This position is located in the St. Paul Regional Benefit Office, located in St. Paul, MN. 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

Specifically, the VSR will: Serve as the primary contact for the Veteran and explain the full range of VA benefits and all related programs to Veterans, Representatives, and their advocates. 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 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 (EDP) systems to input data for processing claims and generating automated correspondence. 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-05/07/09/10. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 8am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Veterans Service Representative, 42105A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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
• Required to attend an 8 week training session, which may require travel.
• VSR Skill Certification required at the GS-10 level
• 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: 03/18/2024. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: There is no time in grade requirement for the GS-05 grade level. If you are a current VBA employee outside of the commuting area seeking reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-05 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-10. 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: 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. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-05 Grade Level: General Experience: Applicant must have three (3) years of general experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the federal service, with at least one (1) year of which was equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-04 that equipped the applicant with the particular competencies and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. General experience is defined as: 1) Using various computer programs to research, gather, and analyze information; 2) determining potential eligibility according to policies, procedures, and regulations. -OR- Education: Applicants may substitute Undergraduate Education to qualify for grade GS-5. Applicants may substitute education for experience with the completion of a four year (120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours) course of study from an accredited college or university in any field leading to a bachelor's degree in any field, or with having been awarded such a bachelor's degree. 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. -OR- Combination: Applicants may substitute a combination of Undergraduate Education and General Experience to qualify for grade GS-5. If you have some, but not all, of the undergraduate education described above AND less than three full years of the general 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 four years of study. Then identify the percentage of required general experience you possess as a percentage of 36 months. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-05. For example, an applicant who has 60 semester hours of undergraduate education (i.e., 50% of undergraduate education required) and 18 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. 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:The work normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. The work is mostly sedentary; however, there may be some walking, standing, and carrying of light items.

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 St Paul Regional Benefit Office 1 Federal Dr, Fort Snelling St Paul, MN 55111-4050 US
• Name: Michele Martin
• Phone: 303-236-6166
• Email: [email protected]