This position serves as a Program Specialist within the Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support Program a part of the Social Work service. Primary focus of the position is to provide personalized, supportive services to families, caregivers and survivors at the end of a Veteran's life and ensures Veteran's without identified family receive dignified burials to honor their service.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/01/2025. 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-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. 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 and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience GS-7: You must have one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-5) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped me with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Program Specialist - SAMS. Qualifying specialized experience includes Basic knowledge of medical center organization, functions, specialties, and programs, i.e., Social Work, Nursing, Laboratory, Radiology, etc.; experience locating and interpreting regulations from a wide range of sources; reviewing data and information for trends, problem areas, and makes recommendations to management to resolve issues; ability to cope with wide variety of problems and to resolve them quickly and decisively; and explain and organize complex issues in writing. Specialized Experience GS-9: One full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped me with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Program Specialist - SAMS. Qualifying specialized experience includes experienced using a wide range of medical center administrative concepts, principles, and practices; provides technical guidance necessary to meet procedural, legal, and administrative requirements relating to the care and treatment of patients; reviewing data and information for trends, problem areas, and makes recommendations to management to resolve issues; interpreting rules, regulations, policies, and procedures to make sound decisions; and identify and analyze complex problems or situations with a range of variables. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have: GS-7 One (1) full year of successfully completed graduate level education that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. OR Possess Superior Academic Achievement. GS-9 Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. . OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond: GS-7 Successfully completed education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the position. Only education beyond a bachelor's degree may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-07 level. GS-9 Combination of successfully completed education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the position. Only education in excess of the first year (18 semester hours) may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-09 level. 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/. 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 https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit
Duties include but are not limited to: Ensures compliance with local policy and procedures pertaining to patients who expire while receiving Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)-authorized care in a medical center, hospital, nursing home or domiciliary care setting. Ensures Veterans and their next of kin (NOK) receive respectful, compassionate and dignified care and services in accordance with Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and National Cemetery Administration (NCA), state and local law and regulations. Advises Veterans and their next of kin of burial benefits. Helps Veterans and next of kin prearrange burial, interment, cremation, as desired by Veteran. Advises surviving relatives about burial benefits and other potential benefits provided by VA. Reviews eligibility and entitlement of burial and death allowances and advises on the process for applying for those benefits. Informs Veteran, caregiver and next of kin of available supportive services within the medical facility, such as Chaplaincy, and Social Work, to provide support at end of life and immediately following death. Reviews daily death notifications. Submits completed death certificates to designated Funeral Director and County Office. Collaborate with VA offices to locate next of kin when not readily known. Requests any clinical staff involved with care prior to death contact the survivor within 24 hours of the pronouncement of death. Views as required, the deceased Veteran's unclaimed body and/or remains to confirm VA funds are executed as intended in the burial purchase. Identifies, in collaboration with designated facility staff, a responsible funeral home for the unclaimed remains and prepares a purchase order and/or contract to this effect. Collaborates with palliative care to promote quality end-of-life care by assisting in developing action plans and process improvements related to quantitative and qualitative reporting from the Bereaved Family Survey. Implements information systems to track service activities including visits, referrals, demographics and outcomes. Serves as the fund control point clerk, purchase card official and Contracting Officer Representative for Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support Program contracts. Participates in facility initiatives relating to No Veteran Dies Alone (NVDA). Partners with staff and leadership to identify needs and opportunities throughout facility. Provides general education, training and resources about Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support Program to staff throughout the hospital, community living centers (CLC) and community who provide support to Veterans at end-of-life and to their family and next of kin. Promotion Potential: 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. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00am-4:30pm Telework: Not authorized. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist - Survivor Assistance and Memorial Support Specialist/PD25111A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized