Veterans Service Representative (Authorizer)

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/24/2024 Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade at 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-10. The grade may have been in any occupation, but it 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 former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: experience that demonstrates competence in adjudicating and authorizing veterans’ claims. Specialized 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. Such 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. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have earned a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (including LL.M.) or I have completed three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree and which demonstrates the competencies necessary to do the work. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree which demonstrates the competencies necessary to do the work. 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. 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/.
The incumbent will serve as a Veterans Service Representative (Authorizer) at a VA Regional Office as a member of the Veterans Service Center (VSC) or the 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.