Program Specialist

Summary

This position is in Education Service (EDU). The Service has department-wide responsibility for activities relating to administering VA educational assistance programs to Veterans, Service members, National Guard and Reserve members, and eligible dependents for their military service to the Nation.

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Duties

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Specific duties include:

• Advises management on personnel management activities. Makes recommendations relating to personnel policy issues and provides guidance to management on personnel management matters and problems. Maintains relationships with the Baltimore Human Resource Center (HRC), Des Moines HRC, and HCS in areas of personnel recruiting, promotion, training, equal opportunity employment, disciplinary action, and performance evaluation.
• Prepares written correspondence and documents. Writes a variety of documents to include items for newsletters, responses to requests for information from employees and other customers, and provides guidance on regulations, policies, directives and applicable supplements. Maintains general correspondence and files for the HRL staff, hard copy and electronic.
• Manages the corporate email box and calendar including documenting and scheduling follow-up actions, reminders, etc., and ensuring inquiries, assignments and deadlines are addressed. Takes care to give proper information regarding employment and not to disclose confidential information concerning employees.
• Answers inquiries from applicants regarding such matters as the status of recruitment or classification requests, procedures for filing an application, receipt and disposition of applications, and general questions concerning federal employment, federal benefits, or benefit changes. Coordinates the receipt of required documents from applicants.
• Sends timely reminders, including all-employee emails to keep employees and leadership apprised of pay and benefits program resources, deadlines, and updates/changes. Reviews daily online HR Policy guidance and OCHCO Bulletins and sends an email to the HR Program Manager with a summary of changed or updated guidance is found online.
• Assists the HRL Staff with providing basic information to employees concerning pay and benefits including leave programs, Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB), Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP), Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS), Federal Employees Government Life Insurance (FEGLI), Child Care Subsidy Program, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), and routine Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) retirement including service deposits.
• Provides resources for eligibility requirements, effective dates, the enrollment process, and basic features (i.e., cost, coverage, time limits for filing, qualifying events, etc.).
• Assists with new employee orientations. Works with HRC HR Specialists, HR Liaisons, and Time keeping staff to ensure new employees are added to all necessary list to efficiently onboard a new or transfer employee to Education Service. Assists HRL staff and EDU management with processing or instructing new employees in updating or the completion of all required forms after attending employee orientation.
• Assists with outboarding separating employees. Distributes and explains the checkout form separation actions to the employee and supervisor. Completes and ensures all personnel actions, trackers, and gains or loss reports are properly updated and distributed.
• Reviews and submits various personnel actions for processing to Baltimore and Des Moines HRCs to include change in duty locations, name changes, reassignments, and other actions as needed.
• Handles processing of awards and make inquires to HCS concerning status awards. Maintains and updates the awards tracking log.
• Serves as the backup Education Service (EDU) Human Resources Liaisons staff (HR) person. Assists the HRL staff and management with performing the full range of human resources requirements. Serve as a back-up PIV sponsor and timekeeper for the Education Service Executive Management Office.
• Coordinates arrangements for in-person visits, meetings, trainings and in-processing new personnel and out-processing departing personnel, including securing a room, requesting technical assistance with visual and audio aids, setting up digital invites, preparing tracking sign-in sheets, meeting employees in person, etc.
• Schedules interviews and assists with reference checks for hiring and recruitment efforts. Prepares forms that the Executive Management Officer or other EDU Leader's review and signature, a variety of memorandums, letters, and other written communications.

Promotion Potential: None.

Work Schedule : Full-time, Monday through Friday

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# : Program Specialist; PD42190A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

This is not a bargaining unit position

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will 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.

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.

• 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 period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:08/10/2026.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT : Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade at any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet the time-in-grade requirement.

• For a GS-12 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 level.

This experience should be in or related to the position. Qualifying experience has equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled.

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

GS-12 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience is defined as experience demonstrating all of the following:

• Experience researching, analyzing, and evaluating issues, determining applicable precedents, and identifying the most effective approach to resolve human resources problems.
• Experience meeting and dealing with managers and employees at all levels in situations of a highly sensitive nature.
• Experience providing advice and guidance in the areas of staffing and recruitment and general personnel management.
• Experience with federal recruitment and staffing procedures.
• Experience with HR-Smart, USA Staffing, SharePoint sites, and similar tools to access and/or run programs and retrieve data and files.
• Experience with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Viseo to generate and analyze reports, track data, and create visual presentations.

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

Education

There is no education substitution for GS 12.

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 (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more 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 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

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.

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

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.

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 an RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, along with 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.

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.