Program Specialist
What you'd do
This position is located in the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Boston Regional Office, Veterans Readiness and Employment (VR&E) division. The incumbent is responsible for managing the coordination and accomplishment of the planning, scope, development, design, and direction of the programs VR&E provides Veterans and their dependents. Assists the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRC) and the Employment Coordinators (EC) with technical management of the VR&E case load.
Major duties
Specific duties include: Performs management and/or program support work such as program or office planning, evaluation of programs or issues, training program administration, correspondence control, liaison, or special projects. Evaluates, processes, or makes recommendations for effective organizational changes. Performs organizational analysis for changes in the functional areas of division. Assimilates data for the VR&E Officer and develops graphs and charts for Quarterly Briefings, Trip Packs, and other technical reports. Compiles and controls monthly reports from professional and para-professional staffers. Assists with program oversight within the VR&E division via management directed studies and implementation of the division's workload management plan. Researches and analyzes problems and/or issues of program requirements. Reviews information, reconciles conflicting data, and devises new or modified methods to analyze findings. Analyzes and prepares program status reports for review at all levels. Responsible for internal controls and Division SAOs. Plans and accomplishes special projects. Performs a variety of duties related to special projects involving program issues that contain complicating elements and processing documentation. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: 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; PD418230 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required.
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:08/27/2026. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: As a current/former Federal, GS employee you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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-11 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least None. The grade may have been in any occupation and 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. You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50 that indicates proof of status (career, career-conditional, or excepted service), time-in-grade requirements have been met, and identifies your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate possession of time-in-grade requirements. In this instance, you must also submit your most recent Promotion or Within Grade Increase SF-50, or a Promotion or Within Grade Increase SF-50 that indicates the highest grade/step previously held. DO NOT submit Award SF-50s and/or General Adjustment SF-50s as they cannot be used to verify time-in-grade. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-11 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as work that demonstrates a practical knowledge of the principles, techniques, and methodologies of adult education. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to: Applying analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to the Veterans Readiness & Employment program issues and studies; Utilizing Excel macro coding to prepare detailed charts, fact sheets, issue and/or decision papers, and other documents; Creating and maintaining the report tracker ensure program objectives and milestones are achieved; Providing advice and guidance on laws, regulations, policies, and precedents that affect work processes and operations; and Conducting analysis of issues, work functions, and/or work processes for improvement identification and implementation. OR Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have earned a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (including LL.M. if related) or have completed three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position (must submit transcripts). OR 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 primarily sedentary. There may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying light items and shall involve travel to other locations. 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/.
Before you apply
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