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Veterans Service Representative

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Benefits Administration
Multiple VBA Regional Offices

Summary

The Veterans Service Representative (VSR) works as an employee in the Veterans Service Center (VSC) or Benefits Eligibility Support Team (BEST). The VSR explains benefit programs and entitlement criteria, analyzes claims materials, identifies issues, gathers relevant evidence, conducts interviews, adjudicates claims, and inputs data necessary to generate the award and notification letter to the Veteran describing the decision and the reason for it.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted this week · Apply by 07/09/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 9, 2026
Location
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$50,460 - $88,356 per year

RUS shown. Visit the OPM Salary website to view salaries for each location listed. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/

Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 10
Promotion potential
10
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
Yes - Muskogee OK is Not Bargaining Unit Eligible. All other locations are Bargaining Unit Eligible.
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
101-26-MB-12996417
Control number
875118900

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open to permanent Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) employees who are currently assigned to the Regional Office they are applying to and current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible. For the purpose of this job announcement, Fiduciary Hub bargaining unit employees in the commuting area are considered facility employees.

Videos

Duties

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The Veterans Service Representative (VSR) explains benefit programs and entitlement criteria, analyzes claims materials, identifies issues, gathers relevant evidence, conducts interviews, adjudicates claims, and inputs data necessary to generate the award and notification letter to the Veteran describing the decision and the reason for it. Specifically, the VSR will:

  • Make determinations as to the eligibility for the type of benefit sought to include questions relating to adequacy of military service, medical evidence and the evaluation of evidence of income, employability, dependence and relationship
  • Request examinations, re-examination or opinions to evaluate disabilities resulting from diseases or injuries
  • Review claims cases to assure all issues have been addressed, applies and interprets VA laws, including Veterans' case law, existing statutes and procedures, precedent rulings and state law in the adjudication process
  • May conduct interviews in person or by phone with Veterans, representatives and advocates to explain the full range of VA benefits and related programs
  • Prepare and release correspondence for use by other federal, state and local agencies
  • Utilize various electronic data processing systems to input data for processing claims and generating automated correspondence.

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. The grade progression for this position is GS-07/09/10.

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Veterans Service Representative, 37300A, 37301A, 37233A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Bargaining Unit: No: Muskogee OK (Not Bargaining Unit Eligible)
Bargaining Unit: Yes: Denver, CO.; Billings, MT.; Des Moines, IA.; Ft Harrison, MT.; Houston, TX.; Wichita, KS.; Missoula, MT.; San Antonio, TX.; St Paul, MN.; Lincoln, NE.; and Cheyenne, WY. (AFGE - Non-Professionals Eligible)

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1 year or 2-year probationary 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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Additional Conditions of Employment are as follows:
  • 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 or trial period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Required to attend an 8 week training session, which may require travel.
  • VSR Skill Certification required at the GS-10 level
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 07/09/2026.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: As a current Federal, GS employee you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
  • For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 level.
  • For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level.
  • For a GS-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level.
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.

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

GS-07 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level or higher. Specialized experience is defined as the interpretation or application of laws, regulations, or procedures to analyze evidence to make determinations and research routine issues to resolve discrepancies. Examples of experience include:

  • Using various computer systems for data entry and maintaining/monitoring case files
  • Applies use of federal laws when processing compensation and benefit claims for a state or federal agency, insurance company, worker's compensation, disability, retirement or pension program;
  • Determines basic employment qualifications and eligibility for benefit programs.

OR

Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have:

  • One (1) full year of graduate level education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position;

OR

  • A Bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement (3.0 GPA or higher). Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) is based on: 1) class standing, 2) grade point average or 3) honor society membership. For more information on calculating SAA please visit www.opm.gov.

GS-09 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level or higher. Specialized experience is defined as experience which requires interpreting legal and medical documentation to determine the claimant's eligibility for services and benefits programs. Examples of specialized experience include:

  • Determines the eligibility for Federal or State-administered benefits, such as disability, education, housing, medical, and/or Veterans' benefits;
  • Interprets and applies Federal and State laws, including case law, existing statutes and procedures, and precedent rulings, to process claims pertaining to a service program;
  • Gathers and requests evidence to build service program case files, respond to claimant inquiries, and identify errors, inconsistencies, or omissions;
  • Explains Federal or State claims decisions to claimants, special interest groups, dependents, and/or representatives in an effort to gain acceptance of the determination;

OR

Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have:

  • A master's or equivalent graduate degree in an accredited or pre-accredited college or university;

OR

  • 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or possession of an LL.B. or J.D degree, if related. Graduate-level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position.

GS-10 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level or higher. Specialized experience demonstrates competence in adjudicating Veterans' claims, and is typically gained in positions that involve the development, examination, investigation, adjudication, and authorization of claims for disability compensation, disability pension, death compensation, death pension benefits, life insurance benefits, etc. Such experience is to be substantive and relevant, requiring a high degree of independence and judgment in the interpretation of more complex legal and medical documentation to determine claimant's eligibility and supporting evidence for services and benefits.

OR

Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have:

  • Two and a half years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. Graduate-level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position.

Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information.

Volunteer Experience: 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.

Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.

Physical Requirements:The work normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. The work is mostly sedentary; however, there may be some walking, standing, and carrying of light items. 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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited towards qualifications. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.All education claimed by applicants will be verified upon appointment. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript to receive credit.

Note: You may submit unofficial transcripts when applying. However, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to provide an official transcript or a statement from the institution (e.g., from the registrar, dean, or other appropriate official) or equivalent documentation prior to the start date.

Additional information

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

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.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), https://www.va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

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

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.
You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. 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 (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
  • COMPUTER SKILLS
  • DECISION MAKING
  • ORAL COMMUNICATION
  • REASONING
  • WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12996417

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 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.

Veterans Benefits Administration

OUR MISSION: "To fulfill President Lincoln's promise to care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors." How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate care to Veterans?

The VA has adopted Core Values and Characteristics that apply universally across the Department. The five Core Values define "who we are," our culture, and how we care for Veterans, their families and other beneficiaries.

The Values are Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect and Excellence ("I CARE").As a VA professional, your opportunities are endless. With many openings in the multiple functions of VA, you will have a wide range of opportunities and leadership positions at your fingertips.

Agency contact information

Marla Buonodono
Phone
512-981-4971
Email
Marla.Buonodono@va.gov
Address
Muskogee Regional Benefit Office
125 South Main St
Muskogee, OK 74401
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Veterans Benefits Administration, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

http://www.va.gov/jobs

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