Summary Serves in the Office of Executive Review, Office of the Under Secretary for Benefits. Performs analytical, planning, evaluative, and advisory work to coordinate and manage legislative functions, responses to congressional queries, and executive communications. Collaborates with internal stakeholders on complex and sensitive program issues, provides support to key officials on processes and procedures. Initiates, manages, reviews, and processes timely, high-quality responses. Responsibilities The Program Specialist performs a wide variety of analytical, planning, evaluative, and advisory work related to the coordination and management of VBA's legislative functions, responses to congressional queries, and other executive communications. The position's responsibilities may include but are not limited to the following: Manages internal actions related to Congressional briefings or other communications regarding VBA programs. Obtains review/input of assigned correspondence assigned by the Office of the Executive Secretary and works with external offices to obtain input and concurrence. Manages the VBA legislative proposal process. Coordinates development of testimony for Congressional hearings, including preparing or assisting in the preparation of VBA representatives for appearances before Congress, including participation in preparation sessions. Coordinates or conducts internal preparation sessions with VBA subject matter experts in support of Congressional briefings. Facilitates Under Secretary for Benefits (USB) or other leadership concurrence on documents for VBA concurrence. Reviews internal documents submitted for approval (e.g., regulatory packages; equitable relief packages, responses to Requests for Information). Includes reviewing the package for completeness, quality, and effectiveness of submitted documents and making recommendations for changes/additional information before submission to management for approval. Reviews and coordinate sensitive and confidential correspondence including contracts, labor relations, and other VBA matters through the review and concurrence process. Conducts thorough fact gathering, research, and analysis to provide advice and direction to business lines or program offices before assigning tasks. Responds to and address customer needs and resolve complaints and concerns within the employee's control. Promotion Potential: None Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. The employee is required to report to the official duty station each workday. Flexible Schedule: Available Telework: This position is eligible for situational (ad-hoc) telework only. Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval. Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist; PD41962A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Requirements Conditions of Employment As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year or 2-year probationary 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 or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Additional Conditions of Employment are as follows: 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 1-year probationary or 2-year trial period 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 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. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/27/2026 MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience as described below: GS-13 Grade Level: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-12) in the federal, state, local, public, or private sector. Specialized Experience is the ability to manage high visibility, executive correspondence, and internal coordination functions in support of senior leadership; Managing internal actions related to Congressional briefings and communications ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and alignment with enterprise processes and requirements; Obtaining reviews, comments, and concurrence on correspondence assigned and coordinating with multiple internal and external offices to ensure completeness and quality of products; and Conducting thorough fact gathering, research, and analysis to advise business lines and program offices to ensure clarity and alignment with organizational priorities. Volunteer Experience: 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. Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week. Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. 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 Additional Information 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. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Inform...) The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. 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 employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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.
