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Veterans Benefits Administration

Veterans Benefits Administration is hiring: Veterans Service Representative Auth

Veterans Benefits Administration, Anchorage, AK, United States


Summary

This position is located in a VARO, VSC, BEST. The Authorization Quality Review Specialist is an integral part of the (VSC) and (BEST) quality assurance program and is a key technical adviser to the Veterans Service Representatives (VSRs), in the Regional Office. The purpose of this position is to measure individual performance quality as well as identify training needs through the review and assessment of completed compensation and pension claims.

This job is open to

  • Internal to an agency

    Current federal employees of this agency.
  • Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

    Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent Anchorage, AK, Phoenix, AZ, Los Angeles, CA, Oakland, CA, Sacramento, CA, San Diego, CA, Honolulu, HI, Boise, ID, Las Vegas, NV, Reno, NV, Albuquerque, NM, Portland, OR, Salt Lake City, UT, Seatac, WA, Seattle, and WA, Spokane, WA VBA Regional Office employees and current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible.

Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to:
  • Performs individual quality reviews to determine the authorization quality level of individual VSRs for purposes of individual performance standards in accordance with an established monthly schedule.
  • Conducts focused "in-process reviews" for cases to determine the accuracy of claims action taken. (Such reviews are for station-level feedback and improvement only, not used for individual performance standard purposes.)
  • Responsible for sharing authorization quality trend information with management on an ongoing basis, and with the VSRs during training sessions.
  • Reviews products or activities for quality of performance, and enters the results into the on-line STAR checklists.
  • Evaluate and identify deficiencies of all elements of a claim from evidence development, income, and dependency issues, to award processing and authorization. Provides an explanation of errors and includes comments where attention is warranted.
  • Prepares STAR data reports and provides them to personnel in the Regional Office who are authorized to request and receive such reports.
  • Develops various quality assurance processes with emphasis on work procedures and techniques that address unique work conditions and practices.
  • Ensures all program requirements imposed by Compensation Service and/or the Pension and Fiduciary Service and the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims are met or implemented.
Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday through Friday

Telework: Available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: VSR Authorization Quality Review Specialist/37136A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Conditions of Employment
  • Subject to background/security investigation.
  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
  • This is a bargaining unit position.
Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/02/2024.

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-12 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

If you are a current VBA employee requesting a reassignment or change to a lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-12 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-12.

You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action," showing that you are in the competitive service and have the highest grade or promotion potential held. 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-50s cannot be used for time-in-grade verification purposes.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
  • Specialized Experience: You 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: work that involves functioning in either a capacity performing training, analyst, or information systems duties of a claims management process. The experience should be substantive, and relevant, and may have been gained in the federal, military, or private sector.
Examples include but are not limited to:
  • Conducting focused evaluations and reviews to determine authorization quality and accuracy.
  • Providing advisory services to management via preparation and presentation of quality trend information.
  • Developing training strategies and materials to address deficiencies and/or conducting training activities.
  • Analyzing performance deficiencies and quality trends to identify knowledge/skill gaps
  • Providing quality-review services, feedback, and guidance to staff in order to correct unsatisfactory performance.
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: The work normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. The work is mostly sedentary. However, there may be some walking, 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 a large number of claims folders. This will require the incumbent to push or pull the cart from one area 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting your current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

General Schedule (opm.gov)- This link is a reference to the General Schedule pay by locality.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), https://www.va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf.
  • Benefits

    A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

    Review our benefits

    Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

1. Research - Read and interpret federal compensation and pension laws, regulations, policies, and procedures in order to analyze and evaluate the accuracy of claims decisions.

2. Technical Competence - Understands and appropriately applies procedures, requirements, regulations, and policies related to specialized expertise ( for example, engineering , physical science, law or accounting) ; maintains credibility with other on technical matters.

3. Training - Utilize training techniques and claims processing knowledge in order to provide authoritative consultation and troubleshooting services and carry out extremely complex and precedent setting training administration.

