The Veterans Service Representative (VSR) works for the Decision Review Operations Center (DROC) of the Seattle Regional Office. The VSR explains benefit programs and entitlement criteria, analyzes claims material, identifies issues, gathers relevant evidence, conducts interviews to adjudicate claims and inputs data necessary to generate the award and notification letter to the Veteran describing the decision.

Duties

The Veterans Service Representative (VSR) explains benefit programs and entitlement criteria, analyzes claims material, identifies issues, gathers relevant evidence, conducts interviews to adjudicate claims and inputs data necessary to generate the award and notification letter to the veteran describing the decision. Specifically, the VSR will: 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. May 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 (DEPP) 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. Work Schedule: 7:30AM-4:00PM Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Yes, as determined by the agency policy Virtual/Remote: This is NOT a virtual/remote position. Position Description/PD#: Veterans Service Representative 40307A, 40306A, 40273A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Bargaining Unit: Yes

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, 05/09/2024. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-07 Level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level or higher. Specialized experience is defined as interpretation or application of laws, regulations, or procedures to analyze evidence to make determinations and research routine issues to resolve discrepancies. Examples of experience include but are not limited to: - Technical assignments related to claims or benefits processing or eligibility determinations. - Quality assurance or auditor functions - Compiling income and legal documentation to determine basic eligibility for benefits or programs. - Claims processing for: A state or federal agency, Insurance company, Worker's Compensation, Disability Retirement or Pension Program. - Human Resource positions which involved determining employment qualifications, job classification, or determining eligibility for benefits. - Positions involved in assisting veterans with claims application Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience for the GS-07 level. To qualify based on education you must have: One full year of graduate level education directly related to the position. (You must provide supporting transcripts). OR a bachelor's degree in a field directly related to the position and meet at least one of the requirements for superior academic achievement (SAA): 1. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. 2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. (Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.) 3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. (Must provide supporting Transcripts.) Combination Education and Specialized Experience: Applicants may have some specialized experience as described, but less than one year; and have less than one year of directly related graduate education. The percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. (To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. (You must provide supporting transcripts.) GS-09 Level: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07). Specialized experience is defined as experience which required interpretation of legal and medical documentation to determine claimant's eligibility for services and benefits programs. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: - Determining the eligibility for Federal or State-administered benefits, such as: disability, education, housing, medical, and/or veterans' benefits; - Interpreting and applying Federal and State laws, including case law, existing statutes and procedures, and precedent rulings, to process claims pertaining to a service program; - Gathering and requesting evidence to build service program case files, respond to claimant inquires, and identify errors, inconsistencies, or omissions; - Explaining Federal or State claims decisions to claimants, special interest groups, dependents, and/or representatives in an effort to gain acceptance of the determination. Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience for the GS-09 level. To qualify based on education you must have: A master's or equivalent graduate degree, or two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.B. or J.D., and my education is directly related to the position (You must provide supporting transcripts). Combination Education and Specialized Experience: Applicants may have some specialized experience as described, but less than one year; and you have more than one year but less than two years of directly related graduate education. The computed percentage of the requirements and the total is at least 100%. (To compute the percentage, 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. (You must provide supporting transcripts.) GS-10 Level: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09). Specialized experience is that which demonstrates competence in adjudicating Veterans' claims. Specialized experience is typically gained in positions that have involved the development, examination, investigation, adjudication, and authorization of claims for disability compensation, disability pension, death compensation, death pension benefits, life insurance benefits etc. Such experience is to be substantive and relevant and requires a high degree of independence and judgment in interpretation of more complex legal and medical documentation to determine claimant's eligibility and supporting evidence for services and benefits. Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience for the GS-10 level. To qualify based on education you must have: Two and a half years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position. Combination Education and Specialized Experience: Applicants may have some specialized experience as described, but less than one year; and you have more than two years but less than two and a half years of directly related graduate education. The computed percentage of the requirements and the total is at least 100%. (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 9. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. (You must provide supporting transcripts.) Note: Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-10. The first year of graduate study is not qualifying for the GS-9 or GS-10.

Education

If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned.

Equivalent combinations of Specialized Experience and Graduate Education: Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-10. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position. 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.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. Failure to provide such documentation with your application will result in lost consideration. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

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/.

Contacts

• Address Seattle Regional Benefit Office 915 2nd Avenue Seattle, WA 98174 US
• Name: Katie Sherlock
• Email: [email protected]