San Juan Regional Benefit Office

Role Description The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) National Contact Center (NCC) leverages a remote workspace to answer inbound telephone calls from more than eight million individual Veterans per year. NCC personnel provide telephone assistance to Veterans, their dependents, and survivors with information, advice, and assistance regarding the availability and procurement of benefits under laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other agencies. This position is within the Veterans Benefit Administration, San Juan Regional Office - National Call Center. The employee serves as the quality review and training coordinator for the division. Responsible for analyzing data associated with national program reviews and conducts local quality assurance (QA) and training. - Responsible for performing quality reviews for individual Public Contact Representatives (PCR) in accordance with established monthly schedule. - Tracks and analyzes all silent monitoring (phone) and Ask VA quality exceptions for the station, discussing identified trends with management. - Reviews products and activities for quality of performance and enters results into Verint and Ask VA checklists. Returns any completed work related to phone calls to the originating PCR for correction. - Interacts with supervisory personnel through discussion of individual phone calls and Ask VA responses that have been reviewed; explaining rationale and provides citation to support error call. - Utilizes Benefits Assistance Services quality client services review results and identified trends to recommend training for PCRs. - Collaborates with training coordinator in preparing and conducting formal training, including training for newly hired personnel. - Provides assessments to first line supervisors regarding strength and weaknesses observed in PCRs and identifies ways for improvement. - Performs in depth research, analyzes operating contingencies and special situations, including review of existing procedures and directive to detect contradictory instructions and deficiencies; recommending corrective action. - Ensures all program requirements imposed by Benefits Assistance Service, Compensation Service and Pension Service are met and implemented. - Conducts quality reviews and develops local operating procedures for the team to supplement regulations and directives as needed. Work Schedule - Full time, varied work schedule to provide contact center coverage Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). - Tour will be determined after final selections. Tour is subject to change based on program needs. Telework - This is a remote position. Selectees will work 100% of the time in a non-VA-owned space (usually personal residence). - The employee's workspace must be suitable for conducting business and as such, remote employees are expected to provide a secure, distraction-free home-based worksite with reliable high speed internet connectivity. - Successful candidates should expect to work Monday through Friday as part of a distributed team that services 40,000 or more callers each day between the hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). How You'll Work - The employee will be required to travel to the closest VA Regional Office, VA Medical Center, or other VA facility for issuance of equipment, and as needed for technical support. - Government furnished equipment includes a laptop computer, camera, docking station, monitor screens and headset. - A secure VPN will be used to access Microsoft Office products and specific communications software including a soft phone to educate and connect Veterans with the benefits they have earned. Qualifications - To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 05/27/2026. - 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. - For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. - 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. Requirements - Specialized Experience: You must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal Service performing the following duties: - Counseling customers and/or veterans, their dependents, and their beneficiaries regarding their benefits; - Serving as a liaison between government personnel (inside and outside the organization), analyzing submitted claims and initiating action to obtain all required evidence to support the claim. - Education Substitution: You may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have: - A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., if related. (Must submit transcripts). - Combination: You may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond master's or equivalent graduate degree that when combined, equal 100% of the total requirement. Physical Requirements - The work normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. The work is mostly sedentary. - However, there may be some walking, standing, and carrying of light items such as papers, books, and other training material.

Role Description As a Veterans Service Representative (VSR) (Authorizer), the incumbent will play a vital role in ensuring that our Veterans receive the compassionate care and benefits they deserve. You will oversee complex benefit claims, explain benefit programs and entitlement criteria, and provide final decisions on compensation and pension claims. This position is located in the Military Sexual Trauma Division within the San Juan, PR Regional Office. - Serve as the primary authorizer for unusually complex claims, including terminations and disallowed benefits. - Provide second-signature approval on high-level administrative decisions to ensure technical accuracy and completeness. - Analyze and decide on complex military service claims - such as character of discharge, presumed death, line-of-duty determinations, and fraud. - Review decisions prepared by Veterans Service Representatives (VSRs), ensuring clarity, thoroughness, and empathetic wording. - Clearly explain final complex decisions to Veterans via mail, phone, or in-person. - Draft Statements of the Case (SOC) for authorization appeals and guide Veterans through post-decision processes. - Accurately enter adjudication data in electronic systems, generate award notifications, and issue benefits payment decisions. - Review incoming case documentation, perform routing or take action as appropriate on mail evidence. - Perform other duties as assigned. Qualifications - To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/21/2026. - Time-in-Grade: 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. - For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-10 grade level. - Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-10) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. - Specialized experience includes experience that demonstrates competence in adjudicating and authorizing Veterans' claims. - Specialized experience is typically gained in positions that have involved experience in the development, examination, investigation, adjudication, and authorization of claims for disability compensation, disability pension, death compensation, death pension benefits, life insurance benefits, etc. - Applicants may substitute education for experience to qualify at the GS-11 grade level. - Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three full years (54 semester hours or 81 quarter hours) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M, if related. - Applicants may combine specialized experience and education beyond two full years of graduate level education. Requirements - 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. - 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. - 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. Benefits - Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations. - Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.