Summary This Loan Assistant position performs a variety of administrative and technical duties in support of Loan Production. The incumbent is responsible for developmental and routine assignments in the administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home Loan program. The organizational location of the position is the LP section within the Regional Loan Center (RLC). Responsibilities The incumbent reviews submitted documentation including VA forms, resolving data discrepancies, to make eligibility determinations, and issue Certificates of Eligibility. Reviews the underwriting of loan applications submitted to VA for guaranty in-order to ensure lender compliance with VA underwriting guidelines and regulations such as fees and charges. Answers incoming calls and personally handles inquiries, through personal or written contacts, to guide, counsel, and instruct program participants on aspects of the VA Home Loan program, while ensuring prompt and courteous service. Recommend approval or disapproval of restoration of entitlement, release of liability, and substitution of entitlement applications; and audit releases processed and approved by lenders. Maintains records and controls in compliance with established procedures; prepares reports and quality control reviews and performs all functions relative to the maintenance of lender files. Underwrites complex loan applications; by analyzing the financial capacity of joint mortgagors, marginal loan applicants, Veterans who receive pensions, income based on operations of business firms, multi-family housing rentals, or unstable incomes. Collects, researches, analyzes, interprets, retrieves, and inputs data for/from a variety of computer systems, including Microsoft Word, Excel, SharePoint, and Salesforce applications. Conducts outreach and training with lender stakeholders to ensure compliance with laws, regulations, and VA Home Loan Program directives. Completes post guaranty loan reviews and based on findings from the review, notifies mortgage lenders of technical errors, any actions necessary for correction, and makes recommendations of specific training needs. Provides preliminary recommendation for Funding Fee refunds by researching computer systems and the Funding Fee Payment System (FFPS). Maintains section registers, logs, feeder information, and other systems of records needed for quality control and reports. Establishes and maintains a diary system to ensure all required actions are completed in a timely manner. Resolves problems, which occur with coding of loans into Loan Production computer systems while protecting data from unauthorized release, loss, alteration, or deletion. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the cut-off date and/or closing date of this job opportunity announcement, 02/24/2026. Note: All applicants must meet both the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) and the Specialized Experience as defined below: Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): Experience Experience that demonstrated competence in agricultural, commercial, realty, or other @types of loans. Experience may have been gained in such work as reviewing and passing upon applications for agricultural, commercial, bank, or mortgage loans; servicing a loan portfolio of a bank or other loan association; performing financial analysis of commercial concerns for investment purposes; appraising real estate to determine property valuation; or similar work. OR Education Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- finance, business administration, economics, accounting, insurance, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, real estate operations, statistics, or other fields related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology. In addition to the IOR, applicants must possess specialized experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: To qualify at the GS-07 grade level: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-05). Specialized experience is experience that has given the applicant the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to be successful in the position. Specialized experience for this position is defined as: experience assisting with mortgage loan origination or servicing tasks related to residential mortgage loan processing OR experience with residential real estate sale transactions. OR Applicants may substitute education for experience to qualify at the GS-07 grade level: Applicants may substitute qualifying education instead of experience required at the GS-07 level by the following options: Undergraduate Degree with Superior Academic Achievement. If you have been awarded a bachelor's degree in finance, business administration, economics, accounting, insurance, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, real estate operations, statistics, or another field related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology, from an accredited college or university AND that degree demonstrates one of the following Superior Academic Achievement provisions, you may qualify in full for this position without any experience: a. Ranked in the upper 1/3 of your college class or major subdivision; or b. Earned election to a national scholastic honor society that meets the requirements of the Association of College Honor Societies other than freshman honor societies; or c. Earned a grade point average (GPA) of 2.95 or higher on a 4.0 scale based on all completed undergraduate courses, or all undergraduate classes completed during the final two years; or earned a GPA of 3.45 or higher on a 4.0 scale based on all completed undergraduate courses in your major, or all undergraduate courses in your major, completed during the final two years. Regarding the Superior Academic Achievement provisions, if more than 10% of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) was taken on a pass/fail or similar basis, you can qualify only on the basis of your class standing or membership in an honor society. If you qualify based on your education, you must include a copy of your college transcript along with your application. If you are selected for the position, an official college transcript will be required when you begin work. OR Applicants may substitute graduate education: You must have at least one full academic year of graduate level course work from an accredited college or university with major study in finance, business administration, economics, accounting, insurance, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, real estate operations, statistics, or another field related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology. One year of full-time graduate education is normally determined by the school you attended. If that number cannot be determined, then 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered equivalent to one academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable on a pro-rata basis. If you qualify based on your education, you must include your college transcript along with your application to support your claim. If you are selected for the position, an official college transcript will be required when you begin work. OR Applicants may combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-07 grade level: Applicants may combine graduate level education and specialized experience to qualify for the position. If you have some, but not all, of the graduate education (as per the IOR requirements identified in this section of the announcement, as noted above) AND some specialized experience as 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 grade GS-7 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 or unofficial college transcript with your application. 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 you document, to include volunteer experience. Education An unofficial or official copy of your transcripts 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ 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: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications Additional Information Applicants can only apply to one location. This announcement has been updated to reflect the new closing date of Tuesday, February 24, 2026. This is not a virtual or remote position. Relocation expenses are not approved for this vacancy. Applicants who apply and are selected for locations outside of their local commuting area are responsible for all costs associated with a move to the new official worksite. Work Schedule: Regular office hours, Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Alternate work schedules may be available. Physical Requirements: The work is usually sedentary but does involve standing, walking, bending or carrying of objects up to 50 pounds, and the operation of a motor vehicle. The Department of Veterans Affairs provides reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level (Loan Specialist) 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 full performance level of this position is the grade GS-11. VA supports the use of telework to 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 teleworking. Telework eligibility may be discussed during the interview process. Telework is subject to approval by individual supervisors and managers, is considered a privilege not a right, is subject to approval based on performance and other varying factors and is not guaranteed. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly appointed federal employees credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active-duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used to determine the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Placement Policy: The posting of this job opportunity 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. 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." This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
