Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open ONLY to current, permanent Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) employees and VA CTAP eligibles.

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MAJOR DUTIES: Incumbents of this position serve as the primary contact for the veteran and his/her representative or advocate and the decision-maker for compensation or pension claims. The VSR explains benefit programs and entitlement criteria, conducts interviews, identifies issues, gathers relevant evidence, adjudicates claims, and inputs data necessary to generate the award and notification letter to the veteran describing the decision and the reason for it. Specific duties include:

• Conducts interviews in person or by telephone with veterans, representatives, and advocates.
• Refers persons to other Federal agencies and State and local agencies when potential eligibility for non-VA benefits is indicated.
• Informs the claimant of all evidence requirements needed to further process a claim for benefits and/or services and assists claimants with completion of the application and other forms.
• Makes determinations as to eligibility for the type of benefit sought to include questions relating to adequacy of military service; adequacy of medical evidence and lay testimony to establish a claim; and evaluates evidence of income, net worth, employability, dependency, and relationship.
• Analyzes, develops, and requests required evidence for claims requiring a rating decision.
• Requests examinations, reexamination or opinions to determine the existence of, or to evaluate disabilities resulting from diseases or injuries to ensure appropriate evidence is received from which to adjudicate the claim.
• Makes determinations and is fully accountable for proper analysis, appropriate development, and/or adjudication relative to VA hospitalization, outpatient treatment institutional or domiciliary care and basic eligibility for vocational rehabilitation.
• Applies and interprets VA laws, including veterans case law, existing statutes and procedures, precedent rulings, and state law.
• Utilizes various electronic data processing (EDP) systems for inputting data; for claims processing, monitoring, adjudication; and for correspondence preparation to inform the claimant and any representative/advocate of the decision and the basis for the action taken.

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 7:30am-4:00pm PST
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: Available in accordance with agency policy
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Veterans Service Representative, 37300A, 37301A, 37233A
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
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• This is a bargaining unit position

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/18/2022.

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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 level.
• For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level.
• 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 REQUIREMENTS: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:GS-07 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level or higher. 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
  • 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 Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have:
  • One (1) full your of graduate level education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position; 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.

GS-09 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07). Specialized experience is defined as experience which required interpretation of legal and medical documentation to determine claimant's eligibility for services and benefits programs.
  • Determining the eligibility for Federal or State-administered benefits, such as: disability, education, housing, medical, and/or veterans' benefits;
  • Interpreting and applying Federal and State laws, including case law, existing statutes and procedures, and precedent rulings, to process claims pertaining to a service program;
  • Gathering and requesting evidence to build service program case files, respond to claimant inquires, and identify errors, inconsistencies, or omissions;
  • Explaining Federal or State claims decisions to claimants, special interest groups, dependents, and/or representatives in an effort to gain acceptance of the determination.; OR
• Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have:
  • A master's or equivalent graduate degree in an accredited or pre-accredited college or university; or
  • 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or possession of a LL.B. or J.D degree, if related. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position. or
  • Equivalent combinations of Specialized Experience and Graduate-level education (To compute, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify.) To be creditable, such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities (see "Competencies" in the Requirements section) necessary to do the work. Note: Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-10.

GS-10 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09). Specialized experience is that which demonstrates competence in adjudicating veterans' claims. Specialized experience is typically gained in positions that have involved the development, examination, investigation, adjudication, and authorization of claims for disability compensation, disability pension, death compensation, death pension benefits, life insurance benefits etc. Such experience is to be substantive and relevant and requires a high degree of independence and judgment in interpretation of more complex legal and medical documentation to determine claimant's eligibility and supporting evidence for services and benefits.
• OR
• Two and a half years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. To be creditable, such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities (see "Competencies" in the Requirements section) necessary to do the work. Note: Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-10. (i.e. The applicant's first year of graduate study is not qualifying for GS-9.).

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 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.