Veterans Service Representative

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/22/2024.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 by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 level. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. For a GS-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 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. 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 must possess at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-05 level in the Federal service that includes: Assisting with documentation to determine basic eligibility for benefits or programs such as but not limited to: disability, worker and unemployment insurance compensation, insurance, loans, education, or retirement programs. Specialized Experience is defined as interpretation or application of laws, regulations, or procedures to analyze evidence to make determinations and research routine issues to resolve discrepancies. Examples of experience include, but are not limited to: Technical assignments related to claims or benefits processing or eligibility determinations. Quality assurance or auditor functions. Compiling income and legal documentation to determine basic eligibility for benefits or programs. Claims processing for: A state or federal agency, insurance company, Workers Compensation, Disability Retirement or Pension Program. Human Resource position which involved determining employment qualifications, job classification, or determining eligibility benefits. Positions involved in assisting veterans with claims applications. Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience for the GS-07 level. To qualify based on education you must have: One full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement at the bachelors level in a degree related to or other related fields of study. (You must provide transcripts); OR, a combination of the required experience and education for this grade level. NOTE – Superior academic achievement (SAA): 1. Class standing — Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. 2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) — Applicants must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 (“B” or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 (“B+” or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. (Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.) 3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society — Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. (Must provide supporting Transcripts.) GS-09: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-07 level in the Federal service that include: Interpreting laws, regulations, or procedures to analyze evidence to make with recommendations; and, Following procedures to process eligibility claims for benefits such as but not limited to: disability, worker and unemployment insurance compensation, insurance, loans, education, or retirement programs. Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience for the GS-09 level. To qualify based on education you must have: A Master’s or equivalent graduate degree, 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.B. or J.D., if related fields of study. (You must provide transcripts); OR, A combination of some specialized experience as described, but not less than one year; and you have more than one year but less than two years of directly related graduate education. The computed percentage of the requirements and the total is at least 100%. (To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one year by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. (You must provide supporting transcripts.) GS-10: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the GS-09 level in the Federal service that include: Asking questions relating to military service or medical evidence to make determinations as to the eligibility for programs; Reviewing claims or cases to assure all laws have been laws addressed in the adjudication process; and, Informing claimants of all evidence requirements needed to further process a claim for benefits and/or services. Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience for the GS-10 level. To qualify based on education you must have: Two and a half years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position. Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-07, GS-09, or GS-10 level. 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 normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. The work is mostly sedentary. 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/.
This position is located in the Department of Veteran Affairs. The Veterans Service Representative (VSR) works as an employee on the Benefits Eligibility Support Team.