As a Field Examiner for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, located in the Fiduciary Hub, the Field Examiner (FE) determines the payee (fiduciary), best suited to the needs and situation of VA beneficiaries, who are incompetent due to legal disability, mental disability, physical disability or minority. The Field Examiner ensures that beneficiaries receive all the benefits they are entitled to, and takes necessary actions to protect their assets.

Duties

Specific duties include: Performs visits to veterans and beneficiaries to evaluate physical and mental conditions or capacity; independently determine ability to handle or manage funds Conducts field examinations to determine who to appoint as fiduciaries for incompetent or minor beneficiaries. Verifies the welfare and adequate living conditions of veterans under fiduciary care and make arrangements for deficiencies. Conducts background investigations on proposed fiduciaries. Reviews and reports on fiduciary performance; conduct investigations involving the misuse of VA funds. Explains laws and regulations governing fiduciary responsibilities to veteran, beneficiary and fiduciary. Investigates and make determinations on identified misuse, complaints, allegations, contested claims for benefits, special apportionments, eligibility for VA compensation, etc. Works with representatives of other Federal, State, and local police, social and protective services agencies and courts regarding the safety, protection and living conditions of veterans. Supervises veterans transitioning to financial independence under the direct pay program. Travel Required: Periodic overnight travel may be required based on mission needs; up to two to three weeks travel per month is possible. 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-09/11.

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
• You must have a valid state issued drivers license.
• Selected applicants may be required to complete an online onboarding process.

Qualifications

Time-in-grade: Applicants who are/were federal employees and have held a GS grade at any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements. For a GS-09 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. For a GS-11 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level. To support your claim of time in grade, you must submit your most recent appointment, promotion, or within-grade increase SF-50 (Do not submit an award or general adjustment SF-50). Some applicants may have to submit more than one SF-50 to demonstrate their eligibility. See the required documents section for more information. The Office of Personnel Management's group coverage qualification standards, associated individual occupational requirements (IOR), and individual qualification standards covering white collar occupations in the Federal competitive service can be found here. Minimum Qualification: GS-09: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: Conducting investigations into allegations of misconduct, compiling findings, and composing reports of recommended action, Determining an applicant's eligibility for welfare programs in accordance with state laws and program regulations, conducting professional interviews or investigations involving issues/cases such as benefit claims, workplace safety claims, employee/labor allegations, fraud, abuse, or embezzlement for the purpose of gathering factual information to make a determination, Interpretation and application of Federal, State and/or Local benefit programs (i.e. compensation/pension, healthcare, mortgage/lending, insurance, etc.) that comply with related laws, policy, regulations, and establishing and reviewing budgets for expenditures, verifying or monitoring the use of funds, and balancing or reconciling finances for individual or business. Or Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree, LL.B. or J.D., if related, or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a degree specifically related to the duties of this position which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. (Transcripts Required). Or Combination of Education and Experience: Equivalent combinations of Specialized Experience and Graduate level education. To compute, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one year by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Minimum Qualification: GS-11: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: Conducting professional interviews or investigations involving issues/cases such as benefit claims, workplace safety claims, employee/labor allegations, fraud, abuse, or embezzlement for the purpose of gathering factual information to make a determination, establishing and reviewing budgets for expenditures, verifying or monitoring the use of funds, personal financial management, balancing or reconciling finances for disabled individuals or minors who are unable to legally manage their own accounts, and Interpretation and application of Federal, State and Local benefit programs (i.e. compensation/pension, healthcare, mortgage/lending, insurance, etc.) that comply with related laws, policy, regulations. Or Education: PhD. or equivalent doctoral degree, LL.M., if related, or three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a degree specifically related to the duties of this position which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. (Transcripts Required). Or Combination of Education and Experience: Equivalent combinations of Specialized Experience and more than two years, but less than three years of education, as described above. To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond two years by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. 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.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.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. 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.

Contacts

• Address Indianapolis Regional Benefit Office 575 N Pennsylvania St Indianapolis, IN 46204 US
• Name: Stephanie Enriquez
• Phone: (313) 596-7218
• Email: [email protected]