Clarification from the agency

Open to current, permanent employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and CTAP eligible candidates only. You must receive permission from your current supervisor to be considered for this detail. You must upload that approval email at the time of application to be considered for this detail opportunity.

This is a Detail Not to Exceed One Year, however, the detail may be made permanent without additional competition.

This announcement will be used to fill six vacancies, one in each of the following areas: Recruitment and Placement; Employee Relations, Labor Relations, and Performance; Employee Services; Mission Support; Center of Excellence; and Business Operations.

As the Administrative Specialist, the incumbent serves as a generalist responsible for the operational and administrative functions of an office, bridging the gap between technical program work and administrative services, including budget, travel, timekeeping, and space management.

Major Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Administering time and attendance as the office's principal timekeeper, including reviewing and certifying timecards, auditing and reconciling leave balances, and providing training and technical assistance to supervisors and staff.
• Coordinating travel, procurement, property, and space management for the office, including entering travel requests, tracking purchases and equipment, and maintaining space inventories.
• Developing, implementing, and maintaining standard operating procedures to standardize administrative workflows, and recommending and leading process improvements.
• Analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of administrative programs and operations, and preparing reports and briefings for leadership.
• Serving as the office's principal point of contact for coordination with VA Staff Offices, program offices, and external stakeholders on administrative matters.

Promotion Potential: This is a developmental position. The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level of GS-12 without further competition upon meeting all regulatory requirements, demonstrating fully acceptable performance, completing orientation and any applicable training plans, and demonstrating the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Note on Pay: This detail does not include a pay increase or temporary promotion. The selectee will remain in their position of record and continue to be paid at their current grade, step, and salary. For example, a GS-9 employee selected for this GS-11 or a GS-11 selected for the GS-12 detail, will continue to be paid as a GS-9 or GS-11 for the duration of the detail. If the detail is made permanent, pay for the new grade will begin once the permanent action is approved.

Supervisory Support and Approval: Your current supervisor must support your participation in this detail. If you are selected, you must provide documented local approval of your placement into the detail before the detail can begin. Applicants are encouraged to discuss their interest with their supervisor before applying.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Compressed/Flexible: May be authorized with supervisor approval.
Return to Office (RTO): RTO mandates are in effect and selectees will be required to report to in person work unless they have an approved exemption.
Telework: May be authorized in accordance with agency policy.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: PD00624A and PD00625A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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
• 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a one year probationary period or two 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 one year probationary period or two year 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, 11/13/2026.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9.
• For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11.

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 some former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.
See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade.


You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
For the GS-11:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: performing administrative support functions such as timekeeping, travel, procurement, property, or records management; maintaining reports, databases, and documentation; gathering and analyzing data to prepare reports; and coordinating administrative matters, all of which require judgment in applying administrative policies.

OR,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or at least 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M if related. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. To do so, you must have a combination of specialized experience and graduate education that goes beyond the education required for the GS-9 level. The GS-9 level requires a master's degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education. Only graduate education beyond that amount can be counted toward this combination. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

For the GS-12:
Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:independently performing administrative management functions such as timekeeping and payroll administration, travel, procurement, property, or space management, with limited supervision or guidance; independently developing and maintaining standard operating procedures and recommending process improvements; independently analyzing administrative programs or operations and preparing reports for leadership; and coordinating directly with program offices, HR, and other stakeholders on administrative matters. .

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: Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list the grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 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: Physical demands are those required in a typical modern work environment.

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/.

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 for this vacancy. To be found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications: administering timekeeping and payroll, coordinating travel, procurement, property, and space management, and analyzing administrative operations to prepare reports for leadership.. 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/.

Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as being within 50 miles of available VA office space.

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 for this position:

• Accountability
• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Problem Solving
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

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.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be contacted 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.

Area of Consideration: Eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

• All CTAP eligibles.
• All other current, permanent VA employees

During the application process, you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.