Assistant Director.

Veterans Benefits Administration; Lincoln (NE); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PCS relocation

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Veterans Benefits Administration is seeking an Assistant Director to lead Regional Office operations in Lincoln, NE. The role focuses on delivering timely veteran benefits, developing policies, and ensuring performance standards across business lines.

The position requires strategic planning, budget and resource management, and strong stakeholder engagement to advance VA programs and workforce inclusion. This role includes relocation options and federal employment benefits.

Qualifications

• Experience directing program operations that deliver services to Veterans or similar populations.
• Ability to establish priorities, determine resource needs, and allocate staff and funds.
• Experience directing personnel actions including hiring, performance management, and labor/employee relations.
• Experience conducting program reviews, assessments, compliance reviews, or performance evaluations.
• Ability to analyze policies, directives, and long- and short-range goals to identify improvement needs.

Responsibilities

• Oversees Regional Office operations to ensure timely, accurate, and efficient delivery of veterans' benefits.
• Develops, implements, and monitors RO policies, procedures, and performance standards for consistency across business lines.
• Analyzes performance data, directs corrective actions, and ensures follow-up to improve quality and customer satisfaction.
• Leads strategic planning and resource management, including budgeting and allocation of personnel and equipment.
• Evaluates organizational structure and workload trends, recommending changes to meet program needs.
• Provides executive oversight of HR functions including staffing decisions and performance management.
• Manages RO financial resources, including budget formulation, execution, and oversight.
• Represents the RO in internal and external engagements and supports VA programs and EEO principles.

Skills

Program management

Budget management

HR leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Policy implementation

Cross-functional leadership

Performance evaluation

Job description

Duties

The Assistant Director's responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Oversees Regional Office (RO) operations to ensure timely, accurate, and efficient delivery of veterans' benefits in alignment with national policies and VBA/Veterans Affairs (VA) leadership priorities.
• Develops, implements, and monitors RO policies, procedures, and performance standards, ensuring compliance with VBA directives and consistency in service delivery across business lines.
• Analyzes operational and program performance data, identifies gaps, directs corrective actions, and ensures follow-up to improve quality, timeliness, cost efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
• Leads strategic planning and resource management, including development of short- and long-term goals, assessment of resource needs, and effective allocation of personnel, budget, and equipment.
• Evaluates organizational structure and workload trends, recommending and implementing organizational changes to meet evolving program and business requirements.
• Provides executive oversight of human resources functions, including position management, staffing decisions, performance management, labor-management relations, and escalation of employee relations matters.
• Ensures the effective management of RO financial resources, including formulation, execution, and oversight of the budget while ensuring compliant and efficient use of funds.
• Represents the RO in internal and external engagements, maintaining strong stakeholder relationships and supporting initiatives that advance VA programs, organizational culture, equal employment opportunity (EEO) principles, and workforce inclusivity.

Work Schedule:

Full time, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

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#:

Assistant Director/37863A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives:

Relocation expenses and services (Permanent Change of Station - PCS) are authorized. PCS covers the relocation of a household for government convenience when transferring between duty stations. By accepting PCS, the selectee agrees to remain in Federal service for 12 months after the move. Failure to complete the service period may require repayment of PCS expenses.

Financial Disclosure Report:

Required; This position requires completion of a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-450) under 5 C.F.R.

• 2634.904(a). The selectee must submit the form before entering on duty and annually thereafter. Bargaining Unit: No

Requirements

Conditions of employment

Required

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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 supervisory probationary or trial period
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Subject to Public Trust-High Risk background 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
• 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.
• PCS Relocation Expenses are ONLY authorized for selectee/s choosing to physically relocate to the Official Duty location of Lincoln, NE.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 10/27/2026.

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-15 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-14 level.
• If you are a current VBA employee requesting a reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-15 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-15.

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-15 Grade Level Specialized Experience:

• Managing or directing program operations that deliver benefits or services to Veterans or comparable populations.
• Establishing priorities, determining resource needs, and allocating staff and funds to meet program objectives.
• Directing or coordinating personnel management actions such as hiring, performance management, labor/employee relations, organizational changes, or workforce planning.
• Conducting or overseeing complex program reviews, operational assessments, compliance reviews, or performance evaluations.
• Monitoring and controlling program effectiveness, including analyzing policies, directives, procedures, and long- and short-range organizational goals to identify improvement needs.
• Representing organizational leadership with internal and external stakeholders, including participating on committees, workgroups, or interagency engagements.
• Leading cross-functional teams or subordinate supervisors/managers to resolve operational issues, improve performance, or implement new policies or processes.

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; religious; 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. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements

The position is primarily in an office setting. This work normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. Some travel may be necessary on occasion for training, meetings, or customer interactions.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced 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 CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

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.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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 the

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.