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Decision Review Officer

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Benefits Administration
St. Petersburg Regional Office (RO)

Summary

This announcement is being limited to the first 50 applications received. The announcement will close either on the published closing date at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) or on the day when the number of applications reaches 50 at 11:59 p.m. (EST), whichever comes first. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Continued in the Duties Section.

Overview

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Accepting applications
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Location
5 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
$106,437 - $138,370 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Promotion potential
13
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
25% or less - 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
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
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
317-26-DDD-13035318-BU
Control number
882430100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent VBA Regional Office employees 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.

Duties

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This position is located in a Department of Veterans Affairs, Regional office (VARO) Veterans Service Center or Pension Maintenance Center. The Rating Quality Review Specialist is an integral part of the Veterans Service Center's quality assurance program and is a key technical adviser to the
Decision Review Officers (DROs) and Rating Veterans Service Representatives (RVSRs), in the Regional Office. The purpose of this position is to measure individual performance quality and identify training needs through the review and assessment of completed claims involving appeals
and rating decisions.

Major duties include:

  • Performs individual quality reviews to determine the rating quality level of individual DROs and RVSRs for purposes of individual performance standards in accordance with an established monthly schedule.
  • Conducts focused "in-process reviews" for cases to determine the accuracy of claims action taken. (Such reviews are for station-level feedback and improvement only, not used for individual performance standard purposes.)
  • Responsible for sharing rating quality trend information with management on an ongoing basis and with the DROs and RVSRs during training sessions.
  • Reviews products or activities for quality of performance and enters the results into the on-line STAR checklists.
  • Evaluates and identifies deficiencies of all elements of a claim from evidence development, income, and dependency issues, to award processing and authorization. Provides an explanation of errors and includes comments where attention is warranted.
  • Prepares STAR data reports and provides to personnel in the regional office who are authorized to request and receive such reports.
  • Develops various quality assurance processes with emphasis on work procedures and techniques that address unique work conditions and practices.
  • Ensures all program requirements imposed by Compensation Service and/or the Pension and Fiduciary Service and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims are met or implemented.
  • Prepares documentation to support unfavorable finding in order to provide justification for error decisions and indicate required actions.
  • Conducts statistical analysis of quality reviews to identify trends, significant problems areas and processes requiring improvement.
  • Relays quality trend information with management on an ongoing basis for use in operations, decision making, and planning.
Promotion Potential: None
Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Position Description/PD#: Decision Review Officer; PD37138A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required
Bargaining Unit: Yes

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 or 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.

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
  • 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 identification 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:09/04/2026.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 level.
  • If you are a current VBA employee outside of the commuting area seeking reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-13 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-13.
NOTE: All current or former Federal employees must provide a copy of their SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one), "Notice of Personnel Action" that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position, title, series, grade, step, tenure (1 or 2), and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).

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 REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience as described below:
GS-13 Grade Level:
  • Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-12). Specialized Experience is defined as work that involves functioning in either a capacity performing training, analyst, or information systems duties of a claim's management process. The experience should be substantive and relevant and may have been gained in the federal, military, or private sector. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: 1) conducting reviews to analyze the
    quality of completed rated cases, 2) conducting evaluations and reviews on a quantitative or qualitative basis of claims development programs and operations to determine the effectiveness in meeting established goals and objectives; 3) preparing or conducting training activities; 4) identifying knowledge/skill gaps and plan training strategies; 5) providing and implementing data for one or more information management systems accurately and timely or providing technical guidance and direction to staff in the daily operation and maintenance of claims management systems.
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 then physical exertion. The work is mostly sedentary. However, there may be some walking, standing, and carrying of light items such as papers, books, claims folders, and files from one desk to another of for returning to storage. Carts are utilized to carry large number of claims folders. This will require the incumbent to push or pull the cart from one area to another.

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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications.

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 your 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. 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/documents/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: Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport-usastaffing.opm.gov/hc/en-us/sections/45063131363475-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information)

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

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
    • Influencing/Negotiating
    • Integrity/Honesty
    • Interpersonal Skills
    • Learning
    • Reasoning
    • Self-Management
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Teamwork
  1. Decisiveness - Makes sound and well-informed decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations in order to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.
  2. Technical Knowledge - Understands and appropriately applies procedures, requirements, regulations, and policies related to VBA programs and other Federal (or similar) benefits programs.
  3. Leadership - Inspires, motivates, guides and mentors others toward goal accomplishment; models high standards of honesty, integrity, trust, openness, and respect for individuals by applying these values to daily behaviors.
  4. Conflict Management - Manages and resolves conflicts, confrontations, and disagreements in a positive and constructive manner to minimize negative personal impact.
  5. Oral Communication - Communicates orally to conduct one-on-one training & feedback as well as group presentations and training sessions.
  6. Written Communication - Communicates in writing to prepare correspondence and reports as well as convey feedback and other information to management and lower-graded employees.
  7. Problem Solving - Identifies and analyzes problems; uses sound reasoning to arrive at conclusions; finds alternative solutions to complex problems; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information to make logical decisions; provides solutions to problems.
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/13035318

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.

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

Denitra Deloach
Phone
601-364-7271
Email
denitra.deloach@va.gov
Address
St Petersburg Regional Benefit Office
9500 Bay Pines Boulevard
Bay Pines, FL 33744
US

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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.

https://vacareers.va.gov/

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