Legal Administrative Specialist

Veterans Benefits Administration • Wichita, KS

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Legal Administrative Specialist (LAS) serves as a member of the Public Contact Team, located in the Veterans Service Center. The incumbent provides in-depth information and comprehensive assistance to veterans, their dependents, and beneficiaries concerning any matter within the scope of VA benefits and related non-VA benefits. 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. The grade progression for this position is GS-07/9.

Requirements

• 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 period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements I-9 Acceptable Documents.
• 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.
• 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 (unless if in the commuting area and eligible for a non-competitive hiring authority such as Schedule A, VRA, or 30% or more disabled Veterans).
• For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05.
• For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07.
• 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-07 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-9.
• 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.
• These requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement and those applying for a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.
• GS-07 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: 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. Specialized experience is defined as (1) The ability to work with direct supervision or guidance when providing customer service, benefit counseling, and claim processing. (2) The individual must possess knowledge of researching relevant subject matter. (3) The experience should be significantly and directly derived from federal, military, or the private sector. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to orating to persons from a wide variety of backgrounds regarding VA benefits programs; performing research of local, state, and Federal laws and regulations to determine Veterans' eligibility for benefits programs.
• GS-09 Grade Level: Specialized Experience : For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. Specialized experience is defined as (1) The ability to work with minimum supervision or guidance when providing customer service, benefit counseling, and claim processing. (2) The individual must possess moderate knowledge of researching relevant subject matter. (3) The experience should be significantly and directly derived from federal, military, or the private sector. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to orating to persons from a wide variety of backgrounds regarding VA benefits programs; performing research of local, state, and Federal laws and regulations to determine Veterans' eligibility for benefits programs.

Nice To Haves

• GS-07 Grade Level: Education Substitution: You may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have: One (1) full year of graduate level education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position; OR A Bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement (3.0 GPA or higher). Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) is based on: 1) class standing, 2) grade point average or 3) honor society membership. For more information on calculating SAA please visit www.opm.gov. (You must provide transcripts);
• GS-09 Grade Level: Education Substitution: You may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have: A Master's or equivalent graduate degree, 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LLB. or J.D., related fields of study. (You must provide transcripts); or a combination of the required experience and education for this grade level.
• 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.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates counseling sessions with Veterans, their dependents, and their beneficiaries face to face, regarding all benefits available through the VA, as well as non-VA benefits available through other agencies. This is accomplished through in-person or telephone interviews, and correspondence. or telephone VBA facilities and provides broad outreach services.
• Explains in detail, VBA rating decisions and provides explanations for the decisions using extensive knowledge of VA benefits and services, claim and appeal processing procedures and benefit determination information and all pertinent information available in system of record.
• Assists with programs include, but are not limited to, compensation and pension benefits, home loan eligibility, education, health care, life insurance, burial benefits, vocational rehabilitation services, general Social Security Administration benefit programs, other federal, state, and local domestic relations, and assistance programs.
• Prepares technical correspondence to veterans and their dependents providing benefit information, representation rights and response to miscellaneous inquiries.
• Explains pertinent legal provisions, regulations, and related administrative practices and their application to specific cases.
• Initiates inquiries to resolve errors, delays, or other problems in obtaining benefits.
• Completes claim and appeal related work.

Benefits

• 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.
• Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee.
• VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service.
• This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave.
• Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed