Education Compliance Survey Specialist

This position serves as an Education Compliance Survey Specialist (ECSS) on the Approval, Compliance and Liaison (AC&L) Team and the incumbent is located within an assigned Regional Office. The incumbent is responsible to complete assigned compliance surveys (audits/investigation) at educational and training institutions within a national portfolio. The incumbent prepares reports which indicate findings/discrepancies and what corrective action if any, is required.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 01/25/2024.

Time-In-Grade Requirement (GS-9): 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-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. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement.

NOTE: To support your claim that you have the required time-in-grade, you must submit your most recent promotion, within-grade increase, or appointment SF-50. If you previously held a higher grade, you must also submit any SF-50 showing that grade. GENERAL ADJUSTMENT and AWARD SF-50's CANNOT be used for time-in-grade verification.

The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. A SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. Submit a copy of your most recent NON-AWARD SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position, title, series, grade/step, salary, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted) AND the SF-50 needs to show 52 weeks at the current or next lower grade level. To verify Time-In-Grade requirements, submit a copy of a SF-50 Notice of Personnel Action reflecting when you entered your highest grade held (e.g. Appointment, Promotion, etc.). Note: To demonstrate that you meet Time-In-Grade requirements (serving 52 weeks at the current or next lower grade and step), you may need to submit more than one copy of a SF-50; You may need to submit a non-award SF-50 to show when you entered your highest grade and step (or next lower grade/step level) AND another non-award SF-50 to show when you exited your highest grade and step (or next lower grade/step level).

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience should include experience and knowledge of Federal and State laws, regulations, executive orders, agency rules and policies for benefit programs; knowledge identifying issues and analyzes information to draw accurate conclusions, ensuring careful attention to detail; dissects problems and information into their meaningful parts and uses logic and judgment to evaluate alternatives and develop solutions; knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with laws, regulations, and guidance; and knowledge of generally accepted auditing standards, procedures, and reports. OR,

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have master's or equivalent graduate degree (including LL.B. or J.D. if related) or you must have completed two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree and which demonstrates the competencies necessary to do the work. 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 a bachelor's degree. A combination of specialized experience as described in "A" and graduate education as described in "B" which totals at least one (1) year. [To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one (1) year by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.

Time-In-Grade Requirement (GS-11):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-11 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level or higher. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service. A SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. [Submit a copy of your most recent NON-AWARD SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position, title, series, grade/step, salary, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted) AND the SF-50 needs to show 52 weeks at the current or next lower grade level. To verify Time-In-Grade requirements, submit a copy of a SF-50 Notice of Personnel Action reflecting when you entered your highest grade held [(e.g. Appointment, Promotion, etc.). Note: To demonstrate that you meet Time-In-Grade requirements (serving 52 weeks at the current or next lower grade and step), you may need to submit more than one copy of a SF-50; You may need to submit a non-award SF-50 to show when you entered your highest grade and step (or next lower grade/step level) AND another non-award SF-50 to show when you exited your highest grade and step (or next lower grade/step level).Specialized Experience Requirement (GS-11): To qualify at the GS-11 grade, you must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level or higher. Specialized experience should include demonstrated experience and knowledge of Federal and State education laws, regulations, executive orders, agency rules and policies for VA Education benefits; identifying issues and analyzes information to draw accurate conclusions, ensuring careful attention to detail by dissecting information into their meaningful parts and uses logic and judgment to evaluate an organization's records management; demonstrated experience with procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with laws, regulations, and guidance; knowledge of generally accepted auditing standards and procedures for conducting financial and/or record keeping reviews/audits; demonstrated experience providing management with detailed reports of discrepancies/findings based on review/audit.

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level, you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree (including LL.M. if related) or you must have completed three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree and which demonstrates the competencies necessary to do the work. OR
• 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.

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/.

Responsibilities:

Duties may include, but are not limited to:

-Prepares for compliance survey (audit) of an education and training program by examining and reviewing various informational sources.
-Examines education records for enrolled students and ascertains enrollment data and award actions.
-Verifies institution has provided appropriate forms for compliance with Equal Opportunity Laws, Conflicting Interest and other documents required for State Approving Agency (SAA) program approval of Veteran education benefits.
-Conducts investigations and evaluations pertaining to compliance with provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 404 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975. Interviews students and school administrators or employees during the course of investigation to substantiate or refute allegations.
-Completes assigned Targeted Risked Based Reviews (TRBR) and Risk-Based Surveys (RBS).
-Conducts entrance and exit-briefings at educational and or training establishments, delineating results of survey findings with School Certifying Officials.
-Prepares compliance survey report which indicates whether discrepancies found on a prior survey have or have not been corrected, report any discrepancy found on the current survey, and explains what additional action, if any, is required.
-Records payment discrepancies to include direct overpayments or underpayments made to the educational institution on behalf of a GI Bill beneficiary.
-Refers institution approval and payment discrepancies for action, as appropriate, to other VA personnel, and/or other regulatory agency and provides recommendations in cases of egregious or negligent reporting errors or possible fraud.
-Assists with liaison visits to educational institutions and training establishments. Aids in the preparation and dissemination of necessary compliance information, conducts face to face training, addresses deficiencies found during a compliance survey, and presents at school conferences and workshops advising school officials about VA regulations and directives. Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday
Telework: Eligible
Virtual: This is NOT a virtual position
Position Description Numbers: 38799A, 38798A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required
Compressed/Flexible: Available for highly qualified candidates.
Must have a Valid Drivers License: Yes
Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. Some physical effort may be required such as walking, standing, bending, reaching, and carrying of office and event materials.
Promotion Potential: GS-11