The Military Services Coordinator serves as a member of the Military & Outreach Team with the Veterans Service Center. The incumbent will operate out of Fort Drum, New York or Buffalo, New York under the Buffalo VBA Regional Benefits Office, providing benefits dissemination briefings and claims intake to transitioning active duty, reservists, and guard members, as well as to Veterans throughout the community during Outreach programs and events.

Duties

Major Duties: Performs direct veteran benefit counseling to include information on the full range of VA and non-VA benefits to which separating and retiring service-members and their spouses may be entitled to. Performs liaison activities with the Command and Service Organization Staff at the Army Career Advancement Program and the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), as well as aiding for those service members participating in these programs. Provides individual counseling on specific VA related information to disabled veterans about specially designated employment assistance for service members being separated for medical reasons. Obtains and reviews Service Medical Records (SMRs) of disabled veterans to ensure appropriate disabilities are included on forms and/or applications for compensation claims. In addition, incumbent obtains appropriate military separation forms, dependency documents, and/or any other accompanying evidence needed for the claims submission process and submits evidence to appropriate offices or rating sites for the veteran. Develops comprehensive resources of transition service providers among the military, other federal, state, and local governments, educational institutions, and VA medical centers. Initiates contacts with potential service providers to determine what assistance is available, establishes and encourages working relationships with Regional Office personnel at all levels, including management, supervision, professional staff, technicians, administrative and clerical staff. Ability to communicate with individuals of different education, environmental, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds is essential. Acts on behalf of the Director and Veterans Service Center Management (VSCM) as liaison between Regional Offices (RO), RO employees, veterans, and the community. As liaison, the incumbent acts as a veteran's advocate to communicate, facilitate, and problem solve by utilizing administrative, educational, and organizational skills effectively. In addition to liaison responsibilities to the Director and the VSCM, incumbent will work to resolve problems, expedite services, or implement necessary corrective measures to ensure quality of VA assistance. The incumbent is required to represent the Director and VSCM at functions including Congressional meetings, service organization gatherings, and county and state government veteran offices. Incumbent is responsible for arranging and conducting workshops, seminars, and other meetings with a wide variety of service organizations, Congressional staff, and state and local government veteran offices to address all VA benefits, as well as concerns and issues with those benefits, thus generating a strong presence within the community and good will towards the VA. Extensive and frequent travel is required, including some evening and weekend activity. Develops and maintains relationships with veteran's service organizations, community groups, and others whose interest is in helping veterans and their families in order to enhance cooperation with the VA. Interprets and explains entitlement, policies, procedures, and benefits information to veterans and their families, as well as assists veterans with grievances, concerns, problems, or unmet needs of these veterans and directs these issues to the appropriate staff and management in order to seek resolution. Serves as the point of contact to assist transitioning Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) Veterans and their families, and safeguards and insures statutory and congressional rights of these veterans are maintained. Ensures that OIF/OEF veterans who have complex health and mental problems, including traumatic brain injury, amputations, bums, combat stress, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has a dedicated VA personal advocate to act in favor of their well-being. Incumbent serves as the Casualty Assistance Coordinator for the Regional Office and establishes and maintains strong working relationships with the Casualty Assistance Offices at various military installations located within the RO's jurisdiction. Schedules and facilitates personal visits with surviving family members of in-service death victims and provides personal counseling as well as benefits counseling for VA and non-VA benefits. Provides comprehensive information on the full range of VA and non-VA benefits that are available to surviving family members. Aids with the application process, provides points-of-contacts for further follow up actions, and refers family members to other service organizations or support groups. Promotion Potential: This position is being announced at the full performance level. Work Schedule: Full Time 8am-430pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description: Military Services Coordinator/PD#39669A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/23/2023.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. You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" showing that you are in the competitive service and the highest grade or promotion potential held. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess (1) year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates (1) year time-in-grade. General Adjustment and Award SF-50's cannot be used for time-in-grade verification purposes. Minimum Qualification Requirements: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience GS-11 Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09). Specialized Experience is defined as experience that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge of a complex field of laws, regulations and Federal legislation pertaining to the full range of Veterans benefits and a comprehensive and thorough knowledge of state, federal and local benefit programs in order to be able to explain them, both orally and in writing, to individuals of all educational backgrounds. Specialized experience includes knowledge of anatomy and physiology, diseases, and disabilities to assess sources of evidence and information to arrive at claims related decisions; this includes the ability to read, understand, and interpret medical and legal terminology. Or, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years (54 semester hours) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. Or, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of at least 6 months specialized experience and at least 1-1/2 years (27 semester hours) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. 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 both physically and mentally demanding. Orientation briefings can require speaking for lengthy periods and being in front of a large group of people for 3-4 hours in a day. 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.

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.

Contacts

• Address Buffalo Regional Benefits Office 130 S. Elmwood Ave. Buffalo, NY 14202 US
• Name: Christian Eshelman
• Phone: 7168573398
• Email: [email protected]