Summary This developmental position is for the Office of the Service Chief in the Social Work Services at the Veterans Affairs Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS). The position composes a career ladder structure to the full performance level of Program Specialist. Responsibilities Major duties include but not limited to: Advises Veterans and their NOK of burial benefits. Help Veterans and NOK prearrange burial, interment, cremation, as desired by Veteran. Advises surviving relatives about burial benefits and other potential benefits provided by VA. Reviews eligibility and entitlement of burial and death allowances and advises on the process for applying for those benefits. Refer surviving relatives with specific benefit inquiries to a VBA point of contact, not the toll free telephone number. Inform Veteran, caregiver and NOK of available supportive services within the medical facility, such as Chaplaincy and Social Work, to provide support at end of life and immediately following death. Reviews daily death notifications. Submits completed death certificates to designated Funeral Director and County Registrar's Office. Ensures Veterans with no relatives are provided a dignified funeral and burial at VA expense. Collaborates with VA offices to locate NOK when not readily known. Views, as required, the deceased Veteran's unclaimed body and/or remains to confirm VA funds are executed as intended in the burial purchase. Requests any clinical staff involved with care prior to death contact the survivor within 24 hours of the pronouncement of death. Identifies, in collaboration with designated facility staff, a responsible funeral home for the unclaimed remains and prepares a purchase order and/or contract to this effect. Completes required VA authorizations to release personal effects and any remaining funds in the patient's account to NOK or designated party. Records and transcribes providers' requests for permission from the legal next of kin or other designee by law to conduct an autopsy. Coordinates with VA physician and NOK/legal designee in obtaining signed consent in the event the family is not present to sign or the death occurred outside of normal business hours. Coordinates release of remains with appropriate services/outside agencies in the event of autopsy, or organ/tissue/body donation. Establishes and/or follows local procedures for whole body donation. Collaborates with Patient Aligned Care Team, Pharmacy and Prosthetics to cancel all appointments to include orders. Coordinates with Pathology Services to complete all forms and paperwork required to release the deceased remains to selected funeral home. Prepares and provides military information forms to the funeral home representative. Requests death certificates from the County Registrar's Office for all external notifications of a Veteran's death and updates records as appropriate within VA system. Coordinate the dispositions of personal funds and effects with the Office of General Council for Veterans that have been adjudicated as incompetent. This may require the position to appear in-person at county court houses. Collaborates with palliative care to promote quality end-of-life care by assisting in developing action plans and process improvements related to quantitative and qualitative reporting from the Bereaved Family Survey. Implements information systems to track service activities including visits, referrals, demographics and outcomes. Investigates and analyzes adverse quality trends or conditions and initiates corrective action. Consults with staff and managers to identify opportunities for quality improvement. Facilitates quality management plan development and implementation. Collects, analyzes, and reports program data to local management, the designated VISN POC and the National SAMS Program. Evaluates program progress and outcomes using data to modify and improve the facility program and processes. Maintains and monitors performance measure requirements established by VHA, Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Operations (AUSHO), VISN and/or facility leadership. Uses agency, department and program knowledge to determine essential data collection and provide program assessment and analysis. Maintains proficiency in using local, regional and national databases. Conducts appropriate queries to answer questions about trends in patient care. Collects and manages new data about current practices in the department and across sites of care. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level 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. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm Monday - Friday Telework: This position is eligible for telework on an Ad- Hoc Basis Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/10/2026. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. 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. 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-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Applicants who have the 1 year of appropriate specialized experience, as indicated in the table, are not required by this standard to have general experience, education above the high school level, or any additional specialized experience to meet the minimum qualification requirements. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in any field leading to a bachelor's degree, in an accredited college or university, meets the GS-5 level requirements for many positions covered by this standard. Others have individual occupational requirements that specify that applicants must, in general, (1) have specific course work that meets the requirements for a major in a particular field(s), or (2) have at least 24 semester hours of course work in the field(s) identified. Course work in fields closely related to those specified may be accepted if it clearly provides applicants with the background of knowledge and skills necessary for successful job performance. One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Production and Processing 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 primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. Routinely views the body and/or remains of deceased Veterans at funeral homes using an authorized vehicle. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level 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: 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://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
