The position is located at the VBA Finance Center (VBAFC), Hines, Illinois, and is organizationally aligned under the Office of Financial Management, VA Central Office. The incumbent shall assist with the activities involved in assuring the integrity of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) financial accounting, reporting, and financial systems for VBA in addition to the administration functions of the VBAFC.

Duties

Specific duties include: Works a variety of post-payment assignments, researches the reason for either return of funds or Veteran claims of non-receipt, and takes appropriate action Assists in resolution of all post-payment inquiries, and acts as a liaison when a resolution is required Assists in documentation of program and administrative reference materials, standard operating procedures, project files, and relevant background documents Prepares correspondence and answers inquiries from VA Central office, VA field stations, and other Federal agencies on financial management problems and procedures. Develops and contributes to assignments, projects, problems to be solved, actionable events, and/or program issues, and monitors deadlines and timeframes for completion or resolution. Develops facts in a case and makes decisions within the limits of assigned areas or makes appropriate recommendations to higher authority based upon information obtained Provides fiscal assistance to field activities involving assigned aspects of program areas Applies appropriate problem-solving methods and techniques on work methods, practices, and procedures to identify a viable solution. Adheres to established milestones and deadlines for completion of assignments, projects and tasks in planning for achievement(s) of goals and objectives, and maintains records of work accomplishments and administrative information. Processes fiscal transactions that are used to update Veteran records and/or adjust/correct system processing. Reviews and analyzes system records/data/reports to ensure transactions are properly recorded. Prepares correspondence and answers inquiries from VA Central office, VA field stations, and other Federal agencies on financial management problems and procedures Assists higher-level staff in identifying which policies and system aspects should be established or revised Monitors local internal control procedures and recommends areas requiring remedial actions Reviews accuracy of manual fiscal transactions that are used to update a Veteran's record and/or adjust/correct system processing Assists in planning and evaluating modifications of the financial accounting systems and formulates and implements any necessary corrective adjustments Interprets laws, regulations, decisions, and directives of other Governmental agencies that impact VA financial activities Assists in recommending new or revised procedures required to improve VA financial management Research fiscal policy to assist in resolving contradictions and proposes changes to policies of assigned program areas that are in accordance with established policies and procedures Works on special projects related to any phase of financial administration and management Performs other special assignments as may be directed 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 GS-09. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 8:30 am - 4:00 pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Employee expected to report to Hines VBA location Position Description/PD#: Program Analyst; 40341-A, 40342-A 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:11/06/2023. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who are current Federal employees, former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, or a current federal employee applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment must meet time in grade requirements. 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. NOTE: This does not apply to Non-Federal Applicants, or applicants applying for consideration under Non-Competitive Authority (i.e.... "30% or more Disability", VRA, and/or Schedule A). To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50). You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50 that indicates proof of status, and shows Time in Grade (for example, you were a career or career-conditional employee) and identifies your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). 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 also submit your most recent promotion or within-grade increase in addition to your recent SF-50. If you previously held a higher grade, you must also submit any SF-50 showing that grade. DO NOT submit Award SF-50's and/or General Adjustment SF-50's as they cannot be used to prove time-in-grade. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 level. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-07 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: Incumbent must have the necessary knowledge and skill in applying Government-wide policies or procedures. Incumbent requires a working knowledge of the operating principles and capabilities of computers and a proficiency in computer skills such as Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Written and oral communication skills are required to respond to customer inquiries received by phone or email professionally and respectfully. Incumbent must be able to speak and write clearly and effectively to convey information that is easy to understand. Education Substitution: 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement GS-09 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: Incumbent must have the necessary knowledge and skill in applying Government-wide policies or procedures. Incumbent requires a working knowledge of the operating principles and capabilities of computers and a proficiency in computer skills such as Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Strong written and oral communication skills are required to respond to customer inquiries received by phone or email professionally and respectfully. Incumbent must be able to speak and write clearly and effectively to convey information in a way that is easy to understand through multiple channels such as face-to-face in a one-on-one or group/team setting or by phone, email, or standard mail. 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: Work is primarily sedentary. 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.
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 VBA Financial Service Center 5000 S 5TH AVE. Hines, IL 60141 US
• Name: Christin Barneswilson
• Phone: 410-230-4400 X2282
• Email: [email protected]