Summary This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Manchester Regional Office, Veterans Service Center. The Decision Review Officer is an integral part of the Veterans Service Center's quality assurance program and is a technical adviser to the Rating Veterans Service Representatives. 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. Responsibilities Specific duties include: 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. Prepares documentation to support unfavorable finding in order to provide justification for error decisions and indicate required actions. Responsible for sharing rating quality trend information with management on an ongoing basis and with the DROs and RVSRs during training sessions. 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. Reviews products or activities for quality of performance and enters the results into the on-line STAR checklists. Prepares STAR data reports and provides them 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. 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. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Subject to supervisory discretion. Telework: This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only. The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. 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#: Decision Review Officer; PD37138A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required. Requirements Conditions of Employment 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 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. 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:08/21/2026. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: As a current Federal, GS employee you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 level. If you are a current VBA employee outside of the commuting area seeking reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-13 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least None. The grade may have been in any occupation and 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. You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50 that indicates proof of status (career, career-conditional, or excepted service), time-in-grade requirements have been met, and identifies your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and @type of service. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate possession of time-in-grade requirements. In this instance, you must also submit your most recent Promotion or Within Grade Increase SF-50, or a Promotion or Within Grade Increase SF-50 that indicates the highest grade/step previously held. DO NOT submit Award SF-50s and/or General Adjustment SF-50s as they cannot be used to verify time-in-grade. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience as described below: GS-13 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: One year equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-12). Specialized experience is defined as work that involves functioning in either a capacity performing training, analyst or information system duties of a claims 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 education substitution for the specialized experience requirement at the GS-13 level. 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:The work normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. 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. 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 There is no authorized substitution of education for the specialized experience required at the GS-13 level. Additional Information 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 your 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 http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. 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. 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/documents/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf 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: Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport-usastaffing.opm.gov/hc/en-us/sections/45063131363475-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information) For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.
