Summary This position is in the Office of Military to Civilian Readiness (M2CR) Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) located in Washington, DC. The incumbent serves as a Program Analyst within the Post Separation division and is responsible for grants management activities, including program oversight, monitoring, and compliance. The incumbent is regularly required to develop, implement, and evaluate policies, procedure, and program initiatives to ensure effective program execution. Duties
Specific duties include but are not limited to the following:
- Manages, analyzes, and evaluates on a quantitative and qualitative basis, the effectiveness of work methods and procedures, organizations, manpower utilization, distribution of work assignments, and similar function of management.
- Serves as the primary liaison between the grant program and the awarded organizations in this role
- Establishes methods to accurately report and monitor the shifting needs and trends of grants based on overall compliance monitoring and develops, identifies, and makes recommendations and/or changes on procedure.
- Provides consultation to grant funded programs, as needed, which have encountered challenges, setbacks, or obstacles. These consultations facilitate business development or ongoing operations which are preventing the project from progressing.
- Develops guidelines, instructional methods, materials, etc. related to appropriate trainings for VA staff or grantees. Provides guidance to operational projects regarding their internal training programs for grant management, developing or obtaining training aids, and selecting pertinent government and non-government training resources. Develops, updates, and implements internal procedures on the business management of grants.
- Reviews change of scope requests from grantees to evaluate the impact of the request relative to what was stated in the original grant proposal; to include analysis of project structure and services. Additionally, evaluates changes to the financial structure of the project, milestones, and compliance with program regulations.
- Serves as a Project Lead, conducting research, developing project plans, execute and implements the same (to include event investigations of a confidential nature) to administer or carry out essential functions ensuring compliance with public law requirements of the grant program.
- Monitors operating programs and activities supporting the grant program and work in close cooperation with other elements of VA as it relates to Veteran's transition and employment.
- Manages multiple projects or programs concurrently and professionally, where effort involves coordination among multiple resources, other divisions, or agents outside of the organization.
- Researches customer service practices, evaluates performance in meeting customer service standards, and makes recommendations for improving service delivery and plans strategies, activities, or other initiatives to increase customer satisfaction.
- Develops and gives oral presentations to various audiences within Military to Civilian Readiness, VBA senior management, department level executives and outside agencies. Develops PowerPoint presentations covering highlights of new material and providing practical applications and examples.
Promotion Potential: GS-13
Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
Telework: This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only. The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval. Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Program Analyst, GS-12, GS-13 PD# 42263-A, 42264A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Bargaining Unit: NoQualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:11/12/2026.
TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: As a current Federal, GS employee you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
- For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 level.
- For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 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. 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.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience as described below:
GS-12 Grade Level:
- Specialized Experience: Ability to advise on grants and cooperative agreements, business processes, procedures, administrative regulations and policies. Ability to gather and analyze pertinent facts and information to devise practical solutions to complex or controversial problems as it relates to grant management. Knowledge of the wide range of concepts, principles, and practices of grants management. Ability to analyze applicant/recipient business management activities and capabilities and/or formulate recommendations. Delivering outcomes and adhering to established laws and regulations.
GS-13 Grade Level:
- Specialized Experience: Experience administering, implementing and overseeing grants and cooperative agreements to non-profit organizations in support of long-term policy objectives. Experience monitoring payment disbursements. Experience servicing as liaison with external customers, recipients, and awardee's community to clarify, interpret, and resolve account issues. Providing technical assistance, guidance and training to office in regards to Grants. Actively participating with Internal partners in coordinating program requirements and regulations. Delivering outcomes and adhering to established laws and regulations.
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.
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; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.
Physical Requirements:Work is typically performed in an adequately lighted and climate-controlled office. The environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, meeting and training rooms, libraries, labs, or commercial vehicles. Work requires the observance of fire regulation.
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/. Education There is no educational requirement or substitution at the GS-12 and GS-13 grade levels.
Requirements
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 , your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.Additional Conditions of Employment are as follows:
- You 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 or trial 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.
How you will be evaluated IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
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- Accountability
- Attention to Detail
- Customer Service
- Decision Making
- Flexibility
- Influencing/Negotiating
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Learning
- Reading Comprehension
- Reasoning
- Self-Management
- Stress Tolerance
- Teamwork
- Planning and Evaluating:Determines objectives and strategies; coordinates with other parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors and evaluates the progress and outcomes of operational plans; anticipates potential threats or opportunities.
- Oral Communication: Expresses ideas and facts to individuals or groups effectively; makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others; facilitates an open exchange of ideas.
- WrittenCommunication: Write material to include policies and portrayal of statistical data in a clear, concise, organized and convincing manner to internal and external contacts.
- Technical Competence: Knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on the job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues
- Project Management: Applies principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, monitoring, evaluating, and
managing projects and resources, including technical performance.
Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13106384The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.
Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or an interview.
Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.How to apply To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on 11/12/2026 or 11:59 p.m. (EST) on the day the applicant count limit is reached, whichever comes first. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on 11/12/2026 to receive consideration. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.The application process is as follows:
- To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
- Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
Click here for instructions on viewing your application status.
The application process is as follows:
- Click the Apply Online button.
- Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
- Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
- If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
- Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
- Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
- Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
- Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us.To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed..
Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume:
- Prioritize most relevant and recent experience
- Use concise, results focused language
- Align language from the job announcement
- Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies
- Remove outdated or unrelated experience
- Use the USAJOBS resume builder
Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at:
- USA Jobs Help Center - Resume Page Limit
- Applicant Guidance on the Two-Page Resume Limit
Other information This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only. The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval. Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position.
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 your current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. 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/.
Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.
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 (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), https://www.va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review: Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport-usastaffing.opm.gov/hc/en-us/sections/45063131363475-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information)
For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.
