Program Specialist

Overview

This position is in the Veterans Benefit Administration, Veterans Readiness and Employment division (VR&E), Regional Office, Providence, RI. The Veteran Readiness & Employment programs help Veterans with service‑connected disabilities and employment handicaps prepare for, find, and maintain suitable careers. For Veterans with service‑connected disabilities so severe that they cannot immediately consider work, VR&E provides services to improve their ability to live independently.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 07/17/2026.

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‑09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS‑07 level. For a GS‑11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS‑09 level. If you are a current VBA employee outside of the commuting area seeking reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS‑09 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS‑11.

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.

Applicants may qualify based on their experience and/or education as described below.

Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS‑07 grade level or higher in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes but is not limited to:

• Identifying needs for problems and determining corrective actions;
• Obtaining facts for recommendations;
• Developing procedures to improve efficiency;
• Developing briefings, project papers, status/staffing reports and correspondence.

OR Education Substitution:
Applicants may substitute education for the experience required to qualify at the GS‑09 grade level.

• Master's or equivalent graduate degree, if related (You must provide transcripts);
• Two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or
• LL.B. or J.D., if related (You must provide transcripts).

Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS‑09 grade level or higher in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes but is not limited to:

• Developing briefings, project papers, status/staffing reports and correspondence;
• Identifying and solving problems by gathering and applying information from a variety of materials;
• Providing recommendations to complex problems utilizing policy and procedures;
• Evaluating and providing feedback on performances due to recent change to workflow management.

OR Education Substitution:
Applicants may substitute education for the experience required to qualify at the GS‑11 grade level.

• Education substitution of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (You must provide transcripts);
• Three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M, if related (You must provide transcripts).

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.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done…