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

Specific duties include: Counsel veterans, their dependents, and beneficiaries regarding all benefits available through the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as non-VA benefits available through other organizations concerned with veterans. Discuss with the claimant the immediate and long-term factors that may influence the decision between different benefits. Acts as an advocate for veterans and ·their beneficiaries in their dealings with other VA elements and organizations that affect their claims. Describes the types of documentation needed to expedite claim processing, as well as how to find, fill out, and submit the paperwork needed for the particular type of claim being submitted. Collects the required data and finish a claim with the veteran and/or a family member present. Explains the VA's judgments to the claimant and provides verbal or written justification for those decisions. Occasionally, along with a senior specialist, may represent the Department of Veterans Affairs at various outreach events such seminars, committee meetings, service organization meetings, home visits, and other veteran-related activities. Determines the needs of those looking for social services and refers them to the proper government or nonprofit groups that provide those services. Analyzes and interprets laws, rules, and protocols where precedent and guidelines may not be clear, the incumbent must exercise discretion and judgment. Ability to interpret and apply laws, guidelines, regulations, and precedent opinions to provide accurate entitlement determinations and benefit payment information. 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-07 to the GS-09. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 6:00 am - 6:00 pm (Hours of duty and compressed schedule determined at management's discretion.) Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Legal Administration Specialist; 40120A, 02109A 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
• 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:09/30/2024. 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 (unless if in the commuting area and eligible for a non-competitive hiring authority such as Schedule A, VRA, or 30% or more disabled Veterans). For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 level. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 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-07 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-09. 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. These requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement and those applying for a 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-07 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: You must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the federal service performing the following duties: Working under direct supervision or guidance when providing customer service, benefit counseling, or claim processing; and Orating to persons from a wide variety of backgrounds regarding federal, military, state, or private sector benefit programs. Education Substitution: 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement. GS-09 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: You must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the federal service performing the following duties: Providing customer service, benefit counseling, or claim processing services to persons from a wide variety of backgrounds; and Referring people to other agencies when potential eligibility is indicated; advocating for an applicant when they are obtaining benefits for federal, military, state, or private sector programs. Education Substitution: 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. 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: No special physical demands are required. The work is mostly sedentary. However, there may be somewalking, standing, and carrying of light items such as papers, books, claims folders, and files from one desk to another or for returning to storage. Carts are utilized to carry large number of claims folders. This will require the incumbent to push or pull the cart from one are to another. 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.

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 Houston Regional Benefit Office 6900 Almeda Rd Houston, TX 77030 US
• Name: HRC Denver - Houston RO Servicing Team
• Email: [email protected]