What are the responsibilities and job description for the Contact Representative position at VHA Central Office - Member Services?
The scope of the Health Eligibility Center (HEC), Enrollment Case Management expanded to include support of the veterans' healthcare enrollment system. This support entails assessing and verifying veterans' eligibility status, processing enrollment applications and supporting the Enrollment Case Management, HEC Management.
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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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.
Provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" to indicate your current federal status. You must also submit additional SF-50(s) to clearly demonstrate one year time-in-grade as required in the announcement. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one year time-in-grade. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade.
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.
AND
You may qualify based on your education/experience/combination as described below.
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
GS-07 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as (1) completing financial assessments to determine eligibility for medical benefits/enrollment; (2) performing research on complex inquiries related to medical benefits/enrollment; (3) preparing written case notes based on interactions with customers/patients in a computerized database; (4) managing the flow of telephone calls, identify caller's issues, and providing appropriate responses; and (5) performing in-depth research and interpretation of federal regulations, polices, and procedures as they relate to medical benefits.
GS-06 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as (1) providing guidance to patients/customers on laws, regulations, policies, and procedures; (2) processing requests to update customer/patient information in a computer database.(3) performing telephone calls in a high-volume response environment (i.e. customer call center); (4) resolving conflicting or inconsistent information in customer/patient files; and (5) managing time and work effectively.
GS-05 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as (1) ability to research and apply knowledge on regulations, policies, and/or procedures; (2) preparing oral/written responses to internal and external customers; (3) performing data entry in various computer systems; (4) providing customer service to customers/patients; and (5) providing instructions to customers/patients; OR
Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4 years above high school; 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 one full-time year of academic study. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
Additional Assessment Requirements: Executive Order (EO) 14170, Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service ("Restoring Merit"), and the Chance to Compete Act of 2024, require agencies to "incorporate skills-based and competency-based technical assessments" into the Federal hiring process.
To ensure that Federal jobs are filled based on merit and competence. Every hiring process across the competitive service, or any process otherwise subject to competitive hiring, must include at least one technical or alternative assessment before issuance of the certificate. This announcement requires the submission of an Accomplishment Record Assessment, which measures knowledge, skills, abilities, or competencies.
Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties.
To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above.
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.
Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.
For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp.
The initial application review cut-off for this job announcement is 50 applications. The first 50 applications received will be considered first. Applications received after the initial cut-off number (50 applications) may not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management. If management requests additional certificates, applicants will continue to be reviewed in groups of 50 in the order they applied.
Note: Submitting multiple applications will change the order in which your application is reviewed.
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: Full time, 40 hours per week/8 hours per shift, hours of operation are 6:45am-7:15pm CST. Tour of duty based on organizational needs and determined by seniority, most new employees will work evening, and night. Official tour of duty will be selected based on business needs and will start after training is completed.
Remote: This position is not authorized for Remote work.
Telework: This position may be authorized for Telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This position is not authorized for Virtual Work.
Definition of Virtual work: Employee works outside of original hiring duty station at VA-owned or leased space.
Return to Office (RTO): RTO mandates are in affect and selectees will be required to report to in person work unless they have an approved exemption already in place.
Position Description/PD#: Contact Representative/PD06813A, PD06812A, and PD06811A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
Duties:
Qualifications:
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2026.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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. 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.
Provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" to indicate your current federal status. You must also submit additional SF-50(s) to clearly demonstrate one year time-in-grade as required in the announcement. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one year time-in-grade. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade.
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.
AND
You may qualify based on your education/experience/combination as described below.
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
GS-07 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as (1) completing financial assessments to determine eligibility for medical benefits/enrollment; (2) performing research on complex inquiries related to medical benefits/enrollment; (3) preparing written case notes based on interactions with customers/patients in a computerized database; (4) managing the flow of telephone calls, identify caller's issues, and providing appropriate responses; and (5) performing in-depth research and interpretation of federal regulations, polices, and procedures as they relate to medical benefits.
GS-06 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as (1) providing guidance to patients/customers on laws, regulations, policies, and procedures; (2) processing requests to update customer/patient information in a computer database.(3) performing telephone calls in a high-volume response environment (i.e. customer call center); (4) resolving conflicting or inconsistent information in customer/patient files; and (5) managing time and work effectively.
GS-05 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as (1) ability to research and apply knowledge on regulations, policies, and/or procedures; (2) preparing oral/written responses to internal and external customers; (3) performing data entry in various computer systems; (4) providing customer service to customers/patients; and (5) providing instructions to customers/patients; OR
Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 4 years above high school; 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 one full-time year of academic study. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
- Computer Skills
- Organizational Awareness
- Oral Communication
- Writing
- Manages and Organizes Information
Additional Assessment Requirements: Executive Order (EO) 14170, Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service ("Restoring Merit"), and the Chance to Compete Act of 2024, require agencies to "incorporate skills-based and competency-based technical assessments" into the Federal hiring process.
To ensure that Federal jobs are filled based on merit and competence. Every hiring process across the competitive service, or any process otherwise subject to competitive hiring, must include at least one technical or alternative assessment before issuance of the certificate. This announcement requires the submission of an Accomplishment Record Assessment, which measures knowledge, skills, abilities, or competencies.
Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties.
To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above.
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.
Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.
For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp.
Responsibilities:
This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available. Applications will remain on file until September 30, 2027.The initial application review cut-off for this job announcement is 50 applications. The first 50 applications received will be considered first. Applications received after the initial cut-off number (50 applications) may not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management. If management requests additional certificates, applicants will continue to be reviewed in groups of 50 in the order they applied.
Note: Submitting multiple applications will change the order in which your application is reviewed.
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: Full time, 40 hours per week/8 hours per shift, hours of operation are 6:45am-7:15pm CST. Tour of duty based on organizational needs and determined by seniority, most new employees will work evening, and night. Official tour of duty will be selected based on business needs and will start after training is completed.
Remote: This position is not authorized for Remote work.
Telework: This position may be authorized for Telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This position is not authorized for Virtual Work.
Definition of Virtual work: Employee works outside of original hiring duty station at VA-owned or leased space.
Return to Office (RTO): RTO mandates are in affect and selectees will be required to report to in person work unless they have an approved exemption already in place.
Position Description/PD#: Contact Representative/PD06813A, PD06812A, and PD06811A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
Duties:
- Provide guidance to other organization representatives on the regulations, policies, and procedures as they relate to eligibility for income-based healthcare benefits.
- Conduct calls in a high-volume environment.
- Update patient information in an electronic patient record database.
- Independently determine extent of replies, factual accuracy, style, format, whether certain information may be furnished for requests for information.
- Prepare written responses on a broad spectrum of complex inquiries from internal and external customers.
Salary : $34,799