Clarification from the agency

Current permanent employees of the West Haven VA Medical Center including permanent Veterans Canteen Service employees, current permanent full-time Hybrid Title 38 and permanent full-time Title 38 employees. (must send proof such as an SF-50 with application).

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Duties include but are not limited to:

• The Voluntary Services Officer is responsible for planning and leading all philanthropic activities and programs within widely dispersed locations across the healthcare system, VA Administrations and State Veterans Homes.
• The incumbent is responsible for the proactive and agile utilization, to include the commitment and distribution of community resources in support of organizational goals, objectives and strategic priorities.
• Collaborates with Department-level organizations, to include but not limited to the Secretary's Veterans Experience Office, the Center for Strategic Partnerships, and the VHA Office of Community Engagement to support national initiatives that involve community partnerships designed for execution at local facilities or in support of large- scale national programs, providing evaluation and recommendations to further program impact and long-term success.
• As the primary Volunteer Engagement Manager, the Voluntary Services Officer is responsible for upholding the national and international occupational standards established for the profession.
• This includes the strategic utilization of volunteers throughout the healthcare system, across Administrations and those assigned to community-based roles.
• The Voluntary Services Officer conducts and analyzes comprehensive needs assessments for optimal alignment of the program in support of the organization's mission and goals. In this capacity, the incumbent is the human capital manager, exercising final authority for the full range of personnel actions and organization design proposals recommended for the integration of this category of without compensation (WOC) employees; ensuring compliance with all applicable human resource laws and regulations.

Work Schedule: Monday- Friday 8:00am- 4:30pm.
Compressed/Flexible Work Schedule: Not Authorized.
Telework: Authorized: Telework Ad-Hoc work can be performed on an as needed basis anywhere other than a VA facility or using VA-leased space (example: home).
Position Description/PD#:Voluntary Services Officer/PD99897-S
Relocation or Travel Incentives: Not Authorized.
Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required or Required, selectee must file a financial disclosure report, OGE Form 450, within 30 days of onboarding and then annually.
Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the next level or grade 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 higher level.

Notifications:

• This position is not a Bargaining Unit position.
• Selectee may be required to work at any Healthcare System campus, as needed.
• May be required to attend conference at other facilities or other VA sites on occasion.
• The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's.
• Selectee may be required to work at any VISN 1 Healthcare System campus, as needed.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50 (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• This position is in the Competitive Service.
• Time-in-Grade Restriction: 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. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service.
• Veterans' preference does not apply for other current permanent Federal agency employees.

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
• 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-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 or 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, 02/12/2026.

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 GS12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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.

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-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Planning, scheduling, executing special events involving community leaders, staff and visitors; Developing and proposing policies and innovative programs governing voluntary services; Managing general post fund accounts and other financial accounts; Representing a volunteer program on speaking engagements before service, fraternal, and civic organizations; and making presentations for diverse audiences and varying sizes from small meetings to large conferences.

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

• Financial Management
• Managing Human Resources
• Partnering
• Planning and Evaluating

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: Work is moderately sedentary, although considerably variable. It requires a fair amount of standing, sometimes for long periods, walking, climbing stairs, and bending. Work may require some heavy to moderate lifting, transporting of materials, equipment and supplies for special events and other programs. Due to the diverse nature and scope of the work, it may require occasionally working in extreme temperatures (hot or cold).

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://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.

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.