Clarification from the agency

This job is open to current permanent Department of Veteran Affairs employees, current federal employees, current or former employees of land management agencies, veterans eligible under VEOA, and CTAP/ICTAP 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.

The incumbent functions as a consultant and advisor to the ED on policy, planning, organizational management, administration, and technical matters of exceptional difficulty and complexity. The incumbent will be responsible for reviewing all major business policy and operations issues, assessing options and making recommendations to the ED. The processes include, but are not limited to, general financial management matters, and those specific to financial operations, financial policy, financial planning, audit readiness, financial services, and franchise and supply fund oversight.

The role of the incumbent encompasses activities across the scope of operations associated with ORF, including analytical review and in-depth research of emerging issues, trends and risks impacting the mission of ORF. The accomplishment of the incumbent's responsibilities has a direct impact on the office's ability to achieve its mission. Conclusions, finding, recommendations and reports provided by the Staff Assistant are in many instances used by top VA management in policy and decision-making. Work is characterized by tight timeframes and rigid deadlines.

The incumbent provides administrative supervision to a mixed staff of one Staff Assistant GS-301-13 and one Management/Program Analyst GS-343-13, all responsible for providing administrative support and budget reporting for ORF. The incumbent establishes performance standards and evaluates the performance of subordinate employees, makes recommendations on grievances, recommends training, and approves leave of subordinate employees. The incumbent makes recommendations for hiring, promotion, and adverse actions, and supports and implements established Equal Employment Opportunity policies and programs. Additionally, the incumbent plans work to be accomplished by subordinate employees, sets and adjusts short-term priorities, and provides advice, counsel, or instruction to employees both on work and administrative matters.

The incumbent's responsibilities will include the following:

• Provides the ED with objective, independent assessment and recommendations regarding policy, initiatives, program assessments and operational issues requiring the ED's direction and action.
• Develops new approaches and a comprehensive operating plan designed to ensure budget, human capital, acquisition and information technology requirements of ORFs support of the overall goals and priorities of the Department.
• Develops a process of annual planning to long term issues that establish clear performance targets and prorates for each element of ORF.
• Resolves complex financial policy and implementation issues with cross organizational lines within OM and with other VA Administrations and Staff Offices.
• On a regular continuing basis, reviews, analyzes and negotiates final coordination of policy decisions and procedural materials.
• Manages Congressional or other time-sensitive controlled correspondence to ensure responses are complete, accurate and punctual.
• As designated, serves as head of special groups to explore recommendations or proposals of particular interest to the ED. The groups will often be composed of members from OM organizations, VA Administrations and Staff Offices, and external organizational representatives, as appropriate.
• Develops and monitors organizational metrics; initiates and/or oversees quantitative or qualitative studies into the efficacy of ORF programs and resource allocations. Based on findings, evaluates program resourcing and recommends additional resources/reallocations and identifies inadequate performance of OM functions; making recommendations for reorganization, reassignment, outsourcing, closure, or other remedies.
• Is authorized to speak for and commit the ED to courses of action within established policy guidelines.

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.

• 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/23/2026.

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-15 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-14. 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.

Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Washington, DC. This includes all locations that fall within a 50 mile driving distance from 810 Vermont Ave., NW Washington, DC 20420.

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

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-14 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Counseling executive leaders on policy, strategy, and organizational management; assessing major business issues and providing recommendations that drive informed decisions.
• Conducting advanced analysis and research on emerging issues, and recommending innovative solutions to resolve high-impact problems.
• Assisting in the development of operational plans and recommending resource reallocations or organizational improvements.
• Representing executive leadership and managing high-visibility actions by overseeing time-sensitive communication, resolving complex coordination issues, and preparing executive briefings and decision materials

• Analytical Reasoning
• Critical Thinking
• Financial Management
• Flexibility
• Oral Communication

• Serving as a principal advisor to senior executive leadership on highly complex and sensitive policy, strategic planning, and organizational management matters; independently reviewing major business, financial, and operational issues; assessing risks and alternative courses of action; and providing recommendations that directly influence executive decisions and organizational direction.
• Leading enterprise-level analytical research, program evaluations, and risk assessments involving emerging issues, mission-critical trends, and cross-organizational challenges; generating and applying innovative concepts to resolve significant, non-routine problems; and overseeing special studies that inform senior leadership on program effectiveness and resource alignment.
• Developing and implementing comprehensive operational and long-range plans that integrate budget formulation and execution, workforce planning, acquisition strategies, and information technology requirements; establishing performance measures and accountability frameworks; and recommending organizational restructuring, resource reallocations, or other corrective actions to address performance deficiencies.
• Representing executive leadership in high-visibility and time-sensitive matters by managing congressional and controlled correspondence; resolving complex coordination issues across multiple organizations; preparing authoritative briefing materials for senior departmental officials; and, when delegated, speaking for and committing leadership to courses of action within established policy parameters.
• Exercising delegated authority to act on behalf of senior executive leadership by leading cross-functional task forces, executive initiatives, or special advisory groups; coordinating with internal and external stakeholders; and developing consensus-based recommendations on issues with enterprise-wide or departmental impact.
• Establishing and monitoring organizational performance and governance frameworks by directing quantitative and qualitative evaluations of program outcomes and resource utilization, identifying systemic performance gaps, and recommending strategic corrective actions, including reorganization, reassignment, outsourcing, or program realignment.

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.


Structured Resume Review. Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. SMEs will review ONLY two (2) pages of your resume, starting at your work experience. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume). Applicants passing the structured resume review will move on to the next phase of the assessment process.


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.

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

• All current, permanent VA Employees in the Office of Revolving Funds
• All other current, permanent VA employees
• All other applicants