Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees and CTAP eligible applicants only. See the eligibility section in the questionnaire for a list of all eligible candidates and the How You Will Be Evaluated section below for more details.

Applicant Cut-Off Number: The initial application review cut-off for this job announcement is 100 applications. The first 100 applications received will be considered first. Applications received after the initial cut-off number (100 applications) may not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management. If management requests additional certificates, applicants will continue to be reviewed in groups of 100 in the order they applied. In addition, due to the potential for a high volume of applicants, not all applicants may receive consideration.

The White House VA Hotline is the first of its kind in the VA. The hotline provides directory assistance, answers general inquiries, refers customers directly to other hotlines, and performs intake for the VA's complaint management program. The Hotline staff are expected to understand operations across the VA so they can provide directory assistance to a customer about any VA or any other Federal Agency, refer employees to the appropriate organization (such as the VA Inspector General) to assist them, answer general inquiries about any program, benefit or service the VA (BVA, VBA, VHA and NCA) provides, properly handle emergency contacts with suicidal and homeless Veterans, and triage/document any complaint that the customer brings up during the contact. Contacts may occur by phone, email, text, and chat.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Supervises contact representatives by providing administrative and technical supervision necessary for accomplishing the work of the unit.
• Performs administrative and human resource management functions relative to staff supervised.
• Establishes guidelines and performance expectations for staff, which are clearly communicated through both formal and informal performance management evaluations.
• Observes staff's performance, providing performance and productivity input and taking appropriate steps to recommend and/or effect changes when needed to enhance employee and organizational performance.
• Provides coaching on any deviations from the standards and communicates with employees concerning their performance throughout the rating period.
• Completes performance appraisals on all employees in accordance with guidelines.
• Resolves informal complaints and grievances involving staff members.
• Recommends personnel actions, including disciplinary and performance-based actions, when appropriate.
• Ensures staff members manage leave appropriately as well as reviews, approves/disapproves leave requests.
• Assures that subordinates are adequately trained to perform assigned duties, recommending additional training when needed to enhance employee development.
• Recommends recognition of special contributions and/or superior performance by employees.
• Furthers the goals of equal employment opportunity (EEO) by taking positive steps to assure the accomplishment of affirmative action objectives and by adhering to nondiscriminatory employment practices regarding race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability.
• Initiates nondiscriminatory practices and affirmative action for the area under his/her supervision in the following: merit promotion, recruitment, and hiring; fair treatment of all employees; encouragement and recognition of achievement; career development; and full utilization of employees' skills.
• Performs supervisory duties within the scope of existing VA policies and within the scope of the negotiated labor contract.

Work Schedule: Full-time (day shift), 8 hour tours varying between 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. EST ; Weekends and Holidays included. Since the Contact Center operates 24 hours a day and 7 days per week, the work schedule/tour of duty is subject to change to include evening or overnight hours.
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
Telework: Not Applicable, this is a remote position.
Remote: This is a remote position
Position Description/PD#: PD19448A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Conditions of employment

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
• 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a one year probationary period or two 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 one year probationary period or two year 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, 01/02/2026.

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 by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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. 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. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade.

You may qualify based on your experience and as described below:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Reviewing and resolving customer complaints while providing clear, accurate, and professional responses that addressed customer concerns.
• Conducting fact-finding and analysis to determine appropriate responses or corrective actions.
• Providing customer service to include de-escalating difficult or emotionally charged interactions.
• Training, coaching, and mentoring staff while delivering constructive feedback to improve the quality of service.

Evidence of this specialized experience must be supported by detailed documentation of like or similar duties performed in positions held on your resume. You will also need to provide work experience information such as hours per week, full-time/part-time status, and starting/ending dates of employment (month and year format) to establish you have one (1) full year of specialized experience at the required grade level.

Preferred Experience: Experience managing assigned subordinates in a contact center or customer service environment, including assigning and monitoring daily workload; overseeing call, email, chat, or case management queues; ensuring adherence to quality, timeliness, and customer service standards; coaching and mentoring staff on call handling, systems use, and policy application; conducting performance monitoring and providing timely feedback; addressing performance or conduct issues in accordance with established procedures; and promoting a professional, supportive, and service-focused work environment.


You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Communication
• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Leadership
• Managing Human Resources

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 sedentary with no special physical demands. Work may involve talking for long periods of time and often involves long periods of interaction at computer terminals.

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.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Job Knowledge Test: A portion of your assessment is a job knowledge test that will occur during the application. This is a multiple-choice exercise with only one correct answer per question. You must score at least 80% or higher to receive a passing score and meet all other requirements to be considered eligible.

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.

Area of Consideration & Order of referral: Eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current, permanent Veterans Experience Office (VEO) staff office employees.
2. All other current, permanent VA employees.

Applicant Cut-Off Number: The initial application review cut-off for this job announcement is 100 applications. The first 100 applications received will be considered first. Applications received after the initial cut-off number (100 applications) may not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management. If management requests additional certificates, applicants will continue to be reviewed in groups of 100 in the order they applied. In addition, due to the potential for a high volume of applicants, not all applicants may receive consideration.