The Military Services Coordinator serves on the Public Contact/MSC Team, located in the Disability Rating Activity Site (DRAS), out-based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Through seasoned knowledge the incumbent provides specific information and comprehensive assistance to veterans, their dependents and beneficiaries concerning any matter within the scope of VA benefits and related non-VA benefits, to include those cases in which issues require an advanced technical proficiency.

Duties

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBLITIES: Performs direct veteran benefit counseling to include information on the full range of VA and non-VA benefits to which separating and retiring service-members and their spouses may be entitled to. Performs liaison activities with the Command and Service Organization Staff at the Army Career Advancement Program and the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), as well as providing assistance for those service members participating in these programs. Provides individual counseling on specific VA related information to disabled veterans about specially designated employment assistance for service members being separated for medical reasons. Obtains and reviews Service Medical Records (SMRs) of disabled veterans to ensure appropriate disabilities are included on forms and/or applications for compensation claims. In addition, incumbent obtains appropriate military separation forms, dependency documents, and/or any other accompanying evidence needed for the claims submission process and submits evidence to appropriate offices or rating sites for the veteran. Develops comprehensive resources of transition service providers among the military, other federal, state, and local governments, educational institutions, and VA medical centers. Initiates contacts with potential service providers to determine what assistance is available, establishes and encourages working relationships with Regional Office personnel at all levels, including management, supervision, professional staff, technicians, administrative and clerical staff. Ability to communicate with individuals of different education, environmental, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds is essential. Acts on behalf of the Director and DRAS Special Mission Program Officer (SMPO) as liaison between Regional Offices (RO) and employees of RO's, veterans, and the community. As liaison, the incumbent acts as a veteran's advocate to communicate, facilitate, and problem solve by utilizing administrative, educational, and organizational skills effectively. In addition to liaison responsibilities to the Director and the SMPO, incumbent will work to resolve problems, expedite services, or implement necessary corrective measures to ensure quality of VA assistance. The incumbent is required to represent the Director and SMPO at functions including Congressional meetings, service organization gatherings, and county and state government veterans offices. Incumbent is responsible for arranging and conducting workshops, seminars, and other meetings with a wide variety of service organizations, Congressional staff, and state and local government veterans offices to address all VA benefits, as well as concerns and issues with those benefits, thus generating a strong presence within the community and good will towards the VA. Extensive and frequent travel is required, including some evening and weekend activity. Develops and maintains relationships with veteran's service organizations, community groups, and others whose interest is in helping veterans and their families in order to enhance cooperation with the VA. Interprets and explains entitlement, policies, procedures, and benefits information to veterans and their families, as well as assists veterans with grievances, concerns, problems, or unmet needs of these veterans and directs these issues to the appropriate staff and management in order to seek resolution Serves as the point of contact to assist transitioning Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) Veterans and their families, and safeguards and insures statutory and congressional rights of these veterans is maintained. Ensures that OIF/OEF veterans who have complex health and mental problems, including traumatic brain injury, amputations, bums, combat stress, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have a dedicated VA personal advocate to act in favor of their well-being Incumbent is responsible for coordination of outreach services to incarcerated veterans at federal and state correctional institutions and local county prisons within the Regional Offices' jurisdiction. Incumbent exercises authority to take affidavits, administer oaths and affirmations, make investigations, examine records and witnesses, certify to the correctness of papers and documents upon matters within the jurisdiction of VA Regional Offices, and release official information to appropriate offices or personnel. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 730AM-4PM Telework: Not available Virtual/Remote: This is not a virtual/remote position Position Description/PD#: Military Services Coordinator/#39669A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Bargaining Unit: This is a bargaining unit

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, 08/09/2024 TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9 level. Note: If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess (1) year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates (1) year time-in-grade. General Adjustment and Award SF-50's cannot be used for time-in-grade verification purposes. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09). Specialized Experience is defined as experience that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge of a complex field of laws, regulations and Federal legislation pertaining to the full range of Veterans benefits and a comprehensive and thorough knowledge of state, federal and local benefit programs to be able to explain them, both orally and in writing, to individuals of all educational backgrounds. Specialized experience includes knowledge of anatomy and physiology, diseases, and disabilities to assess sources of evidence and information to arrive at claims related decisions; this includes the ability to read, understand, and interpret medical and legal terminology. OR Education: Substitution of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in Business, Management, Economics, Finance, or another degree with coursework that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do this work of this position; or an LL.M., if related. OR Combination of Specialized Experience and Education: Only equivalent education beyond the first two years of graduate study may be used to combine with experience. To compute, 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 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. 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.

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/. 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

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