This position is located in Des Moines, Iowa within the VA Regional Loan Center, Construction and Valuation division. The Incumbent will perform an array of duties with the purpose of conducting construction, remodeling, and home adaptation projects, from proposal through completion related to the Specially Adapted Housing/Special Home Adaptation (SHA) program and Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E) as required to properly support Veterans with specific adaptive needs.

Duties

Guide Veteran applicants within the defined case portfolio through all grant application and home loan considerations ,including the different types of available financing and the necessary VA disbursement requirements. Conduct on-site inspection of the properties to determine the severity and resolution of the issue or to verify compliance of VA requirements. Maintain effective working relationships with both internal and external customers. Negotiate on behalf of Veteran and Loan Guaranty (LGY) with vendors and other stakeholders. Coordinate with the Veteran and contractor throughout construction to ensure all parties are informed of project progress and problems, issues and their resolution and disbursement of project funds. Review residential construction plans and blueprints for conformance and inclusion of minimum property requirements (MPRs) and other necessary recommended adaptations. Establish and maintain the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) case file from eligibility established through final accounting and grant closure. Perform other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
• Selectees are subject to a background/suitability investigation.
• Selective Service registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• A probationary period may be required for employees and supervisors.
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
• 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, 01/16/2024. The Office of Personnel Management's (OPM's)Individual Occupational requirements and/or group qualification standards covering white collar occupations in the Federal competitive service can be found: Here Applicants must meet BOTH the Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR) OR specified education and the Specialized Experience requirements to be eligible for this position. Individual Occupational Requirements: Education: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- architecture, engineering, building construction, or other fields related to the position. OR Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) Experience: Experience in the preparation or review of plans, specifications, or estimates of materials and costs for the construction, extension, alteration, or repair of buildings. Applicants should have knowledge of the residential construction field, and experience in the development of plans and specifications, and in negotiation work. This experience may have been obtained working as a contractor or as a draftsperson in an architectural engineering firm. However, any drafting experience must have provided an opportunity to acquire technical knowledge. Appropriate experience includes working with diverse construction materials (brick, lumber, reinforced concrete, steel) and types of structures (housing, single-family dwellings and multi-family apartment units, and industrial and commercial structures). Applicants should be familiar with matters such as planning a subdivision, laying out traffic flow in a multi-family apartment structure, or working out specification problems in plans. Specialized Experience: GS-11: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-9) in the federal service or other service is required to qualify for this position. Specialized experience is work experience that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience for this position at the grade level 11 is defined as: (1) Demonstrated work experience in reviewing residential or commercial construction plans, specifications, or estimates of materials, AND (2) assisting, coordinating, or managing construction projects. OR Applicants may substitute education for experience at the grade level 11: Applicants may substitute education in place of the experience required to qualify at the Grade 11 Level: With3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or with the completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. This graduate education (or completed degree) must be in architecture, engineering, building construction, or other fields related to the position. OR Applicants may combine education and specialized experience to qualify at the grade level 11: Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned. Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-11. For example, an applicant with 6 months of appropriate experience equivalent to GS-9 (50 percent of the experience requirement for GS-11) and 45 semester hours of appropriate graduate education (50 percent of the education requirement for GS-11, in excess of that required for GS-9) would be qualified for a GS-11 position (assuming that there is no evidence that the attended college or university requires more than 18 semester hours as an equivalent to a year of graduate study). This graduate education must be in architecture, engineering, building construction, or other fields related to the position. GS-12: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-11) in the federal service or other service is required to qualify for this position. Specialized experience is work experience that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience at the grade level 12 is defined as: (1) Demonstrated work experience in developing residential or commercial construction plans, specifications, or estimates of materials for construction; (2) coordinating or managing construction projects, (3) experience working with diverse construction materials (brick, lumber, reinforced concrete, and steel), AND (4) conducting such construction work on the following types of structures: housing, single-family dwellings and multi-family apartment units, and industrial and commercial structures. There is no option to substitute education for specialized experience at the GS-12 level. 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 you document, to include volunteer experience.

Education

There is no option to substitute education for specialized experience at the GS-12 level.

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 St Paul Regional Benefit Office 1 Federal Dr, Fort Snelling St Paul, MN 55111-4050 US
• Name: HRC-Detroit DEU
• Phone: 313-596-7213
• Email: [email protected]