4. Attention to Detail - Accurately reviews, compiles, and analyzes information and data.

5: Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills, and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.
  • Benefits

    A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

    Review our benefits

    Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
  • Required Documents

    As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.

    To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package, including the documents detailed below. Your resume and supporting documentation will be verified. Failure to submit the documents as specified may result in a lack of consideration for this job announcement.
    • Resume detailing specialized experience and competencies as they relate to this position.
      • For each position in your resume, you must specify the start and end dates (month/year)and a description of duties. If the position was Federal, you should also indicate the grade level. Resumes containing a general summary of all positions held, not specifying start/end dates, and/or not including documentation supporting Federal grade level(s) are insufficient to determine basic qualifications.
    • Your most recent NON-AWARD SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).
    • Your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade (e.g., Promotion, Appointment, etc.) in order to verify time-in-grade requirements.
    Additional Documents accepted:
    • Most recent Performance Appraisal (VA Form 0750)
    • Award SF-50s
    • Documentation to be considered under non-competitive eligibility (if applicable) such, as a member-4 DD-214, civil service preference letter, or Schedule A letter. [if offering applicants to bypass TIG]
    • CTAP documentation - RIF notice, SF-50 showing VA employee, and performance appraisal.
    Please use this checklist to make sure you have included all documents required for your application. You will not be contacted for additional information.

    If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

    Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
    schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

    Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
  • How to Apply

    All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire, and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 12/02/2024 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12610869.
    1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
    2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
    NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

    To verify your application is complete, log into your USA JOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link, and then select the more information link for this position. The Application page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USA JOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USA JOBS account, or your application will be incomplete.

    Agency contact information

    Sidrecuzs Riggins

    Phone

    334-328-6875

    Email

    sidrecuzs.riggins@va.gov

    Address

    Salt Lake City Regional Benefit Office

    550 Foothill Dr

    Salt Lake City, UT 84158

    US

    Next steps

    Once your online application is submitted, you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued, and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.

    You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.
  • Fair and Transparent

    The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
    • Criminal history inquiries
    • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
    • Financial suitability
    • New employee probationary period
    • Privacy Act
    • Reasonable accommodation policy
    • Selective Service
    • Signature and false statements
    • Social security number request
Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package, including the documents detailed below. Your resume and supporting documentation will be verified. Failure to submit the documents as specified may result in a lack of consideration for this job announcement.
  • Resume detailing specialized experience and competencies as they relate to this position.
    • For each position in your resume, you must specify the start and end dates (month/year)and a description of duties. If the position was Federal, you should also indicate the grade level. Resumes containing a general summary of all positions held, not specifying start/end dates, and/or not including documentation supporting Federal grade level(s) are insufficient to determine basic qualifications.
  • Your most recent NON-AWARD SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).
  • Your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade (e.g., Promotion, Appointment, etc.) in order to verify time-in-grade requirements.
Additional Documents accepted:
  • Most recent Performance Appraisal (VA Form 0750)
  • Award SF-50s
  • Documentation to be considered under non-competitive eligibility (if applicable) such, as a member-4 DD-214, civil service preference letter, or Schedule A letter. [if offering applicants to bypass TIG]
  • CTAP documentation - RIF notice, SF-50 showing VA employee, and performance appraisal.
Please use this checklist to make sure you have included all documents required for your application. You will not be contacted for additional information.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire, and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 12/02/2024 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12610869.
  1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
  2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

To verify your application is complete, log into your USA JOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link, and then select the more information link for this position. The Application page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USA JOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USA JOBS account, or your application will be incomplete.

Agency contact information

Sidrecuzs Riggins

Phone

334-328-6875

Email

sidrecuzs.riggins@va.gov

Address

Salt Lake City Regional Benefit Office

550 Foothill Dr

Salt Lake City, UT 84158

US

Next steps

Once your online application is submitted, you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued, and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.

You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.

Fair & Transparent

The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
  • Criminal history inquiries
  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
  • Financial suitability
  • New employee probationary period
  • Privacy Act
  • Reasonable accommodation policy
  • Selective Service
  • Signature and false statements
  • Social security number request