Program Specialist
What you'd do
This position is in the VA Regional Office. The incumbent is assigned to the Office of the Director and reports to the Assistant Director. The incumbent serves as a Program Specialist responsible for providing performance management and technical support for the regional office HR program. The incumbent is the key advisor to the Director and the Division Chiefs on all human resources issues and coordinates directly with the HR Center.
Major duties
Specific duties include: Assist the staff and managers to develop and implement policies, procedures, and guidelines which institute processes for work to run as effectively and efficiently as possible. Tracks any lag time with recruitment or classification actions. Provides solutions to management on how to improve processing times for recruitment actions. Provides technical advice and assistance and disseminates human resource information to organization. Review's classification standards, guides, to assist and coordinate classification assignments. Coordinate new hire pre-employment functions, separations, and retirements. Assists in the development of initiatives to improve management processes and systems using the most efficient utilization of human resources. Reviews and provides solutions to issues and topics where local factors contradict established policy or procedures. Provides advice and assistance in the areas of discipline, adverse actions, grievances, performance management and recognition, employee counseling, and related functions. Review, analyze, and advise managers and employees on performance, awards, and recognition. Completes technical review, analysis and collaboration among internal and external stakeholders to ensure accurate processing and distribution of Workman's Compensation claims and reasonable accommodation requests. 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, GS-11, GS-12. Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday- Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 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; PD39563A, PD39564A, and PD39565A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required. Bargaining Unit: No
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:08/03/2026. 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-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. For a GS-12 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 level. NOTE: All current or former Federal employees must provide a copy of their SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one), The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. "Notice of Personnel Action" that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position, title, series, grade, step, tenure (1 or 2), and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). 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: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience at least the next lower grade level (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: assisting with the administration of federal human resources programs by applying established rules, regulations, policies, and procedures; compiling and tracking HR-related data (e.g., personnel actions, leave records, or staffing metrics) to support office operations; and responding to routine inquiries from employees and supervisors on general HR and administrative matters under regular supervision. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assist employees with advice on a variety of rules, regulations, and practices pertaining to human resources. Provide guidance and explanations of the organization's policies, procedures, and guidelines to leaders and employees. Provide advice regarding appropriate levels on personnel actions. OR Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education, you must have: a Master's or equivalent graduate degree, if related (You must provide transcripts); OR Two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.B. or J.D., if related (You must provide transcripts) OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-09 level. Equivalent combinations of (1) specialized experience and (2) Master's or equivalent graduate education. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify. GS-11 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience at least the next lower grade level (GS-09) 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. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-9 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: administering or coordinating one or more human resources program areas by applying federal HR rules, regulations, policies, and procedures; analyzing HR-related administrative processes and recommending improvements; and providing guidance to employees and supervisors on a variety of HR and program functions (e.g., staffing support, benefits administration, records management, or workforce data reporting) with limited supervision. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Provide advisory services to leaders and employees on a range of human resources concepts, laws, and policies; Assist leadership in solving a range of complex problems and issues; Participate in policy development groups or projects based on broad organizational requirements. OR Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education, you must have: Three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or LL.M., if related. OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-11 level. Equivalent combinations of (1) specialized experience and (2) PH.D graduate 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% to qualify. (The applicant's first 2 years of graduate study are not qualifying for GS-11.) GS-12 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience which was at the GS-11 level and must have been held in the Federal Government. Specialized experience is defined as: independently managing or overseeing human resources program functions by interpreting and applying federal rules, regulations, policies, and procedures; providing authoritative guidance and advice to employees, supervisors, and management officials on complex or sensitive HR and administrative program issues; developing or revising internal procedures to improve program operations; and serving as a technical point of contact or subject matter expert on HR program matters with minimal oversight. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Provide advice and guidance in the areas of classification and staffing and recruitment; Defending agency actions in front of a 3rd party hearing (FLRA, MSPB); Experience as the chief negotiator in labor negotiations. There is no education substitution for the GS-12 level. 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: Work is primarily sedentary but may require walking and standing during training sessions. 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/.
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