The incumbent of the position will serve as a Staff Assistant responsible for administrative and technical work in the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Division. The incumbent is responsible for assisting the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRC) and Employment Coordinators (EC) with technical management of the VR&E caseload and providing assistance to veteran clients. The position reports to the Assistant VR&E Officer.

Duties

Specific duties include: Incumbent processes VA Form 1900 Applications for VR&E Services for Disabled Veterans. Incumbent adjudicates General Eligibility Determinations (GED's) for all Chapter 31 and other applicants. Incumbent responds to telephone inquiries from claimants, their representatives, VR&E staff and other VA personnel and resolves issues. Receives veterans and other visitors to regional office and out-based sites making inquiries regarding VR&E issues. Assists VRCs with Chapter 31 enrollments by preparing certification lists for training facilities and preparing 28-1905 authorizing enrollments. Receives VR&E billings from schools for tuition, books, fees and supplies. Ensures all receipts are date stamped. Receives grades from schools for veterans training _under Chapter 31. Associates with proper Counseling, Evaluation, Rehabilitation (CER) folder and degree plan to determine if veteran is achieving successful pursuit. Knowledge of and ability to effectively utilize CWINRS to effectively accomplish Chapter 31 award actions, update case status, read screens, draw conclusions, determine appropriate award action and make recommendations from screen review, prepare original word processing documents and utilize glossaries to prepare documents Receives request from Chapter 31 participants requesting a special service. Advises veteran of appropriate action required to receive requested services. Resolves issues related to Chapter 31 training such as overpayment questions, class schedules, termination dates, remaining entitlement, training under other educational chapters and accounts receivable. Makes independent decisions regarding input of awards and other data into the master record. Inputs the data timely and accurately and keeps VR&C supervisory personnel informed of any problems. Backup to case managers throughout the region. Receives and resolves service. May serve as VR&E computer systems coordinator. In this role, must be knowledgeable of all new computer applications and be able to effectively teach them to other members of the VR&E staff. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. The grade progression for this position is a GS-9. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Staff Assistant; 387030 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:09/08/2023. 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. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7 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. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-9 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: may include performing the following duties in a work environment responsible for human services or general office administration: alpha-numeric filing, completing telephone outreach, responding to telephone and written inquiries; scheduling appointments; financial transaction to include account reconciliation and documentation of Federal procurement; accurate computer data entry, and appropriate customer and peer relationships/communication. Education Substitution: master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information. Volunteer Experience: 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. Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week. Physical Requirements: NA 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

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited towards qualifications. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
All education claimed by applicants will be verified upon appointment. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript to receive credit.

Contacts

• Address Phoenix Regional Benefit Office 3333 North Central Ave Phoenix, AZ 85012 US
• Name: Lee Johnson
• Phone: 515-323-5478
• Email: [email protected]