This position is located in the Boston Regional Benefit Office, located in Boston, MA. The incumbent serves as one of a group Veterans Service Representatives that explains benefit programs and entitlement criteria, analyzes claims and inputs data necessary to generate award and notification letters to veterans describing benefit decisions.

Duties

Make determinations as to the eligibility for the type of benefit sought to include questions relating to adequacy of military service, medical evidence, and the evaluation of evidence of income, employability, dependence, and relationship. Request examinations, re-examination, or opinions to evaluate disabilities resulting from diseases or injuries. Review claims cases to assure all issues have been addressed, applies, and interprets VA laws, including veterans case law, existing statutes and procedures, precedent rulings, and state law in the adjudication process. May conduct interviews in person or by phone with veterans, representatives, and advocates to explain the full range of VA benefits and related programs. Prepare and release correspondence for use by other federal, state, and local agencies. Utilize various electronic data processing (DEPP) systems to input data for processing claims and generating automated correspondence Interpretation or application of laws, regulations, or procedures to analyze evidence to make determinations and research routine issues to resolve discrepancies. Quality assurance or auditor functions Compiling income and legal documentation to determine basic eligibility for benefits or programs.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation.
• May serve a probationary period.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Mandatory 6-week Training period.
• Mandatory overtime may be required.
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

Note: This Announcement has been amended to extend the closing date. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/06/2023. The Office of Personnel Management's (OPM's) group qualification standards covering white collar occupations in the Federal competitive service can be found: Here Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-05) or a comparable pay band in federal or other service that demonstrates the particular competencies necessary to perform the work of this position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. 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 qualifying experience include: Technical assignments related to claims or benefits processing or eligibility determinations, or Quality assurance or auditor functions; or Compiling income and legal documentation to determine basic eligibility for benefits or programs, or Claims processing for a state or federal agency, insurance company, worker's compensation, disability retirement or pension program, or Human Resource positions which involved determining employment qualifications, job classification, or determining eligibility for benefits, or Positions involved in assisting veterans with claims applications. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required in order to qualify at the grade GS-7 level in the following ways: Applicants may Qualify with Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) for grade GS-7. If you have been awarded a bachelor's degree (or equivalent undergraduate degree) in a curriculum that is qualifying for this position from an accredited college or university, AND that degree meets one of the following superior academic achievement provisions, you may qualify exclusively based on education: a. Ranked in the upper 1/3 of your college class or major subdivision at the time you apply; OR b. Earned election to a national scholastic honor society that meets the requirements of the Association of College Honor Societies other than freshman honor societies; OR c. Earned a grade point average (GPA) of 2.95 or higher on a 4.0 scale based on all completed undergraduate courses or all undergraduate classes completed during the final two years (the final 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours); or d. Earned a GPA of 3.45 or higher on a 4.0 scale based on all completed undergraduate courses in your major, or all undergraduate courses in your major completed during the final two years. Regarding the superior academic achievement provisions, if more than 10% of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) was taken on a pass/fail or similar basis, you can qualify only on the basis of your class standing or membership in an honor society. If an applicant is claiming to qualify based on superior academic achievement, it is the applicant's responsibility to submit all documentation with their application that is appropriate in relationship to providing proof that the SAA criteria is met (i.e., ALL unofficial or official college transcripts that include GPA, proof of honor society membership, proof of class standing). OR Applicants may substitute Graduate Education to qualify for grade GS-7. Applicants may substitute education for experience with at least one full academic year (18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours) of graduate level education from an accredited college or university in a field that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. If you are claiming to qualify based on your education, your application must include an official or unofficial copy of graduate level transcripts that demonstrate this information. OR Applicants may substitute a combination of graduate education and specialized experience to qualify for the position at the GS 7 grade level. If you have some, but not all, of the graduate education described above AND less than one full year of the specialized experience described above, you may qualify by combining the amount of creditable education and experience that you do have. To calculate, first identify the percentage of qualifying education you have as a percentage of one year of study. Next, identify the percentage of specialized experience you have as a percentage of 12 months. Then, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% for you to qualify for the position at the grade GS-7 level. 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 are claiming to qualify based on your education, your application must include an official or unofficial copy of college transcripts that demonstrate this information. Note: 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 that you document, including volunteer experience.

Education

An unofficial or official copy of your transcripts 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: 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: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Contacts

• Address Boston Regional Benefit Office JFK Federal Building, 15 New Sudbury St Boston, MA 02203-9928 US
• Name: HRC-Detroit DEU
• Phone: 313-596-7213
• Email: [email protected]