Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to current permanent VA Nationwide employees, CTAP/ICTAP eligibles, and other Status Eligible Applicants-see Hiring Paths for more information.

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• Plan, direct and manage the Eligibility/Enrollment Program which include all functions directly related to Veterans entitlement to VA healthcare benefits and medical services.
• Interprets rules and regulations relating to legal entitlement to benefits for hospital admissions, nursing homes, dental treatment, domiciliary, fee basis patient transfers beneficiary travel, prosthetic appliances and outpatient care.
• Ability to effectively communicate both orally and in writing, to a wide variety of people (Veterans, administrative personnel, line supervisors, service chiefs, top management) from various educational and socioeconomic backgrounds utilizing various communication
  mediums; initiate and lead groups and to establish relationships with professional and/or other health-related groups.
• Respond to non-routine patient condition inquiries and other administrative inquiries from concerned Veterans, families, visitors, law enforcement officials, representatives from private hospitals, Veterans Service Organization representatives, VA Central Office, Congressional offices, military personnel, private physicians, medical, and the general public.
• Responsible for the determination of applicants' eligibility; obtaining income and insurance information for appropriate non-service connected applicants; counseling non-service connected Veterans to determine ability to defray costs of medical care elsewhere.
• Provides training to staff throughout the facility and the CBOCs on rapidly changing regulatory guidelines of eligibility and benefits. Provides new orientation to new enrollees accepted for enrollment. The incumbent is responsible for ensuring that goals are met and are compatible with organizational goals, guidelines, and effectiveness in achieving desired outcomes or metrics. Meets with outside agencies to provide information on veteran enrollment and eligibility programs.
• Provides orientation and technical advice to new physicians and VA staff regarding VA policies and procedures as it related to patient entitlement and understanding of which Veterans may or may not be legally eligible for VA medical services.
• Possess in-depth knowledge of public laws, federal regulations, VA directives, major issues, program goals and objectives, work processes, and administrative operations associated with enrollment, Tricare, CHAMPVA, eligibility health benefits, details, admissions, and scheduling.
• Alternate Enrollment Coordinator represents facility leadership in multiple settings related to enrollment and eligibility activities, such as meeting, briefings, workshops, outreach, etc. Assist Service and Medical Center in understanding and the appeals process by providing expertise on eligibility issues. Provide training to staff throughout the facility and the CBOCs on rapidly changing regulatory guidelines of eligibility and benefits. Provides new orientation to new enrollees accepted for enrollment. Responsible for ensuring that goals are met and are compatible with organizational goals, guidelines, and effectiveness in achieving desired outcome. Meet with outside agencies to provide information on veteran enrollment and eligibility programs.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm (Subject to change based on the needs of the Agency)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Program Specialist/PD036110
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
• 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, 05/05/2026.

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-9 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.

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-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:

• Experience performing supervisory duties such as managing personnel resources and distributing workload, approving leaving, providing mentorship and training to staff, reviewing staff performance.
• Applying laws, regulations, VA directives, manual guidelines, policies and procedures related to the eligibility and authorization.
• Experience dealing with health care benefits available to Veterans, health care entitlements for Veterans.
• Providing guidance and instructions regarding Care Programs.
• Provided supervision, advice on laws, regulations and policies, direct and assign work to employees.
• Experience in healthcare administration or in a hospital setting or medical clinic where the individual has developed an understanding of planning, organizing, initiating, controlling and coordinating operational activities of an organization.
• Provides administrative support such as being a first point of contact for customers and routing information and effective written and verbal communication skills.

OR,

Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a master's degree OR equivalent graduate degree that pertains directly to the duties of the position. OR, You have successfully completed two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. OR You have a LL.B. if related. NOTE: Official/unofficial transcripts must be submitted with your application or your application will not be reviewed. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

OR,

Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have some specialized experience but less than one year, and more than one year but less than two years of graduate education. You must compute the percentage of the requirements that you meet, and the total is at least 100% of the requirement for the GS-9 grade level. (Transcript AND Details of your work history must be provided in your resume; failure to supply sufficient details may result in not meeting the basic requirements for this position).

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

• Critical Thinking
• Customer Service
• Organizational Stewardship
• Leadership

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. No unusual physical exertion is required.

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.