Veterans Service Representative

Summary

The Veterans Service Representative (VSR) (Authorizer) works as an employee in the Veterans Service Center (VSC), Pension Management Center (PMC), Benefits Eligibility Support Team (BEST), or Integrated Disability Evaluation system (IDES) Program Division explaining benefit program and entitlement criteria, conducts interviews, identifies issues, gathers relevant evidence, adjudicates claims, authorizes payments and inputs data necessary to generate the award and notification letters.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

05/28/2024 to 06/06/2024

• Salary

$72,553 - $94,317 per year

Salary is based on the base pay table.

• Pay scale & grade

GS 11

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Locations

10 vacancies in the following locations:

• Atlanta, GA

• Columbia, SC

• Nashville, TN

• Roanoke, VA

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

Yes-as determined by the agency policy.

• Travel Required

Occasional travel

• You may be expected to travel for this position.

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent

• Work schedule

Full-time

• Service

Competitive

• Promotion potential

11

• Job family (Series)

0996 Veterans Claims Examining

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Other

• Drug test

No

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

Suitability/Fitness

• Announcement number

IMP-24-LS-12422976-NBU

• Control number

793075200

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This job is open to

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open ONLY to agency employees of the Atlanta, GA, Columbia, SC, Nashville, TN, OR Roanoke, VA, Regional Office and current/former T5 VA employees who are CTAP eligible. For purposes of this job announcement, unless CTAP eligible, you are ONLY eligible to be considered for the Regional Office where you are a current, permanent employee.

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Duties

Major Duties include but are not limited to:Incumbent will serve as a Veterans Service Representative (Authorizer) within the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Office of Compensation Service, Veterans Service Center (VSC) or Benefits Eligibility Support Team BEST. The incumbent of this position will adjudicate claims, authorize payments, and input data necessary to generate the award and notification letter to the veteran describing the decision and the reason for it. Specific duties are as follows:

• Serves as an Authorizer reviewing all required work of other Veterans Service Representatives when a second signature is required.

• Reviews and approves work for technical accuracy, clarity, thoroughness, and sensitivity of notification.

• Ensures that notices of decisions are prepared with an empathetic tone and are complete and phrased in terms that the claimant can understand. The VSR (Authorizer) must be familiar with rating procedures to ensure proper notification to the claimant.

• 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.

• Authorizes administrative decisions made by other Veterans Service Representatives including character of discharge, line of duty, or willful misconduct, corpus of estate, and apportionment decisions.

• Explains a final decision if a veteran expresses an indication of dissatisfaction with a determination (filed in person, by telephone, or by mail). The VSR (Authorizer) will explain the decision in question in an effort to gain acceptance of the determination, and also explain the post-decision review process.

• Uses electronic data processing (EDP) systems for inputting data related to claims adjudication, processing, monitoring, and correspondence preparation.

• Acts as an advocate for veterans and their beneficiaries in their dealings with other VA elements and organizations that affect their claims.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm

Virtual: No

• Telework eligible as determined by the agency policy.

Position Description/PD#: Veteran Service Representative (Authorizer) / 02105A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Promotion Potential: No, atthe full performance level

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Requirements

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.

• You may be required to serve a Supervisory/Managerial probationary period.

• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 06/06/2024.

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.

NOTE: A SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. A copy of your most current SF 50 is required to verify your status. You must also submit additional SF-50(s) to clearly demonstrate one year time-in-grade as required in the announcement. If the most recent non-award SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one year time-in-grade. In this instance, you must provide an additional non-award SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade. If you previously held a higher grade, you must also submit any SF-50 showing that grade.

Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Minimum Qualification requirements as noted below.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

Specialized Experience: You must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-10). Specialized experience is defined as at least three of the following:

(1) comprehensive experience applying federal, state, and local laws regarding benefit programs;

(2) Conducting interviews to evaluate eligibility for benefits and services;

(3) Evaluating supporting evidence to determine eligibility leading to entitlement of awarding of benefit;

(4) applying state laws pertaining to conservator ship and estate administration and /or;

(5) knowledge of fiduciary and field examination programs sufficient to protect beneficiary asset

OR

Education:

• GS-11: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education OR hold a Ph.D. or equivalent Doctoral Degree, or have a LL.M.

OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education totaling 100% of the requirements for this position at either grade level to qualify.

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.

To qualify for this position, you must meet the experience and/or education as described below by the 06/06/2024 of this announcement.

Physical Requirements: This work normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. This position is primarily sedentary with some walking, standing, bending, stooping and carrying of lightweight items (i.e. folders, claims files).

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.

Only education beyond the first two and a half years hours of graduate study may be used to combine with experience.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides 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 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 view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

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• Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window

Learn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

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.

• Knowledge of federal laws pertaining to compensation and pension and VA regulations and procedures which implement these laws including M21-1, 38 Code of Federal Regulations, etc., to accurately adjudicate claims and develop for rating issues;

• Knowledge of state laws, involving dependency status, social services programs, Medicaid, special income-based local, state, and federal programs; Confidential Information Safeguard

• Skill in written communication to inform claimants of decisions, the reason and basis for decisions, appellate rights, and evidence requirements.

• Skill in interpreting and applying laws, regulations, and procedures to promulgate rating decisions, adjudicate cases and/or authorize claims; AND

• Knowledge of medical terms to include anatomy and physiology sufficient to assure that all issues have been addressed to promulgate rating decisions and/or authorize claims.