Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP). Areas of Consideration (AOC): 1st AOC given to CTAP-eligible and current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs Member Services employees. 2nd AOC given to current permanent Department of Veterans Affairs employees.

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****This is an open continuous announcement. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. Applications will remain on file until this announcement closes.****
Cutoff dates: 04/15/26, 05/01/26, 06/01/26, 07/01/26, 08/01/26, 09/01/26, 10/01/26, 11/01/26, 12/01/26, 01/01/27, 02/01/27, 03/01/27, 04/01/27.

****This is NOT a remote position****

Major duties
The major duties listed below, represent the full performance level of GS-07. At the GS-06 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-07.

Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Receives and generates telephone calls from patients, family members, and/or legal representatives concerning billing inquiries;
• Researches, identifies, and resolves complex billing issues;
• Receives telephone calls from and provides information to the public on a variety of medical
  benefits to patients, their dependents, and their beneficiaries:
• Conduct calls concerning first party and third party billing and debt collection;
• Perform in-depth research, interpretation, and analysis of medical records to resolve issues or discrepancies;
• Reviews, updates, and edits master record information in a patient record system;
• Explains in detail the process of filing a claim for benefits, eligibility requirements,
  repayment plans, waivers, and advises on forms;
• Prepares well-defined case notes when actions are effected, available resources are
  insufficient to answer the caller's inquiry, and/or additional research is required;
• Respond to patient and/or customer inquiries via phone, e-mail, and through other forms of
  secure messaging;
• Conducts phone calls concerning routine and non-routine pharmacy related issues and
  inquiries and track status of patients prescriptions;
• Perform necessary verification procedures to ensure valuable patient information remains
  secure and to obtain customer information for such requirements as eligibility verification
  and benefit related issue resolution;
• Discussions and interviews with callers to evaluate their knowledge and understanding of the administrative processes and actions necessary in order to resolve issues;
• Educate patients on obtaining medication refills and provide appointment information;
• Receive calls from patient's family members to complete payments on behalf of the patient;
• Enters, authorizes, submits, and confirms electronic payments using an electronic payment
  system such as the Pay.Gov website;
• Perform proper review and research to identify payment error issues using a patient computer based system;
• Research patient accounts to determine what correspondence should be mailed and to ensure the correct patient receives the right correspondence;
• Receives and responds to billing questions from patients using a secure web based messaging system;
• Proofreads responses and sends correspondence for payment histories, waivers, repayment
  plans, and meant test using a web based secure messaging portal

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.

Work Schedule: Full-time, 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday, 8 hour shift between 6:45am-7:30pm CST. Official tour of duty will be selected based on business needs and will start after training is completed.
Remote: This position is not authorized for Remote work.
Telework: This position may be authorized for Telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This position may be authorized for Virtual Work. Virtual Work eligibility is for current VA employees that are already subject to the return to in person work mandate in their current position.
Definition of Virtual work: Employee works outside of original hiring duty station at VA-owned or leased space.
Return to Office (RTO): RTO mandates are in affect and selectees will be required to report to in person work unless they have an approved exemption already in place.
Position Description/PD#: Contact Representative/PD00706A and PD00707A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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, 03/31/2027.

Time-In-Grade Requirements: 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

GS-06 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to:

1. Receives and generates telephone calls.
2. Performs all duties of the position while exhibiting excellent customer service skills.
3. Uses ability to perform a variety of computer skills, such as with Microsoft Word and Excel.
4. Uses data entry skills.
5. Uses ability to communicate with individuals and with groups.

GS-07 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to:

1. Receives and generates telephone calls from a variety of individuals concerning billing inquiries.
2. Conducts calls concerning billing and debt collection.
3. Enters, authorizes, submits, and confirms electronic payments using an electronic payment system.
4. Researches and reviews patient accounts.
5. Provides appointment information to patients.

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. The employee is often required to talk, type, and navigate systems for long periods of time.

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies for this position:

• Communication
• Computer Skills
• Critical Thinking

Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

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.

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 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.