncertain situations in order to assist customers and meet organizational goals.
• SELF MANAGEMENT: Displays a high level of initiative, effort and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works independently with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; sets well-defined and realistic goals that are in alignment with organizational goals and objectives.
• ORAL COMMUNICATION: Expresses information (facts, decisions, and ideas) to individuals or groups clearly and concise, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); listens to others; asks questions and gains or shares information related to the claims review process.
• COMPUTER SKILLS: Uses computers, software applications, databases, and automated systems to accomplish work. This includes tasks such as entering, sorting and retrieving data; analyzing data; researching information; monitoring work; and preparing correspondence and reports.
• WRITTEN COMMUNICATION: Prepares written correspondence to customers and co-workers via email, letters, reports, etc. using correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style; communicates information in a succinct and organized manner; provides information that is appropriate for the purpose and the intended audience.

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.