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Veterans Service Representative

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Benefits Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Veterans Service Representative (VSR) works in the Decision Review Operations Center (DROC). The VSR explains benefit programs and entitlement criteria, conducts interviews, identifies issues, gathers relevant evidence, adjudicates claims, authorizes payments, and inputs data necessary to generate the award and notification letter to the veteran describing the decision and the reason for it. The VSR processes attorney fees, when appropriate.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open date: 08/05/2026
Closed date: 08/06/2026
This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Location
7 vacancies in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Not applicable, this is a remote position.
Remote job
Yes
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$63,795 - $80,811 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Promotion potential
None
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
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
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
397-DROC-13028325-26-NNG-BU
Control number
879349000

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to current, permanent (career/career conditional) employees of the Decision Review Operations Center (DROC-DC), Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) and Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) eligible(s) only.

Duties

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Specific duties include:

  • Conduct interviews in person or by telephone with veterans, representatives, and advocates. Explains the full range of VA benefits and all related programs, including disability and death compensation and pension programs, education, vocational rehabilitation, and other related entitlements, small or disadvantaged business utilization, VA health care, home loan guaranty program, life insurance, general Social Security Administration benefit programs, federal and state laws relating to domestic relations, and federal, state, and local assistance programs.
  • Makes determinations on questions relating to adequacy of military service, adequacy of medical evidence and lay testimony to establish a claim, and evaluates evidence of income, net worth, employability, dependency, and relationship. The VSR will fully analyze, develop, and request required evidence.
  • Adjudicates, develops and/or issues decisions, and provides notification for the most complex and sensitive claims, such as claims for PTSD, sexual trauma, secondary service-connection, Gulf War claims, original and reopened pension claims, claims for unemployability, accrued claims, and apportionment cases.
  • Serves as an Authorizer reviewing all required work of other VSRs when a second signature is required and is responsible for ensuring accurate funds are released to the claimant. Review and approves work for technical accuracy, clarity, thoroughness, and sensitivity of notification.
  • Makes administrative decisions and special determinations relating to qualifying military service, character of discharge, domestic relations, contested claims, homicide, presumed death, line of duty, or willful misconduct, corpus of estate, and violations of U.S. Penal Code, related attorney fees, administrative error, and fraud.
  • Prepares Statements of the Case on authorization appeals. Makes determinations on appeal cases as to whether reconsideration of the claim is necessary and assembles all necessary supplemental evidence and data in connection with review of appeal cases for submission to the Board of Veterans Appeals, as requested.

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: Not available, this is a remote position.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Veterans Service Representative; GS-11 PD# 02105A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

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

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:08/12/2026.

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.

  • For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-10 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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
GS-11 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-10 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Experience is typically gained in positions that have involved experience in the development, examination, investigation, adjudication, and authorization of claims for disability compensation, disability pension, death compensation, death pension benefits, life insurance benefits, etc. Experience is to be substantive and relevant and may have been gained in the practice of law or working with a Federal or state agency, insurance company, retirement disability, or insurance program. Specialized experience includes but is not limited to:
  • Experience that demonstrates competence in adjudicating and authorizing veterans' claims.
  • Experience in the development, examination, investigation, adjudication, and authorization of claims for disability compensation, disability pension, death compensation, death pension benefits, life insurance benefits, etc.
  • Comprehensive experience applying federal, state, and local laws regarding benefit programs.
OR

Education Substitution
: GS-10 Level: One year of Specialized experience equivalent to the GS-10 level; or education substitution of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

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 is mostly sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items such as papers or books. No special
physical demands are required to perform the work.

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

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.

Additional information

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), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more 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 ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

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.

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.

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.

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.
https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information)

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.

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.

  • Problem Solving: Identifies and analyzes problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations.
  • Writing: Uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling to communicate thoughts, ideas, information, and messages in writing.
  • Oral Communication: Expresses ideas and facts to individuals or groups effectively; makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others; facilitates an open exchange of ideas
  • Teamwork: Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.
  • Self-Management: Sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; displays a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrates responsible behavior.
  • Technical competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.
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.

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
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

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.

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?

Agency contact information

Naomi Griffin
Phone
410-230-4400 X13058
Email
naomi.griffin@va.gov
Address
Office of Administrative Review
810 Vermont Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20420
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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