Decision Review Officer - Togus, United States - Department of Veterans Affairs

Description

Summary

The Rating Quality Review Specialist is an integral part of the Veterans Service Center's quality assurance program and is a key technical adviser to the Decision Review Officers (DROs) and Rating Veterans Service Representatives (RVSRs), in the Regional Office.

The purpose of this position is to measure individual performance quality and identify training needs through the review and assessment of completed claims involving appeals and rating decisions.

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Overview

• Accepting applications
• Open & closing dates

05/14/2024 to 06/03/2024

• Salary

$88,520 - $115,079 per year

Salary shown is the basic pay without locality pay. Once selections are made the locality pay will be added to the salary based on the duty location.

• Pay scale & grade

GS 13

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Locations

8 vacancies in the following locations:

• Togus, ME
• Saint Louis, MO
• Philadelphia, PA
• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

Yes-as determined by the agency policy.

• Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent

• Work schedule

Full-time

• Service

Competitive

• Promotion potential

13

• Job family (Series)

0930 Hearings And Appeals

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Other

• Drug test

No

• Position sensitivity and risk

Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

• Trust determination process

Suitability/Fitness

• Announcement number

NED-24-DS BU

• Control number

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This job is open to

• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

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

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open ONLY to current permanent employees of the Veterans Benefits Administration and current/former Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) employees who are CTAP eligible.

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Duties

• Performs individual quality reviews to determine the rating quality level of individual DROs and RVSRs 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 rating quality trend information with management on an ongoing basis and with the DROs and RVSRs during training sessions.
• Reviews products or activities for quality of performance and enters the results into the on-line STAR checklists.
• Evaluates and identifies 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 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.
• Prepares documentation to support unfavorable finding in order to provide justification for error decisions and indicate required actions.
• Conducts statistical analysis of quality reviews to identify trends, significant problems areas and processes requiring improvement.
• Relays quality trend information with management on an ongoing basis for use in operations, decision making, and planning.
• Performs other duties, as assigned.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• 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.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• You will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
• Remote: This is not a remote position.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/03/2024.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at GS-12.

To support your claim of time in grade, you must submit your most recent appointment, promotion, or within grade increase 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.

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.

Specialized Experience:

GS-13: To qualify, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-12) in the federal service.

in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.


Specialized experience is defined as:

work that involves functioning in either a capacity performing training, analyst or information systems duties of a claim's management process.

Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to:

• Conducting reviews to analyze the quality of completed rated cases.
• Conducting evaluations and reviews on a quantitative or qualitative basis of claims development programs and operations to determine the effectiveness in meeting established goals and objectives.
• Preparing or conducting training activities; Identifying knowledge/skill gaps and plan training strategies.
• Providing and implementing data for one or more information management systems accurately and timely or providing technical guidance and direction to staff in the daily operation and maintenance of claims management systems.

There is no educational substitution for the GS-13 level.

Note:

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.

Education

There is no educational substitution for the GS-13 level.

Additional information

Work Schedule:
Regular office hours; Monday- Friday 8:00am-4:30pm. Alternate work schedules may be available.

Title/PD#:
Decision Review Officer (Rating Quality Review Specialist) GS - 13; PD 37138A

Promotion Potential:
This position is being recruited at the full performance level GS-13.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 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.

Physical Requirements:
The work is 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 large number of claims folders. This will require the incumbent to push or pull the cart from one area to another.

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.

Special Employment Consideration:
VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR u), Schedule A, appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more.

Please contact the special placement coordinator or the human resources specialist listed on this vacancy for more information regarding applying for consideration under schedule A or as a 30% disabled Veteran.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies.

To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified for this vacancy.

A well-qualified candidate is defined as meeting all of the minimum qualification standards and eligibility requirements as well as possessing skills that clearly exceed the minimum qualifications requirements for this position.

Information about CTAP eligibility can be found here.

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.

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

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• Benefits

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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.

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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.

Applicants who do not fully address the specialized experience needed for the position (as described above in the job announcement) in their resume or who do not possess the education to substitute for it will not be referred for consideration.

After you have met the minimum qualifications, you will be rated on the following competencies based on your application for this position:

• Decisiveness- Makes sound and well-informed decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations in order to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.
• Technical Knowledge - Understands and appropriately applies procedures, requirements, regulations, and policies related to VBA programs and other Federal (or similar) benefits programs.
• Leadership - Inspires, motivates, guides, and mentors others toward goal accomplishment; models high standards of honesty, integrity, trust, openness, and respect for individuals by applying these values to daily behavior.
• Conflict Management - Manages and resolves conflicts, confrontations, and disagreements in a positive and constructive manner to minimize negative personal impact.
• Oral Communication - Communicates orally to conduct one-on-one training & feedback as well as group presentations and training sessions.
• Written Communication - Communicates in writing to prepare correspondence and reports as well as convey feedback and other information to management and lower-graded employees.
• Problem Solving - Identifies and analyzes problems; uses sound reasoning to arrive at conclusions; finds alternative solutions to complex problems; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information to make logical decisions; provides solutions to problems.

If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job-related information, which may include, but is not limited to responses to the knowledge, skills, and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or 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.

Notice to Applicants:

It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual.

Information about an individual's employment experience will be used only to determine the person's qualifications and to assess his or her relative level of knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Although an individual's personal conduct may be relevant in any employment decision, including conduct during periods of unemployment or evidence of dishonesty in handling financial matters, financial difficulty that has arisen through no fault of the individual will generally not itself be the basis of an unfavorable suitability or fitness determination.