Program Specialist

Summary

The Transcription Program Specialist (TPS) works within the Support Services Division of the San Diego VBA Regional Office and is responsible for supporting Management and the Supervisory Office Assistant with administrative and technical work.

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Duties

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Specific duties include:

• Responsible for the overall management, control, and execution of the office programs within the National Transcription Center (NTC). Provides advice and guidance to managers, staff, and Veteran Service Organizations (VSO).
• Conducts quality assurance reviews of final transcripts produced by NTC.
• Analyzes reports regarding production, quality, and timeliness goals/standards, offering suggestions to management for improvements.
• Prepares and conducts formal training sessions for newly hired personnel, refresher trainings, and training required due to changes in procedures or standards.
• Dual responsibility with the NTC Supervisor for suspense and control action of all approved recurring reports or other scheduled reports; i.e., OT reports, follow-up correspondence to staff members as required, transferring of transcripts to Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS), and logs.
• The incumbent transcribes the most difficult voice recordings of complex testimony, to include a wide range of topics and specialized and complex medical and legal terms.
• Serves as the equipment and technological subject matter expert, ensuring that equipment used by OA Assistants and 50+ regional offices is up-to-date and in working order.

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. The grade progression for this position is GS-9.

Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday-Friday, 7 am- 3:30 pm

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; PD38201A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Available

Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Bargaining Unit: Yes

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.

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
• 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:09/03/2026.

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-07 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 .
• If you are a current VBA employee requesting reassignment or change to a lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS- 07 or higher, and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-9.

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 of time-in-grade.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

GS-07 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is defined as experience in a wide range of medical or legal transcriptions. This experience should document research into legal and/or medical terminology and drafting documents with proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, and the appropriate format for different types of hearings being transcribed.
• Education Substitution : One (1) year of graduate-level education or superior academic achievement.

Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the experience and education requirements for a specific grade level (e.g., have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to reach 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information.

Volunteer Experience: Experience includes paid and unpaid work, including volunteer work through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, 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 is primarily sedentary and involves keyboarding for long periods. There may be some walking, standing, and carrying of light items such as paper or books.

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:

You may submit unofficial transcripts when applying. However, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to provide an official transcript or a statement from the institution (e.g., from the registrar, dean, or other appropriate official) or equivalent documentation prior to the start date.

Additional information

VA supports the use of telework to attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides 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

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 VA's policy not to deny employment to those who 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 before accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP):

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 before 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 whether you need an RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

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

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.