Program Specialist - Survivor Assistance and Memorial Support

The purpose of the position is to manage the day-to-day business of the Survivor Assistance and Memorial Support (SAMS) Program at the VA Medical Center in Saginaw, MI.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/20/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

GS-7:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: experience in policies and procedures; experience in Solving procedural issues within established guidelines; experience in data and quality management; experience in customer service. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education post high-school.
• Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): I meet the qualification requirements for this position using SAA. I have completed all the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled and I meet one of the following:
  • Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university or major subdivision.
  • A grade-point average of "B" (a GPA of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study.
  • A grade point average of "B " (a GPA of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study.
  • Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. For a list of recognized honor societies please visit http://www.achsnatl.org/quick_link.asp.

GS-9:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: experience in patient/ family care and interaction; experience in writing policies and procedures; experience in data analysis, preparing reports and presenting information; experience in facilitating access to community resources. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have master's or equivalent graduate degree in a related field of the position to be filled or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related.. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 1 full year of graduate level education.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Responsibilities:

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Advises Veterans and their next-of kin (NOK) of burial benefits.
• Helps Veterans and next-of-kin prearrange burial, interment, cremation, as desired by Veteran.
• Advises surviving relatives about burial benefits and other potential benefits provided by VA.
• Incumbent follows procedures in accordance with Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and National Cemetery Administration (NCA) policy, and ensures implementation of policy and procedures for all persons involved in the SAMS Program at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Incumbent assists and makes recommendations for local program policies and procedures to ensure that quality provisions are planned, developed, and implemented to identify, prevent, and correct unsatisfactory conditions and elements which influence the correctness and responsiveness of transactions and services.
• Incumbent works closely with facility Palliative Care/ Bereavement Program Coordinator to provide support for Veterans and families at end-of life and immediately following death; to promote quality end-of-life care; to provide death, funeral, and burial benefit information; and to review and develop action plans and process improvements related to quantitative and qualitative reporting from the Bereaved Family Survey.

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.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist - Survivor Assistance and Memorial Support/PD91631S and PD91630S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Salary : $50,460