The incumbent serves as an Insurance Specialist in the Policyholder Services Division, Account Services of the Philadelphia Reginal Office & Insurance Center. The primary purpose for this position is to process difficult cases in the Policyholder Services Division and to process all Congressional Inquiries, initiate status on check payments released from the Treasury and to process exception reports which are generated each month.

Duties

Reviews Congressional, White House, Secretary and other special inquiries received by letter and telephone to determine the proper disposition of these inquiries. This review includes use of the Insurance System and if appropriate the SHARE application system and requires/review of the insurance folders. Analyzes correspondence and requests for information, researches, expedites action, and responds or prepares written responses on behalf of the Insurance Service. These inquiries deal with priority cases that concern a variety of issues of the insurance programs. Prepares responses to inquiries from the public, other agency staff, government organizations and veterans interest groups on various aspects of insurance programs. Gathers information on matters pertinent to inquiries from policyholders, local program officials, representatives of interest groups and other similar parties. Investigates circumstances of inquiry or refers matter to appropriate operating unit for disposition. Prepares response for executive signature in accordance with established policies and procedures Monitors and reports any situations determined to be fraud by the Department of the Treasury. Determines fraud by the Check Claims Department of the Treasury and ensures that the Veteran, Division Management, and the Insurance Service receive notification. Requests and receives credit and authorization for those funds to be released to the Veteran and acts as the contact for any Civil action taken against the fraudulent party. Responsible for items returned by Treasury under the Limited Pay ability list that include checks that remain uncashed for a period of one year. Makes all policy adjustments and research the returns for reissue. Processes more difficult work generated by the system. This work will include, but not be limited to, preparing loan audits of payments and interest, calculating complex refund actions, processing urgent loan and cash surrenders actions, processing underwriting applications such as reinstatements and conversions, and overdue dividend payments. Receives control listings to be reviewed, audited, and corrected regarding the Deduction Master Records (Allotment and DFB reconciliation) and Plan and Policy exception reports.

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

Qualifications

Time-in-grade: Applicants who are/were 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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7 level. To support your claim of time in grade, you must submit your most recent appointment, promotion, or within grade increase SF-50 (not 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. Specialized Experience: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. To qualify, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-7) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: (1) Knowledge of legal and regulatory basis of the VA Insurance laws, programs, practices, methods, and technologies sufficient to perform assignments independently using procedures that are conventional and apply to most situations. (2) Knowledge of Insurance Service's organization and operations and familiarity with the work processes of organizations with which the VA Insurance program must coordinate its operations. OR Master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related OR Applicants can combine education and specialized experience to qualify for the position. If you have some, but not all, of the graduate education AND specialized experience described above, you may still qualify by combining the amount of creditable education and experience that you do have. The total percentage must equal at least 100% for you to qualify for the position at the GS-9 grade level.

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 Philadelphia VBA Regional Office 5000 Wissahickon Ave Philadelphia, PA 19144 US
• Name: Janelle Phillips
• Phone: (313) 471-3888
• Email: [email protected]