Program Specialist

Summary

The position serves as a Program Specialist assigned to the Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support (SAMS) Program under the Chief, Social Work or Social Work Executive at the VA medical facility as the primary person responsible for the facility's SAMS Program.

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Duties

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• Advise Veterans and their NOK of burial benefits. Help Veterans and NOK prearrange burial, interment, or cremation, as desired by the Veteran. Advise surviving relatives about burial benefits and other VA benefits. Review eligibility and entitlement of burial and death allowances and advise 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 the end of life and immediately following death.
• Review daily death notifications and submit completed death certificates to the designated Funeral Director and County Registrar's Office.
• Ensure Veterans with no relatives (unclaimed remains) are provided with a dignified funeral and burial at VA (contract or purchase order) expense. Collaborate with VA offices to locate NOKs when NOKs are not readily known.
• View, as required, the deceased Veteran's unclaimed body and/or remains to confirm that VA funds are executed as intended in the burial purchase.
• Request that any clinical staff involved with care prior to death contact the survivor within 24 hours of the pronouncement of death.
• Identify, in collaboration with designated facility staff, a responsible funeral home for the unclaimed remains and prepare a purchase order and/or contract for this effect.
• Complete required VA authorizations to release personal effects and any remaining funds in the patient's account to NOK or designated party.
• Record and transcribe providers' requests for permission from the legal next of kin or other designee by law to conduct an autopsy.
• Coordinate 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.
• Coordinate the release of remains with appropriate services/outside agencies in the event of autopsy, or organ/tissue/body donation. Establish and/or follow local procedures for whole body donation.
• Collaborate with the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT), Pharmacy, and Prosthetics to cancel all appointments, including orders.
• Coordinate with Pathology Services to complete all forms and paperwork required to release the deceased's remains to the selected funeral home.
• Prepare and provide military information forms to the funeral home representative.
• Request death certificates from the County Registrar's Office for all external notifications of a Veteran's death and update records as appropriate within the VA system.
• Coordinate the dispositions of personal funds and effects with the Office of General Council for Veterans who have been adjudicated as incompetent. This may require the position to appear in person at county courthouses.
• Participate in facility initiatives relating to No Veteran Dies Alone (NVDA). Partner with staff and leadership to identify needs and opportunities throughout the facility.
• Provide general education, training, and resources about SAMS to staff throughout the hospital, community living centers (CLC), and the community who provide support to Veterans at end-of-life and to their family and NOK.
• Collaborate with the VA Center for Development and Civic Engagement to recruit, train, schedule, and oversee volunteers at the facility and CLC.
• Collaborate 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.
• Implement information systems to track service activities, including visits, referrals, demographics, and outcomes.
• Investigate and analyze adverse quality trends or conditions and initiate corrective action. Consult with staff and managers to identify opportunities for quality improvement. Facilitate quality management plan development and implementation.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

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: Monday - Friday 8:00am-4:30pm

Telework: This position may be authorized for telework, Ad-Hoc only. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/ PD417770 and PD417760

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• 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 ( 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, 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, 10/26/2026.

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 . For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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.

This is a two grade-level position, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

GS-07

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE : You have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level or pay band in the Federal service that includes performing the following duties: Experience with next of kin and burial benefits; Experience communicating resources such as Chaplaincy and Social Work to provide support at end of life; Reviewing death notifications and submitting completed death certificates; Preparing purchase orders and contracts for funeral homes; Recording and transcribing providers' requests for permission from the legal next of kin or other designee by law to conduct an autopsy; Coordinating release of remains with appropriate services/outside agencies in the event of autopsy, or organ/tissue/body donation; Requesting death certificates from the County Registrar's Office; Maintaining proficiency in using local, regional and national databases; Initiating disposition of funds when deceased patient fund account balance is identified; Developing and maintaining monthly and fiscal year variance reports. OR,

EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) : You have completed one (1) full year of graduate level education OR have a bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement. This education must have equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position at this grade level and is in a field directly related to the position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR,

COMBINATION: EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): You have some specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 grade level but less than one year, and I have some graduate level education but less than one year. I have computed the percentage of the requirements that I meet, and the total is at least 100% of the requirement for the GS-7 grade level. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): To meet the qualification requirements for this position using Superior Academic Achievement (SAA). You have completed all the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled and I meet one of the following: Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university or major subdivision OR A grade-point average of "B" (a GPA of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study OR A grade point average of "B+" (a GPA of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study OR Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. For a list of recognized honor societies please visit NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

GS-09

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level or pay band in the Federal service that includes performing the following duties: Experience with next of kin and burial benefits; Experience communicating resources such as Chaplaincy and Social Work to provide support at end of life; Reviewing death notifications and submitting completed death certificates; Preparing purchase orders and contracts for funeral homes; Recording and transcribing providers' requests for permission from the legal next of kin or other designee by law to conduct an autopsy; Coordinating release of remains with appropriate services/outside agencies in the event of autopsy, or organ/tissue/body donation; Requesting death certificates from the County Registrar's Office; Maintaining proficiency in using local, regional and national databases; Initiating disposition of funds when deceased patient fund account balance is identified; Developing and maintaining monthly and fiscal year variance reports; Participating in facility initiatives relating to No Veteran Dies Alone (NVDA) and partnering with staff and leadership to identify needs and opportunities throughout the facility; Providing general education, training, and resources about SAMS (Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support) to staff throughout the hospital, community living centers (CLC), and the community who provide support to Veterans at end-of-life and to their family and NOK (next of kin); Collaborating with the VA Center for Development and Civic Engagement to recruit, train, schedule, and oversee volunteers at the facility and CLC. OR,

EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) : You have successfully completed a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree OR I have two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree OR I have a LL.B. or J.D., if related, that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR,

COMBINATION: EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): You have some specialized experience as described in A but less than one year, and I have more than one year but less than two years of graduate education as described in B. I have computed the percentage of these requirements that I meet, and the total is at least 100%. (To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond two years by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify). NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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: 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:

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.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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 qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

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.

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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.