The Legal Administrative Specialist (LAS) serves as a member of the Public Contact Team, located in the Veterans Service Center. The incumbent provides in-depth information and comprehensive assistance to Veterans their dependents and beneficiaries concerning any matter within the scope of VA benefits and related non-VA benefits.

Duties

Major Duties of this position are, but not limited to: Coordinates counseling sessions with Veterans, their dependents, and their beneficiaries face to face, regarding all benefits available through the VA, as well as non-VA benefits available through other agencies. This is accomplished through in-person or telephone interviews, and correspondence. or telephone VBA facilities and provides broad outreach services. Explains in detail, VBA rating decisions and provides explanations for the decisions using extensive knowledge of VA benefits and services, claim and appeal processing procedures and benefit determination information, and all pertinent information available in the system of record. Assists with programs including, but not limited to, compensation and pension benefits, home loan eligibility, education, health care, life insurance, burial benefits, vocational rehabilitation services, general Social Security Administration benefit programs, and other federal, state, and local domestic relations, and assistance programs. Prepares technical correspondence to veterans and their dependents, providing benefit information, representation rights and response to miscellaneous inquiries. Explains pertinent legal provisions, regulations, and related administrative practices and their application to specific cases. May serve as or with the Outreach Coordinator (such as the Women's Veterans Coordinator, Minority Veterans Coordinator, Homeless Veterans Coordinator, Aging Veterans Coordinator, Ex-Prisoners of War Coordinator or Military Services Coordinator). Initiates inquiries to resolve errors, delays, or other problems in obtaining benefits. Completes claim and appeal related work. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, hours to be determined. Compressed/Flexible: At the discretion of the hiring office. Telework: Available, per agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#:Legal Administrative Specialist (Contact Representative) / 02108A 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 a 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, 08/19/2024. 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 by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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. A SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50 that indicates proof of status (career, career-conditional, or excepted service), time in grade requirements have been met, and identifies your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate possession of time in grade requirements. In this instance, you must also submit your most recent Promotion or Within Grade Increase SF-50, or a Promotion or Within Grade Increase SF-50 that indicates the highest grade/step previously held. DO NOT submit Award SF-50s and/or General Adjustment SF-50s as they cannot be used to verify time in grade. If you are a current VBA employee requesting a reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-10 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-10. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: (1) experience that has demonstrated the capability of being a self-reliant decision-maker and possessing the ability to work independently when providing customer service benefits counseling and claims processing. (2) The individual must possess in-depth knowledge of researching relevant subject matter. (3) The experience should be significantly and directly derived from federal, military, or the private sector. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to rating to persons from a wide variety of backgrounds regarding VA benefits programs; performing research of local, state, and Federal laws and regulations to determine Veterans' eligibility for benefits programs. 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. Physical Requirements/Working Conditions: The work is mostly sedentary. The incumbent will be required to talk for long periods of time which occasionally puts a strain on the throat/vocal cords. There are no other special physical demands required to perform the work. There may be some walking, standing, and carrying of light items such as papers, books, and files from one location to another. Extensive use of a computer and a telephone is required and may often involve high levels of stress and pressures.

Education

There is no education substitute.

Contacts

• Address OIT Portland Regional Benefit Office 100 SW Main Street, Floor 2 Portland, OR 97204 US
• Name: Rodrigo Armendariz
• Phone: 515-323-7575
• Email: [email protected]