Legal Administrative Specialist - Missoula, United States - Department of Veterans Affairs

Description

Summary

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.

Learn more about this agency

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Overview

• Accepting applications
• Open & closing dates

05/13/2024 to 05/20/2024

• Salary

$66,036 - $98,998 per year

Please visit the OPM Salary website to view salaries for each location listed )

• Pay scale & grade

GS 10

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Locations

6 vacancies in the following locations:

• Billings, MT 1 vacancy
• Fort Harrison, MT 1 vacancy
• Missoula, MT 1 vacancy
• El Paso, TX 1 vacancy
• Show more locations (2)
• Houston, TX 1 vacancy
• San Antonio, TX 1 vacancy
• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

Yes-as determined by the agency policy.

• Travel Required

50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent

• Work schedule

Full-time

• Service

Competitive

• Promotion potential

None

• Job family (Series)

0901 General Legal And Kindred Administration

• 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

101-24-EK 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 announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) employees and current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible.

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Duties

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Coordinates counseling sessions with Veterans, their dependents, and their beneficiaries face to face, regarding all benefits available through the VA, as well as non-VA benefits available through other agencies. This is accomplished through in-person or telephone interviews, and correspondence. or telephone VBA facilities and provides broad outreach services.
• Explains in detail, VBA rating decisions and provides explanations for the decisions using extensive knowledge of VA benefits and services, claim and appeal processing procedures and benefit determination information and all pertinent information available in system of record.
• Assists with programs include, but are not limited to, compensation and pension benefits, home loan eligibility, education, health care, life insurance, burial benefits, vocational rehabilitation services, general Social Security Administration benefit programs, other federal, state, and local domestic relations, and assistance programs.
• Prepares technical correspondence to veterans and their dependents providing benefit information, representation rights and response to miscellaneous inquiries.
• Explains pertinent legal provisions, regulations, and related administrative practices and their application to specific cases
• May serve as or with the Outreach Coordinator (such as the Women's Veterans Coordinator, Minority Veterans Coordinator, Homeless Veterans Coordinator, Aging Veterans Coordinator, Ex-Prisoners of War Coordinator or Military Services Coordinator).
• Initiates inquiries to resolve errors, delays, or other problems in obtaining benefits. Completes claim and appeal related work.

Promotion Potential:
None. GS-10 is the full performance level of this position.

Work Schedule:
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.


Compressed/Flexible:
Not available


Telework:
Available


Virtual:
This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: 02108A


Relocation/Recruitment Incentives:
Not authorized


Financial Disclosure Report:
Not required

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• 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, 05/20/2024.

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-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level. 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 lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-10 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-10.

Applicant must provide a copy of most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" showing that you are in the competitive service and 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 the applicant possesses (1) year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement.

In this instance, the applicant must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates (1) year time-in-grade. General Adjustment and Award SF-50's cannot be used for time-in-grade verification purposes.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:


GS-10 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience: You 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: (1) experience that has demonstrated the capability of being a self-reliant decision-maker and possessing the ability to work independently when providing customer service benefits counseling and claims processing. (2) The individual must possess in-depth knowledge of researching relevant subject matter. (3) The experience should be significantly and directly derived from federal, military, or the private sector. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to orating to persons from a wide variety of backgrounds regarding VA benefits programs; performing research of local, state, and Federal laws and regulations to determine Veterans' eligibility for benefits programs.

OR,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have two and a half years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.

D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a field related to the duties of this position. Such education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work.


Note:
Transcripts Required.

OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond Master's Degree. 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.

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 is mostly sedentary.

The incumbent will be required to talk for long periods of time which occasionally puts a strain on the throat/vocal cords.

There are no other special physical demands required to perform the work.

There may be some walking, standing, and carrying of light items such as papers, books, and files from one location to another.

Extensive use of a computer and a telephone is required and may often involve high levels of stress and pressures.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

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

Note:
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


For further information, visit:
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) provide 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 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

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.

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.

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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.

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

• REASONING - Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions.
• PROBLEM SOLVING - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.
• CUSTOMER SERVICE - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.
• READING COMPREHENSION - Understands and interprets written material, including technical material, rules, regulations, instructions, reports, charts, graphs, or tables; applies what is learned from written material to specific situations.
• COMPUTER SKILLS - Uses computers, software applications, databases, and automated systems to accomplish work.

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.