Summary

The Education Officer (EO) is responsible for providing information and assistance to Veterans, their dependents, and survivors regarding their rights to education benefits under laws and regulations administered by VA and other agencies. The EO provides leadership and direction to the Education Division and coordinates activities with other divisions in the Regional Office, as well as other RPOs.

Duties

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The Education Officer is responsible for the following duties, but are not limited to:

• Providing information to Veterans, their dependents and survivors regarding educational benefits under laws administered by VA.
• Providing leadership and direction to Division and coordinates activities with other Divisions and Regional Offices.
• Championing the principles of quality improvement and assures timely, accurate products of high quality and provided to Veterans.
• Uses delegation to make decisions including basic eligibility for educational programs. Assumes final responsibility for proper interpretation and uniform application of laws, regulations and instructions.
• Ensuring Division follows VBA program integrity objectives which are monitored through internal control processes.
• Evaluating effectiveness of assigned programs. Identifies and develops ways to resolve problems or cope with issues which directly affect organizational accomplishments.
• Assisting in developing milestone plans and objectives for assigned management projects. Performs broad and complex studies and analyses across org and functional lines on a variety or projects, issues and case studies.
• Providing supervision, direction guidance and leadership in effective methods to task work, solve problems, answer questions, correct deficiencies, evaluate support and to assure the mission and program objectives are being met.

Promotion Potential: None.

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 8:00am -4:30pm

Compressed/Flexible: Not Available

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#: Supervisory Veterans Claims Examiner (Education Officer); PD42211A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized. for relocation expenses only. Relocation expenses and services (Permanent Change of Station - PCS) are authorized. PCS covers the relocation of a household for government convenience when transferring between duty stations. Temporary housing is authorized for this position within applicable regulations. By accepting PCS, the selectee agrees to remain in Federal service for 12 months after the move. Failure to complete the service period may require repayment of PCS expenses. Click here for more information.

Financial Disclosure Report: Required

Bargaining Unit: No

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-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.

Selectees are required to serve a one-year supervisory probationary period if not previously completed in a Federal position. Failure to successfully complete the supervisory probationary period will result in the employee being reassigned to a position in the agency of no lower grade and pay than the one the employee left to accept the supervisory or managerial position.

Upon completion of your probationary 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 probationary or trial period
• Selectees are required to serve a one-year supervisory probationary period if not previously completed in a Federal position.
• 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:09/08/2026.

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-15 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-14 level.
• If you are a current VBA employee requesting reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS- 14 or higher and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least None.

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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

GS-14 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service. This specialized experience is defined as work that involves but is not limited to: Leadership experience delivering Veterans benefits services in a VBA business line or a Regional Office setting which include all of the following: Expert knowledge of laws affecting Veteran's Education Programs and Benefits and a full and complete knowledge of the laws, regulations, precedent opinions of the Court of Veterans Appeals, authoritative opinions of the General Counsel, and the procedural requirements affecting the entire field of Education benefits' programs. Candidates must also have demonstrated in their work experience or training that they possess, the qualities to successfully supervise subordinates (including managers and coaches) to operate and manage a successful Regional Education Process Office.

Education Substitution: Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience aloneno substitution of education for experience is permitted.

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 position is primarily in an office setting. This work normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. Some travel may be necessary on occasion for training, meetings, or customer interactions.

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/.

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/[redacted]5-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.

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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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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.