[Hiring] Veterans Service Representative (Authorizer) @San Juan Regional Benefit Office

Role Description

As a Veterans Service Representative (VSR) (Authorizer), the incumbent will play a vital role in ensuring that our Veterans receive the compassionate care and benefits they deserve. You will oversee complex benefit claims, explain benefit programs and entitlement criteria, and provide final decisions on compensation and pension claims. This position is located in the Military Sexual Trauma Division within the San Juan, PR Regional Office.

• Serve as the primary authorizer for unusually complex claims, including terminations and disallowed benefits.
• Provide second-signature approval on high-level administrative decisions to ensure technical accuracy and completeness.
• Analyze and decide on complex military service claims - such as character of discharge, presumed death, line-of-duty determinations, and fraud.
• Review decisions prepared by Veterans Service Representatives (VSRs), ensuring clarity, thoroughness, and empathetic wording.
• Clearly explain final complex decisions to Veterans via mail, phone, or in-person.
• Draft Statements of the Case (SOC) for authorization appeals and guide Veterans through post-decision processes.
• Accurately enter adjudication data in electronic systems, generate award notifications, and issue benefits payment decisions.
• Review incoming case documentation, perform routing or take action as appropriate on mail evidence.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/21/2026.
• Time-in-Grade: 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.
• For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-10 grade level.
• Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-10) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.
• Specialized experience includes experience that demonstrates competence in adjudicating and authorizing Veterans' claims.
• Specialized experience is typically gained in positions that have involved experience in the development, examination, investigation, adjudication, and authorization of claims for disability compensation, disability pension, death compensation, death pension benefits, life insurance benefits, etc.
• Applicants may substitute education for experience to qualify at the GS-11 grade level.
• Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three full years (54 semester hours or 81 quarter hours) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M, if related.
• Applicants may combine specialized experience and education beyond two full years of graduate level education.

Requirements

• An unofficial or official copy of your transcripts must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
• Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment.
• If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

Benefits

• Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations.
• Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.