Program Support Assistant (TIMS Clerk)

Veterans Benefits Administration•Buffalo, NY

10d•Onsite

About The Position

The Program Support Assistant (TIMS Clerk) works in the Buffalo Regional Processing Office for Education Benefits, ensuring incoming material is placed in the The Image Management System (TIMS). The role processes and indexes incoming mail and documents, maintains claimant records and controls across multiple VA systems, and supports document scanning, quality review, and workflow management. The employee also assists and trains staff and performs additional duties as assigned. The position is scheduled Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is based at the official duty station, with situational (ad hoc) telework possible only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval; routine or recurring telework is not authorized. This is not a virtual position. The work is generally sedentary, involving sitting, with occasional walking, standing, bending, and carrying light items. Carts are used to move large numbers of claims folders, requiring pushing or pulling a cart. No special physical demands are required.

Requirements

For current Federal GS employees, meet the time-in-grade requirement of 52 weeks at the GS-05 level by the announcement closing date; submit an SF-50 demonstrating eligibility.
Have one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-05, such as using computers, software applications, and databases for data entry, sorting and retrieval, data analysis, research, monitoring, and preparation of correspondence and reports.
Be a U.S. citizen.
Register with Selective Service if male and born after December 31, 1959.
Meet applicable background and security investigation requirements and complete online onboarding and employment eligibility verification.
Full-time work is considered at least 35 hours per week; part-time experience is prorated and must include average weekly hours on the resume.
No educational substitutions are available for the GS-06 level.

Responsibilities

Index incoming mail and documents into TIMS; review full claims packages, assign document types, and establish required controls and records across multiple VA systems.
Create, update, and manage claimant records, including establishing TIMSC files, validating identifiers, and ensuring proper dates of claim.
Identify, route, and determine jurisdictions for incoming mail, including unidentifiable or misrouted correspondence, and return incomplete forms when necessary.
Scan and batch paper documents and conduct quality reviews of documents converted to electronic format to ensure clarity and readiness for indexing.
Research and correct errors in claimant information or misfiled documents, including deleting, merging, or transferring records across BON, TIMS, and related systems.
Support workflow management by preparing workload reports, managing folder transfers, maintaining logs and repositories, and generating folder prints as needed.
Train, mentor, and assist new staff; provide procedural guidance, troubleshoot file issues, and contribute process-improvement suggestions.
Perform additional duties as assigned.