What are the responsibilities and job description for the Veterans Service Rep (Authorizer). position at Veterans Benefits Administration?
Duties
As a Veterans Service Representative in the Military Sexual Trauma (MST) Operations Center, the incumbent is responsible for processing and authorizing claims for VA benefits and works as a member of one of the MST teams.
Primary responsibilities include serving as the authorizer for claims; explaining benefit programs and entitlement criteria; conducting interviews and hearings; identifying issues, gathering relevant evidence, and adjudicating disability claims; inputting data necessary to generate the disability award and notification letter to veterans and claimants and their representatives describing the decision and the reason for it into various electronic data processing (EDP) systems; providing guidance on interpreting laws, regulations, and guidance; and, as required, serving as an advocate for veterans and their families.
Additional Tasks Include
Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Remote: Yes
Position Description/PD#: Veterans Service Representative Authorizer GS-11: 02105A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Bargaining Unit: No
Salary: The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the 2026 "Rest of US" Pay table. The actual salary range will be based on the applicable locality pay for the actual duty location. View the
Requirements
Conditions of employment
Additional Conditions Of Employment Are As Follows
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement10/22/2026.
TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: As a current Federal, GS employee, you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-10 level or higher.
Specialized Experience Is Defined As
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.
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; religious; 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
Education
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Education must be accredited by an
Note: 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.
Additional information
VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified, you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at
Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP),
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request an RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received before starting the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement.
To determine if you need a RA, please review the
For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
As a Veterans Service Representative in the Military Sexual Trauma (MST) Operations Center, the incumbent is responsible for processing and authorizing claims for VA benefits and works as a member of one of the MST teams.
Primary responsibilities include serving as the authorizer for claims; explaining benefit programs and entitlement criteria; conducting interviews and hearings; identifying issues, gathering relevant evidence, and adjudicating disability claims; inputting data necessary to generate the disability award and notification letter to veterans and claimants and their representatives describing the decision and the reason for it into various electronic data processing (EDP) systems; providing guidance on interpreting laws, regulations, and guidance; and, as required, serving as an advocate for veterans and their families.
Additional Tasks Include
- Make determinations as to the eligibility for the type of benefit sought, to include questions relating to adequacy of military service, medical evidence, and the evaluation of evidence of income, employability, dependence, and relationship
- Request examinations, re-examinations, or opinions to evaluate disabilities resulting from diseases or injuries
- Review claims cases to assure all issues have been addressed, applies and interprets VA laws, including veterans' case law, existing statutes and procedures, precedent rulings and state law in the adjudication process
- May conduct interviews in person or by phone with veterans, representatives and advocates to explain the full range of VA benefits and related programs
- Prepare and release correspondence for use by other federal, state and local agencies
- Utilize various electronic data processing systems to input data for processing claims and generating automated correspondence.
- Adjudicate award actions for compensation benefits to include release of retroactive, suspended, resumed, or terminated awards. - Authorizes, reviews, and approves the pending award action for technical accuracy, clarity, and thoroughness.
- Prepares Statements of the Case for authorization appeals.
- Prepares administrative decisions relating to Character of Discharge (COD), contested claims, line of duty, administrative error, etc.
- Mentors and develops Veteran Service Representative (VSR) Trainees
Work Schedule: Full-time, Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Remote: Yes
Position Description/PD#: Veterans Service Representative Authorizer GS-11: 02105A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Bargaining Unit: No
Salary: The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the 2026 "Rest of US" Pay table. The actual salary range will be based on the applicable locality pay for the actual duty location. View the
Requirements
Conditions of employment
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
- 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.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement10/22/2026.
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-11 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-10 level.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-10 level or higher.
Specialized Experience Is Defined As
- The ability to request relevant medical or administrative evidence to make eligibility determinations.
- Experience analyzing medical evidence, benefit and/or legal evidence to identify and recognize required actions for claim development and adjudication.
- Experience in explaining program benefit entitlements and requirements.
- Technical assignments related to claims or benefits processing or eligibility determinations.
- The interpretation of laws, rules and/or regulations and the analysis of documents to determine eligibility for benefits, quality assurance or perform auditor functions.
- Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. (Must submit transcripts.)
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.
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; religious; 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
Education
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Education must be accredited by an
Note: 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.
Additional information
VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified, you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at
Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP),
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request an RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received before starting the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency-Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement.
To determine if you need a RA, please review the
For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.