Veterans Service Representative (FSR)

Summary

The Veterans Service Representative (Fiduciary Service Representative) is responsible for making factual quasi-legal and subjective determinations involved in the administration of all types of beneficiary estates, the protection of their benefit rights, the routine handling of legal matters, and the identification of legal questions. The incumbent also has knowledge of benefit programs and entitlement criteria, inputs data necessary togenerate an award and authorizes payments.

Duties

• This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Louisville, KY Regional Office (VARO), Fiduciary Hub. The incumbent serves as the Fiduciary Service Representative (FSR) for the division. The FSR is responsible for making factual quasi-legal and subjective determinations involved in the administration of all types of beneficiary estates, the protection of their benefit rights, the routine handling of legal matters, and the identification of legal questions. The FSR also has knowledge of benefit programs and entitlement criteria, inputs data necessary to complete a final rating of competency, generates awards and authorizes payments. Specific duties are as follows: Analyzes and makes the final determination of the competency of veterans and other VA beneficiaries and provides the final notification of the determination. Generates the award for the retroactive payment release, once a fiduciary is established, as well as other award actions needed by the Fiduciary Program. Authorizes, reviews and approves the pending award action for technical accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness. Insures that estate protection is in place, when appropriate, before releasing large retroactive payments and in other cases where the VA beneficiary's funds may not be adequately protected. Prepares Statements of the Case (SOC) on Fiduciary Program appeals. Provides training to other members of the Fiduciary Hub, VARO employees, service organization personnel, and other stakeholders, as needed. Serves as a Veterans Service Representative (VSR) and Legal Instruments Examiner (LIE) expert and provides technical guidance in regard to the rating, generation and authorization of Fiduciary Program awards. Utilizes various electronic data processing (EDP) systems for processing, monitoring, and correspondence preparation. Communicates directly with VA beneficiaries, eligible individuals, representatives, and advocates to explain the full range of VA benefits and all related programs. Gives final approval of accounts received from guardians, attorneys, legal custodians, or chief officers of state institutions except those showing a major account deficiency which cannot be remedied by correspondence. Approval is only given if the accounting is proper in every respect including commissions and/or fees within statutory or policy limits. Advises fiduciaries of regulations, necessary documentation and other factors which affect computation of income for VA purposes. Prepares reports for guardians in those cases in which VA is rendering legal services. Refers to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), accounts in which there is a possible indication of fraud, embezzlement or other criminal offense. Performs 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. The grade progression for this position is GS-11. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Compressed/Flexible: Available upon successful completion of training. 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#: Veterans Service Representative (Fiduciary Service Representative)39713A & 37530A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Bargaining Unit: Yes

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:09/21/2026. 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-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9 level. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-10 level. If you are a current VBA employee requesting reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS- 10 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-10 Grade Level: Specialized Experience Requirement include but are not limited to: GS-10 Specialized Experience: One year of Specialized Experience which is equivalent to the GS-09 level. Specialized experience is defined as experience Applying federal, state, and local laws regarding benefit programs; Conducting interviews to evaluate eligibility for benefits and services; Applying state laws pertaining to conservatorship and estate administration; and/or Knowledge of fiduciary and field examination programs sufficient to protect beneficiary's assets; OR Education substitution of 21⁄2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in degree in Business, Management, Economics, Finance, or another degree with coursework that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do this work of this position. Graduate level courses must demonstrate your education has provided you the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position (as described in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement). OR, Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-10 level. Only graduate education in excess of two full years can be used to combine with experience. The combination of experience and education must total at least one year. [To compute your combined total, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education by 45. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify. Specialized Experience Requirement include but are not limited to: GS-11 Specialized Experience: One year of Specialized Experience which is equivalent to the GS-10 level. Specialized experience is defined as comprehensive experience: Applying federal, state, and local laws regarding benefit programs; Conducting interviews to evaluate eligibility for benefits and services; Evaluating supporting evidence to determine eligibility leading to entitlement of awarding of benefit; Applying state laws pertaining to conservatorship and estate administration and/or Knowledge of fiduciary and field examination programs sufficient to protect beneficiary's assets OR Education substitution of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in Business, Management, Economics, Finance, or another degree with coursework that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do this work of this position; or an LL.M., if related. Graduate level courses must demonstrate your education has provided you the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position (as described in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement). OR, Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-11 level. Only education beyond the first two and a half years hours of graduate study may be used to combine with experience. To compute, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education by 45. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify. NOTE: All Education claimed by applicants must be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. Official or Unofficial transcripts must be submitted for all education claimed. 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. 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 normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. The work is mostly sedentary; however, there may be some walking, standing, and carrying of light items. 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 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 Required to attend an 8 week training session, which may require travel. VSR Skill Certification required at the GS-10 level 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. 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 required 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 09/21/2026 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. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click 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 on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: USA Jobs Help Center - Resume Page Limit Applicant Guidance on the Two-Page Resume Limit