Military Service Coordinator - Veterans Benefits Administration

Summary This position serves on the Public Contact Team, located in the Veterans Service Center. Through seasoned knowledge the incumbent provides comprehensive information and assistance to veterans, their dependents and beneficiaries concerning any matter within the scope of VA benefits and related non-VA benefits, to include those cases in which issues require an advanced technical proficiency. The incumbent represents the VA Regional Office by acting as a liaison with local military installations. Responsibilities Schedules and conducts appointments with service member(s) within prescribed time limits to provide an overview of benefits and resources for obtaining VA contact information. Explains benefit programs and entitlement criteria; gathers relevant evidence, and inputs data necessary to properly develop claims, to include the ordering and scheduling of VA examinations. Conducts discharge briefings to large groups or servicemen and women at separation points. Counsels Veterans, their dependents, and their beneficiaries regarding all benefits available through the Department of Veterans Affairs through personal interview, telephone interview, and correspondence. And provides additional information to disabled Veterans about the specially designated employment assistance for service members being separated for medical reasons. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/04/2024. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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 may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: This experience should demonstrate knowledge of laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and their relationship to other related programs; knowledge of federal laws, regulations and implementation of procedures pertaining to compensation, pension and other benefits; knowledge of federal, State and local laws, assistance services and programs, sufficient to help or direct Veterans to the appropriate resource to resolve problems; knowledge of legal opinions rendered regarding Veterans; ability to interpret laws, guidelines, regulations and precedent opinions; knowledge of electronic data processing systems. Examples of acceptable specialized experience include but are not limited to responsibility for making decisions regarding claims for a state or Federal agency, insurance company, employee compensation board, disability retirement or pension program; obtain the necessary information and completes claims while Veteran and/or family member is present. In certain circumstances, may monitor the claim to eliminate unnecessary delays in receiving needed evidence and to assure the claim is fully developed. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required to qualify at the GS-11 level. Applicant will need to possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M., if related. OR Combining Education & Experience: You may combine your education and specialized experience to qualify for this position. If you have some but not all of the graduate education AND specialized experience described above, you may still qualify by combining the amount of creditable education and experience that you do have. To do so, first calculate the percentage of qualifying education you have as a percentage of the education required. Next, calculate the percentage of specialized experience you have as a percentage of the experience required. Then, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% for you to qualify for this position. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate education (i.e., 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of acceptable specialized experience (i.e., 50% of the experience required) would satisfy the qualification requirements for the position. If you qualify based on a combination of graduate education and specialized experience, you must submit a copy of your official college transcript with your application. 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. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. 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. Additional Information Work schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00 to 4:30. Telework: Yes - as determined by agency policy. Virtual: This not a virtual position. Remote: This is not a remote position. Position Description Title/PD#: Military Service Coordinator/39669A. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required. Physical Demands: A high level of physical energy is required, as the incumbent will be expected to meet with many people in many different locations in the course of a workday. Work Environment: The incumbent will have an office within the Veterans Service Center. However, it is expected that a major portion of the services provided will be conducted away from the office, in the office of other agencies, and in Non-Traditional setting and in military, reserve and National Guard facilities. The nature of the job requires travel throughout an assigned geographical area away from the work setting. 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. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. 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. 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 or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.