The Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) is a part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Board's mission is to conduct hearings and decide appeals properly before the Board in a timely manner. The primary purpose of the Contact Representative position is to respond to calls and correspondence concerning Veterans' claims and answering a wide variety of questions relating to appeals procedures and Veterans' benefits in general.

Duties

Major Duties: Receives telephone calls from representatives of Veterans' service organizations (VSOs), members of Congress, claimants and/or their attorneys, high level officials of the VA as well as other Federal agencies. Researches laws and regulations pertaining to inquiries concerning appellants' entitlements to VA benefits. Ability to respond effectively, both orally and in writing, to inquiries from veterans, veterans representatives, members of Congress, and other VA and non-VA agencies regarding VA benefit appeals. Ability to coordinate correspondence within VA's controlled correspondence system and appropriately handle incoming and outgoing correspondence. Demonstrated organizational ability including the ability to meet deadlines, coordinate multiple projects at once, and effectively prioritize and manage time to accomplish assigned tasks. Knowledge of the VA organization, mission, veterans' benefits programs and Appeal Rules of Practice to assistance the Executive Assistance. Able to work with both internal and external stakeholders to provide advice and assistance regarding current veteran issues and possible future remedies. Ability to resolve conflicting or inconsistent information in files, cases, or correspondences. Ability to carry out work independently to determine the product and contents and develops strategies required for successfully completing assigned projects. Ability to prepare a wide variety of written materials in final form including correspondence, memoranda, reports, legal decisions, white papers, etc. and proper format, punctuation, spelling and grammatical construction. Ability to conduct research into claims in order to answer questions on case, to help explain the basis for decisions entered and to provide advice and assistance concerning what further action the claimant may take. Demonstrated organizational ability including the ability to meet deadlines, coordinate multiple projects at once, and effectively prioritize and manage time to accomplish assigned tasks. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Contact Representative/PD19865A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/05/2023. 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-8 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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. 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 as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include: Providing customer service using oral and written communication skills; Ability to prepare a wide variety of written materials in final form including correspondence, memoranda, reports, and legal decisions; Ability to resolve conflicting or inconsistent information in files, cases, or correspondences. Your resume must clearly support at least 2 of the listed specialized experience items to be minimally qualified. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Reasoning Technical Competence Written Communication Operations Support 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 mainly sedentary, but may require periods of walking, standing, bending, driving an automobile, etc. Employees frequently carry case files and other similar materials. The work does not require any special physical effort or ability. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Contacts

• Address Board of Veterans' Appeals 425 I St NW Washington, DC 20001 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]