Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (COVID-19 - VA 003) in-accordance with 5 U.S.C. 3304(a)(3) and 5 CFR 337.205(b)(1)-(4).

Primary duties include but are not limited to the following:

• The National Call Center (NCC) and National IRIS Response Center (NIRC) were established to centralize VBA's contact center activity in order to yield greater consistency and higher quality in the service provided by customer-facing employees.
• The employees of the NCC and NIRC may have contacts via telephone, email, video, or chat with the public for the purposes of (1) advising and providing information on benefits and rights; (2) explaining pertinent legal provisions, regulations, and related administrative practices and their application to specific cases; and (3) assisting individuals regarding how best to provide needed documents and evidence required, and/or (4) initiating inquiries to resolve errors, delays, or other problems in obtaining benefits. The employees of the NCC and NIRC will also complete claim and appeal related work.
• Counsels Veterans, their dependents, and survivors via assigned access channel,(telephone, email, video, or chat) for 7.5 hours per day for a standard tour of duty regarding the full array of benefits available through the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as non-VA benefits available through other organizations concerned with Veterans.
• Assists the inquirer with determining the short-term and long-term circumstances that might influence a choice between various benefits. Programs include, but are not limited to, compensation and pension benefits, home loan eligibility, education, health care, life insurance, burial benefits, vocational rehabilitation services, fiduciary assistance, general Social Security Administration benefit programs, and other Federal, state, and local domestic relations and assistance programs.
• Explains the types of documents necessary to facilitate timely processing of claims and appeals and assists with obtaining and completing such documents and forms in accordance with the type of claim or appeal being submitted.
• Explains VBA rating decisions and provides explanations for the decisions using extensive knowledge of VA benefits and services, claim and appeal processing procedures, and all pertinent information available within the systems of record.
• Performs claim or appeal related work including, but not limited to, providing comprehensive claim or appeal status updates using mandatory scripting requirements, processing change of address requests, establishment of, or change to direct deposit banking information, burial allowance claims, dependency claim, etc.
• Appropriately responds to interactions where the customer wishes to speak/discuss to a "supervisor," by attempting to deescalate the interaction by immediately addressing the inquirer's needs prior to referral for a contact by a supervisor.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Bargaining Unit Position: Yes
• All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/02/2022.

GS-05 grade level: Three years of general experience and one year equivalent to the GS-04 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization which may include:

1) Analyzing problems to identify factors, gather pertinent data, and
2) Recognize solutions; planning and organizing work; and communicating effectively both orally and in writing.

OR

Education Substitution: To qualify at the GS-05 level based on education you must have at least four years of study leading to a bachelor's degree.

OR

Applicants may qualify with a combination of specialized experience as described above under Specialized Experience and education as described above which totals at least one year. (To compute, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 36. Then divide your semester hours of education beyond two years by 60. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify.)

GS-07 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes:
1) Counseling individuals about federal benefits; and
2) Explaining legal provisions, regulations, and decisions to a variety of audiences.

OR

One full year of graduate level education Or superior academic achievement at the bachelors level in a degree related fields of study. (You must provide transcripts);

OR

Combination of the required experience and education for this grade level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-07. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

GS-09: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes:

1)Explaining legal provisions, regulations, and decisions to a variety of audiences;
2) Assisting individuals regarding how best to provide needed documents and evidence required; and
3) Initiating inquiries to resolve errors, delays, or other problems in obtaining benefits.

OR

A Master's or equivalent graduate degree, 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.B. or J.D., related fields of study. (You must provide transcripts);

OR a combination of the required experience and education for this grade level.

Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-05, GS-07, or GS-09 level.

OR

Applicants may also combine education and experience required for the GS-05, GS-07, or GS-09 level.

To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-09. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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 clearly indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

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. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.

Applicant Lists will be evaluated for qualifications weekly.

• 1st cut-off on 02/15/2022
• 2nd cut-off on 02/23/2022
• 3rd cut-off on 3/02/2022