Summary The position serves as a Program Support Assistant assigned to the Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support (SAMS) Program under the Chief, Social Work or Social Work Executive at the VA medical facility as a primary person responsible for the facility SAMS Program. SAMS's focus is to provide personalized, supportive services to families, caregivers and survivors at the end of a Veteran's life and ensure Veterans without identified family receive dignified burials to honor their service Responsibilities Duties include but not limited to: Developing VA medical facility SAMS (Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support) standard operating procedure which includes written procedures for clinical staff or health care provider to notify SAMS staff or the Health Administrative Specialist on Duty (HOD), chaplain, and social work staff of Veteran deaths. Ensuring the offer bereaved family member(s) information on funeral, interment and survivors' benefits, and referral to VBA or NCA to access benefits. Ensuring remains are assessed for unclaimed determination and recommending the appropriate disposition to the VA medical facility Director Ability to schedule and prepare for appointments, briefings, and/or conferences. Determines the nature of the needs of callers and walk-in customers pertaining to questions about the SAMS,VHA, VBA. Ability to provide excellent customer service to Active Service Members and others in need of program assistance. Develops rapport and maintains effective relationship with medical center personnel at all levels. Work Schedule: 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday - Friday, subject to change depending on the needs of the agency Telework: This position may be authorized for Ad Hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Support Assistant/PD115700 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-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. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/06/2026. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Developing VA medical facility SAMS (Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support) standard operating procedure which includes written procedures for clinical staff or health care provider to notify SAMS staff or the Health Administrative Specialist on Duty (HOD), chaplain, and social work staff of Veteran deaths. Ensuring the offer bereaved family member(s) information on funeral, interment and survivors' benefits, and referral to VBA or NCA to access benefits. Ensuring remains are assessed for unclaimed determination and recommending the appropriate disposition to the VA medical facility Director. Ability to schedule and prepare for appointments, briefings, and/or conferences. Determines the nature of the needs of callers and walk-in customers pertaining to questions about the SAMS,VHA, VBA. Ability to provide excellent customer service to Active Service Members and others in need of program assistance. 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 physical environment of the work is primarily performed in an administrative office setting that is frequented by staff and clients. The position will perform some tasks in other offices, rooms and on station buildings, such as the morgue and community funeral homes and other organizations which provide mortuary and burial services. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.