Financial Administrative Specialist

Full Job Description

This position is located within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Debt Management Center (DMC), Veterans Experience Division (VED), within the Office of Finance (OF), Office of Management (OM).

The primary purpose of this position is to assist Veterans, their spouses, dependents and designees through an inbound contact center on issues related to debt management.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/10/2026.

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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05.

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.

See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-05: GS-05 General Experience: You must have one year of General experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-04.

General experience is defined as: Analyze problems to identify significant factors, gather pertinent data, and recognize solutions; Plan and organize work; and Communicate effectively orally and in writing.

or GS-05 Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience.

To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree.

or GS-05 Combination of Education and Experience: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.

You must have a combination of general experience and education beyond 2 academic years above high school.

GS-07: GS-07 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: Reviewing, analyzing, or verifying financial account information to identify discrepancies, resolve routine issues, or determine appropriate corrective actions.

Applying policies, procedures, or regulations to account-related decisions such as payment processing, billing adjustments, collections activities, benefit offsets, or repayment plans.

Communicating with customers, account holders, or stakeholders to explain account actions, obtain missing information, clarify issues, or respond to inquiries.

Using computer systems, case-management tools, or financial databases to research, update, and document account information accurately.

Gathering and evaluating information to make recommendations, document findings, or resolve account-related problems or GS-07 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 GS-07 Combination of Education and Experience: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.

You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Oral Communication Computer Skills Veteran and Customer Focus Problem Solving Stress Tolerance Task-Management 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.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary in nature.

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/.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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 meet the well-qualified criteria below: Independently evaluates and resolves complex financial account situations by analyzing account data, identifying discrepancies, and verbally communicating recommended actions clearly to customers while applying applicable policies and guidelines.

Applies comprehensive knowledge of financial principles, regulatory requirements, and organizational policies to address non-routine or sensitive account issues and effectively explain resolutions or options to customers during live interactions.

Evaluates and interprets financial data from multiple systems or sources to identify discrepancies, recommend corrective actions, and ensure accuracy and compliance with internal controls and standard operating procedures.

Provides clear, professional, and customer-focused oral communication during customer interactions ensuring complex financial information or decisions are explained in an understandable and empathetic manner.

Manages a full range of account maintenance actions with minimal supervision, ensuring timely and accurate processing of transactions such as payment plans, benefit offsets, adjustments, and account updates.

Exercises sound judgment, prioritization skills, and initiative in a high-volume environment, effectively managing workload, adapting to changing demands, maintaining professional communication, and escalating issues when appropriate.

Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Major Duties:

The initial application review cut-off for this job announcement is 100 applications. The first 100 applications received will be considered first.

Applications received after the initial cut-off number (100 applications) may not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management.

If management requests additional certificates, applicants will continue to be reviewed in groups of 100 in the order they applied.

Note: Submitting multiple applications will change the order in which your application is reviewed. Major Duties: Services incoming calls in a contact center environment utilizing telephony system.

Independently handles calls related to debt collection activities.

Provides technical direction and guidance to Veterans, family members, care givers, their designated representatives, and School Certifying Officials on debt collection related topics.

Analyzes financial data and situations to determine appropriate action such as establishment of benefit offset, payment plan, and on-line payments.

Ensures all financial maintenance actions are performed in accordance with VA debt collection laws, financial policies, and standard operating procedures.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 9:30am - 6:00pm (Selected candidates will be eligible for tour bidding which occurs twice annually.

Tours are awarded based on a seniority basis during the tour bidding period) Compressed/Flexible: Not available Virtual: This is a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: PD03452A and PD03453A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required This position involves a multi-grade career ladder.

The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-09. At the GS-05/07 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence.

You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-09.

Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds.

Promotion is not guaranteed and no promise of promotion is implied.