Program Specialist
What you'd do
As a Program Specialist in the Veteran Readiness & Employment Division (VR&E), is responsible for administrative and technical work, managing the efficient and effective coordination and accomplishment of the programs VR&E provides to servicemembers and their dependents. Responsible for assisting the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRC) and the Employment Coordinators (EC) with technical management of the VR&E caseload and aiding Veteran clients.
Major duties
The Major duties of the Program Specialist: Oversees the management, control, and execution of office programs, develop action plans to achieve established goals, assess program effectiveness, and coordinate with various stakeholders and entities to ensure program success. Offers program specifications guidance to Veterans, managers, staff, and representatives from other Federal agencies, as well as developing support agreements and Memoranda of Understanding with other Federal agencies while ensuring compliance with the agreements. Organizes the procurement of services and evaluates invoices in accordance with the contract's requirements. Conducts outreach assistance to candidates, providing program information, assessing candidates' eligibility for the program, and making referrals for placement. Represents the organization in engaging with community elements to garner support for the VA Program, organizing and participating in community outreach programs, visiting medical facilities and conferences to inform the public about the program and its services, as well as facilitating group orientation sessions and scheduling Veterans while providing information on eligibility and benefits entitlement. Develops and recommends programming decisions that impact long and short-range goals, ensuring the accomplishment of individual program objectives and milestones within the overall program objectives, compliance, and analyzing program information data to provide a comprehensive assessment of the program. Prepares and responds to program-related correspondence, creating briefing charts, fact sheets, and issue papers, marketing the program through design of brochures, and flyers, attending high-level meetings with key stakeholders to coordinate, explain, and provide guidance on the program, serving as an expert and primary point of contact for the assigned program, and keeping management informed of program progress, issues, and resolutions. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday- Friday, 8:00AM - 4:30PM. 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; PD417080 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized . Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required. 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-9/11.
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:08/07/2026. 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 level position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. 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 equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as work that involves: Experience working with Veterans Readiness and Employment Chapter 31 and Chapter 36 programs; Experience working with contracting practices and procedures; Experience working with Veterans Readiness and Employment operations. OR Education Substitution: Education GS-9: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a 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. Note: Transcripts Required; OR Combination GS-9: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-9 level. Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels specified in the table and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9. (When crediting education that requires specific course work, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.) Your transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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. Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary. There may be some walking, standing, bending and carrying light items and shall involve travel to other locations. 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. 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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