Field Examiner

Summary

As a Field Examiner, you will safeguard the financial interests and well-being of Veterans and beneficiaries who cannot independently manage their funds. You'll conduct field examinations, appoint and oversee fiduciaries, and investigate misuse or fraud. This position is designated as mobile work. Mobile work is a condition of employment and is characterized by routine and regular travel to conduct work in customer or other worksites as opposed to a single authorized alternative worksite.

Duties

• This Field Examiner position is for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, located in the Fiduciary Hub. The Field Examiner (FE) determines the payee (fiduciary), best suited to the needs and situation of VA beneficiaries, who are incompetent due to legal disability, mental disability, physical disability or minority. The Field Examiner ensures that beneficiaries receive all the benefits they are entitled to, and takes necessary actions to protect their assets. Performs visits to veterans and beneficiaries to evaluate physical and mental conditions or capacity; independently determine ability to handle or manage funds. Conducts field examinations to determine who to appoint as fiduciaries for incompetent or minor beneficiaries. Verify the welfare and adequate living conditions of veterans under fiduciary care and make arrangements for deficiencies. Conduct background investigations on proposed fiduciaries. Reviews and reports on fiduciary performance; conduct investigations involving the misuse of VA funds. Explain laws and regulations governing fiduciary responsibilities to veteran, beneficiary and fiduciary. Investigate and make determinations on identified misuse, complaints, allegations, contested claims for benefits, special apportionments, eligibility for VA compensation, etc. Work with representatives of other Federal, State, and local police, social and protective services agencies and courts regarding the safety, protection and living conditions of veterans. Supervises veterans transitioning to financial independence under the direct pay program. 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-09/11. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday Telework: Not available. Position Description Title/PD#: Field Examiner/36002A, 35902A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Required Bargaining Unit: Yes

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: As a current Federal, GS employee you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 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- 09 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-11. 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. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-09 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 is defined as use of fact finding sources (i.e., conducting interviews, researching court records, etc.) to verify facts and obtain specific pieces of information; or, experience applying Federal, state and/or local laws and regulations to administer benefits programs or services; or, financial management experience for individuals or businesses. Examples include: Conducting investigations into allegations of misconduct, compiling findings, and composing reports of recommended action. Determining an applicant's eligibility for welfare programs in accordance with state laws and program regulations. Conducting professional interviews or investigations involving issues/cases such as benefit claims, workplace safety claims, employee/labor allegations, fraud, abuse, or embezzlement for the purpose of gathering factual information to make a determination. Interpretation and application of Federal, State and/or Local benefit programs (i.e. compensation/pension, healthcare, mortgage/lending, insurance, etc.) that comply with related laws, policy, regulations. Establishing and reviewing budgets for expenditures, verifying or monitoring the use of funds, and balancing or reconciling finances for individual or business. -OR- Education Substitution: A master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in Social Work, Counseling Rehabilitation, Criminal Justice, or another degree specifically related to the duties of this position which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work (submit your transcripts). -OR- Equivalent combinations of Specialized Experience and Graduate level education. To compute, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one year by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. GS-11 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 is defined as experience conducting interviews in a state and/or Federal benefit/services program capacity to obtain essential information and assess an individual's competency to make valid decisions; or, expertise in personal financial management for individuals in exceptionally unique or complex financial situations. Examples include, but are not limited to: Conducting professional interviews or investigations involving issues/cases such as benefit claims, workplace safety claims, employee/labor allegations, fraud, abuse, or embezzlement for the purpose of gathering factual information to make a determination. Establishing and reviewing budgets for expenditures, verifying or monitoring the use of funds, personal financial management, balancing or reconciling finances for disabled individuals or minors who are unable to legally manage their own accounts. Interpretation and application of Federal, State and Local benefit programs (i.e. compensation/pension, healthcare, mortgage/lending, insurance, etc.) that comply with related laws, policy, regulations. -OR- Education Substitution: A PhD. or equivalent doctoral degree or three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in Social Work, Counseling Rehabilitation, Criminal Justice, or another degree specifically related to the duties of this position which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. (submit your transcripts). -OR- Equivalent combinations of Specialized Experience and more than two years, but less than three years of education, as described above. 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. 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: This job requires driving a government owned vehicle (GOV), often very long distances, requiring overnight lodging. Some walking and climbing of stairs is required since interviews with VA beneficiaries are conducted at the residences of the beneficiaries. 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/. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:09/08/2026.

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 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 Designated and/or random drug testing may be 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 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. This position is designated as mobile work. Mobile work is a condition of employment and is characterized by routine and regular travel to conduct work in customer or other worksites as opposed to a single authorized alternative worksite. This position requires a current, valid driver's license.

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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications. 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.

How to apply

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 documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 p.m.(EST) on 09/08/2026 to receive consideration. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. 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 about two (2) 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. You may update your application documents and some questions related to your personal information at any time during the announcement open period. However, you will not be able to make changes to questions related to assessing the minimum qualifications and competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics) mentioned in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section. To make an allowed update to your application, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/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.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 also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. 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 can be found at: USA Jobs Help Center - Resume Page Limit Applicant Guidance on the Two-Page Resume Limit