This position is assigned to the Caregiver Stipend Department (CG), Support Operations Directorate, VHA Office of Finance. The incumbent serves in a management position that is organizationally aligned under the Director of Support Operations. The incumbent serves as the Program Manager for all aspects of the Caregiver Stipend Program and provides oversight and application accuracy guidance to Caregiver Support Coordinators in the field.

Duties

Major Duties: Serves as the primary technical and operational consultant for the development and implementation of CG operations related to new programs and/or initiatives that have a direct impact on benefit processing managed by VHA of Finance. Coordinates and directs all elements of the Caregiver Stipend Program (CSP), which is a $2 billion annual benefit program. Evaluates the effectiveness of policies and plans pertaining to all aspects of the CSP Program; identifies actual or potential problems areas, trends, deficiencies, or areas of imbalance, and takes all the necessary actions to resolve them. Functions as a subject matter expert on operational, policy, and regulatory matters for the Caregiver Stipend Payment Program. Initiating, developing, and recommending policies and practices for payment of the monthly stipend benefit in keeping with established regulations and guidelines and ensures that the facilities meet eligibility criteria for program eligibility and benefits. Responds to all Congressional inquiries for the House Veterans Affairs Committee and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee related to Caregiver Stipends. Develops processes to address complex workflows including checks and balances, creation of auditable actions and audit logs, establishes policy for rejection of payments and correction of submitted approved stipend applications and provides daily guidance on program processes which leads to proper stipend calculations for over 46,000 Caregiver Stipend recipients nationwide. Manages the evolution of the Caregiver Program as the authorizing legislation is amended by Congress, as procedures are refined by VA Office of General Counsel (OGC), as policy is amended to address VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) findings and as Congress has dictated to the National Caregiver Support Program Office. The incumbent defines requirements for automation of Caregiver Stipend processes and then continuously translates those requirements into features being developed by contractors for the program by providing weekly course correction or affirmation of correct course to the contracted developers. Exercises supervisory authorities and responsibilities involving administrative and personnel management functions relative to the staff supervised. Supervised staff may be comprised of internal, telework and virtual employees. The incumbent assures that subordinates are trained and fully comply with the provisions of safety and information security requirements. Provides informal feedback and periodically evaluates employee performance. Resolves informal complaints and grievances. Develops work improvement plans, recommends disciplinary measures and personnel administrative actions as necessary. Provides advice and counsel to workers related to work and administrative matters. Reviews and approves leave requests. Serves as Acting Support Operations Director in his/her absence. This involves performing the full range of duties of the Director (GS-15) and having final decision making authority in their absence. Leads his/her teams in conducting all facets of the Payment Operations support activities through role modeling, mentoring, monitoring, coaching, teaching, and tasking of staff toward efficient and accurate accomplishment of all associated work, and developing, implementing, and evaluating work methods to detect deficiencies and inefficiencies. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8 hour shift between 8 AM - 4:30 PM 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#: Supervisory Financial Analyst/PD80819-0 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, 10/30/2023. 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-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13. 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: GS-14 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-13 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: 1) Oversees recommendations and changes to the effectiveness of work methods and procedures, manpower utilization, distribution of work assignments, management controls. 2) Represents the VHA Office of Finance in dealing with internal VA and external non-VA stakeholders. 3) Maintains, creates and updates policies and guidelines which require knowledge of agency goals and objectives and the ability to plan, organize and direct team study work. 4) Collaborates with others in the organization to conduct studies on costs, efficiency, and productivity and assesses the impact and resulting implications for organizational staffing, budget, and procedural methods. 5) Develops processes to address complex workflows including checks and balances, creation of auditable actions and audit logs. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to DetailDecision MakingOrganizational AwarenessPlanning and EvaluatingQuality Assurance 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: No special physical demands such as above average ability, dexterity, or strength are required to perform the work. Work is sedentary and the employee may sit comfortably. There may be some walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items, driving of an automobile, etc. 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.

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 VHA Servicing Human Resources Office - 2 2402 Wildwood Ave Suite 301 Sherwood, AR 72120 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]