Veterans Claims Examiner

Summary

The Veterans Claims Examiner (VCE) is the trainee for the VCE Series. In this grade, the VCE becomes familiar with the range of claims, regulations and develops a process for the independent adjudication of claims. He/she will be formally trained to perform core duties assigned to a team. They will adjudicate claims for education benefits increasingly difficult issues as they prepare for the eventual adjudication of the full gamut of education claims.

Duties

• Specific duties include: Learn and master the consistent application of laws, regulations and policies to make proper determinations. Evaluate and analyze numerous types of documents and determine the validity of such evidence in the adjudication of a claim. He/she will evaluate evidence and determine facts to support adjudicative actions. Accurately and efficiently reviews and controls incoming claims and evidence and makes determinations relating to the application of appropriate regulations to situations. Identify claims which can be immediately adjudicated and those which need further development, initiating the development, to adjudicate a complete application package in a timely manner. Conduct interviews in person, via phone or electronically with veterans, claimants or stakeholders. Must exercise good judgement and professional demeanor always and in stressful situations. Responsible for individual management of assigned work. 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-07 to GS-09. Work Schedule: Full-Time Monday through Friday. Duty hours To Be Determined between the hours of 6:00 am and 6:00 pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Yes - 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#: Veterans Claims Examiner; PD42197A and PD42196A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

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: 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 (unless if in the commuting area and eligible for a non-competitive hiring authority such as Schedule A, VRA, or 30% or more disabled Veterans). For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 level. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. If you are a current VBA employee outside of the commuting area seeking reassignment or change to 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. SF-50(s) that shows your time-in-grade eligibility and that demonstrate that the required grade has been held for at least 1 year must be submitted with your application materials. These requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement and those applying for a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-07 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: To qualify, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-05) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: Experience reading, interpreting and applying laws, regulations, directives, manuals or training materials; AND Experience developing information and evaluating evidence to determine a decision. Education Substitution: 1 full year of graduate level education, or Bachelor's or equivalent degree with superior academic achievement. Superior academic achievement is defined as 1 (or more) of the following: graduating in the upper 1/3 of the class; membership in a national honor society; earning an undergrad GPA of 2.95 (on a 4.0 scale) in the final 2 undergrad years completed; earning an overall undergrad GPA of 2.95; earning an undergrad GPA of 3.45 in the major during the final 2 undergrad years completed; earning an overall undergrad GPA of 3.45 in the major. GS-09 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: To qualify, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-7) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized Experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as: Interpreting regulations and applying laws required to evaluate and recommend determinations of eligibility; Evaluate and develop evidence to make eligibility determinations regarding educational benefits, in order to complete claims under delegated authority; AND Communicate effectively in person, via phone, or electronically to explain education program benefit entitlements and requirements all stakeholders. Education Substitution: Master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.B. or J.D., if related. Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described 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 total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information. 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 work is mostly sedentary with occasional walking and bending. Work requires lengthy periods viewing video display terminals and extensive use of computer keyboarding. 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/.

Requirements

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 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. 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.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited towards qualifications. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. All education claimed by applicants will be verified upon appointment. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript to receive credit.

How to apply

Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: Page Limit Guide Applicant guidance on the two-page resume limit Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, & click Edit my application. This will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. Complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 08/31/2026 to receive consideration. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. Click to preview the application questionnaire. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. To view the announcement status or your application status: Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.