VA Insurance Service directs and manages the operation of all Government life insurance programs. The Budget and Risk Management Division is responsible for the formulation and execution of the Insurance Program's Discretionary and Mandatory budgets. In addition, the Insurance Service provides supervision guidance, and direction to the Veterans Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI), Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) and Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI) programs.

Duties

Assists the Chief of Budget and Risk Management or his assignee in the formulation, justification, and execution of the Insurance budgets, both discretionary and mandatory. This position was established at less than full performance level for recruitment and training purposes. Upon meeting all regulatory requirements, successful completion of training, demonstrated ability to perform duties at the higher level, and recommendation of the supervisor, the incumbent may be promoted without further competition to the full performance level, Budget Analyst, GS-560-12. The incumbent will receive assignments that are designed to develop skills and knowledge to attain the full promotion potential to GS-560-12. Work assignments are designed to introduce the incumbent to a full range of duties and responsibilities required by the full performance level. The duties and responsibilities are similar to those described in the full performance level. The duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: MAJOR DUTIES Researches and/or analyzes problems, issues, or program requirements. Researches and/or analyzes unstable or uncommon administrative issues. Determines pertinent issues and collects relevant information from a wide variety of sources. Reviews information and applies standard analytical techniques. Develops recommendations, taking into account unanticipated changes and unusual factors. Assist in coordinating, and executing activities associated with the Insurance program's procedural requirements and public affairs, to include both employee engagement and VBA wide mandates. Plans and/or conducts special projects. Uses standard approaches to perform a variety of duties related to projects involving administrative or support issues. Conducts extensive research and compiles data from diverse sources. Extracts and assembles information, conducts analysis and develops reports, briefings, or presentations. Reviews historical financial operating data and trends to prepare and/or validate estimates. Reviews historical data and estimates as well as current spending records and trends for a budget that covers large internal operating programs. Prepares budget estimates for center's salaries, supplies, and services, analyzing the distribution of funds, and actual experience as compared to planned data.

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. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9 level. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 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. GS-09 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 finance and cost accounting activities relating to budgeting, budgeting regulations and manpower. (2) Comprehensive knowledge of budgetary policies, precedent setting decisions, procedures, and regulations to ensure budget forecasts, estimates, and data submissions meet Insurance requirements, guidelines, and financial objectives. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required to qualify at the GS-9 level. 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. To do so, first calculate the percentage of qualifying education you have as a percentage of the education required. Next, calculate the percentage of specialized experience you have as a percentage of the experience required. Then, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% for you to qualify for the position at the GS-7 grade level. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate education (i.e., 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of acceptable specialized experience (i.e., 50% of the experience required) would satisfy the qualification requirements for the position. If you qualify based on a combination of graduate education and specialized experience, you must submit a copy of your official college transcript with your application. GS-11 To qualify, applicants 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) Knowledge of and skill in the application of quantitative techniques such as cost benefit analysis, linear and curve fit regression analysis and financial models. These skills are used to project the impact of variable economic conditions and alternative program goals and/or budget objectives. (2) Knowledge of the planning-programming-budgeting system in order to systematize the budget cycle and to develop schedules for the completion of each phase of formulation, analysis and revision process. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-11 level. Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. Such education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work. OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-11 level: Equivalent combinations of specialized experience and PH.D. graduate education. 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. GS-12 To qualify, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-11) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: (1) Knowledge of professional accounting and auditing theories, principles, practices and techniques. (2) Knowledge of Government fiscal laws, regulations, policies and principles as well as the work processes, technical aspects, organizational structure, long range plans and management of Insurance programs. This knowledge should be sufficient to monitor execution of the budget, to conduct in-depth research on any facet of program policy or procedures and to develop various alternatives and render an authoritative assessment on such issues. (3) Knowledge of the legislative process and research resources available to determine the status of legislative proposals and to assess the impact of new or proposed legislation. Skill in planning, organizing, and directing work, and knowledge of management principles, in order to manage the team and its projects. 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. The Office of Personnel Management's group coverage qualification standards, associated individual occupational requirements (IOR), and individual qualification standards covering white collar occupations in the Federal competitive service can be found here.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

There is no educational substitution for the GS-12 level.

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]