Insurance Specialist

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 10/26/2026. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade at 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-05 level. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level.

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. 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. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: GS-07 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level or higher.

Specialized experience is defined as: (1) applying established laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and guidelines to perform assignments; (2) reviewing information and records to identify issues and determine appropriate actions; (3) providing customer service and responding to routine inquiries; (4) communicating with internal and external stakeholders; and (5) using sound judgment to resolve routine problems or refer more complex matters to the appropriate individual.

OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have: One full year of graduate level education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position. OR 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.

Combining Education &

01Experience

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. GS-09 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level or higher.

Specialized experience is defined as: (1) knowledge of legal and regulatory basis of the VA Insurance laws, programs, practices, methods, and technologies sufficient to perform assignments independently using procedures that are conventional and apply to most situations; and (2) knowledge of Insurance Service's organization and operations and familiarity with the work processes of organizations with which the VA Insurance program must coordinate its operations.

OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have: A master's or equivalent graduate degree in an accredited or pre-accredited college or university; OR 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or possession of an LL.B. or J.D degree, if related. Graduate-level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position. Combining Education &

02Experience

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; 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. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

03Physical Requirements

The position is primarily in an office setting. Some travel may be necessary on occasion for training, meetings, or customer interactions. 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/.

Reviews work items, suspense payment actions, and out of balance policies. Assesses policy billing, transaction history, liabilities, and funds in suspense. Conducts complex policy and loan audits and calculates complex refund actions to determine appropriate allocation of funds on a policy to bring the account current, to resolve or establish indebtedness. Completes system actions and, when applicable calculates, interest prior to releasing a payment, establishing a lien, or developing to recoup funds.

Responsible for processing returned payments, completing research and development to locate payees and proper application of funds. Prepares and releases correspondence to customers which explain policy actions and money due or owed. Conducts research and development of information into missing government checks initiated by the Department of Veterans Affairs Insurance program regarding inquiries to the Treasury Department.

Initiates status of checks through the TCIS (Treasury Check Information System) to determine the status of funds available and refund the available funds. If funds are determined to be unavailable, the incumbent determines whether fraudulent activity or an incorrect payee was involved. Research, contacts and interacts with the Veteran and the Check Claims Department of the Treasury. If an incorrect payee is involved, the incumbent initiates recovery of funds.

Coordinates with peers and supervisors throughout the workday to resolve complex policy issues and ensure timely completion of priority workload. Responsible for processing loan and cash surrenders actions, processing underwriting applications such as reinstatements and conversions, and overdue dividend payments. Receives control listings to be reviewed, suspense payment lists, suspended accounts list, billing alter policies, which are audited and corrected.

Reviews and adjusts policies regarding Allotment and Deduction from Benefit billing payment, correcting the policy balance and paid to information. This includes, but is not limited to, disbursement of dividends held on account, reinstatement of lapsed insurance, calculating monetary requirements for reinstatements of lapsed or automatically surrendered insurance, auditing years of activity (premiums and loans), and missing check processing.