Decision Review Officer

Veterans Benefits Administration; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Benefits Administration seeks a Rating Quality Review Specialist to support the RO quality assurance program, advising DROs and RVSRs in the Regional Office. The role centers on measuring performance quality and identifying training needs through review of appeals and rating decisions.

Applicants should have specialized experience at GS-13 level, with expectations for reviewing quality, conducting training, and guiding information management systems within the claims process.

Qualifications

• Specialized Experience: 1 year equivalent to GS-12 in training, analysis, or information systems duties.
• Experience in reviewing quality of completed rated cases or claims development.
• Ability to identify knowledge gaps and plan training strategies; provide data for information systems.

Responsibilities

• Assess quality of rating decisions and appeals to improve accuracy.
• Support DROs and RVSRs with technical guidance and training needs.

Skills

Specialized experience

Training activities

Data/system guidance

Job description

The Rating Quality Review Specialist is an integral part of the RO's quality assurance program, and is a key technical adviser to the Decision Review Officers (DROs) and Rating Veterans Service Representatives (RVSRs), in the Regional Office. The purpose of this position is to measure individual performance quality and identify training needs through the review and assessment of completed claims involving appeals and rating decisions.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:09/11/2026.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT

• For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 level.
• If you are a current VA employee requesting reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS- 13 or higher and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least None.

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-13 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-12). Specialized Experience is defined as work that involves functioning in either a capacity performing training, analyst, or information systems duties of a claim's management process. The experience should be substantive and relevant and may have been gained in the federal, military, or private sector. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to:
  • Conducting reviews to analyze the quality of completed rated cases
  • Conducting evaluations and reviews on a quantitative or qualitative basis of claims development programs and operations to determine the effectiveness in meeting established goals and objectives
  • Preparing or conducting training activities
  • Identifying knowledge/skill gaps and plan training strategies
  • Providing and implementing data for one or more information management systems accurately and timely or providing technical guidance and direction to staff in the daily operation and maintenance of claims management systems.

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; 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.

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; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.

Physical Requirements

The work normally involves mental rather than physical exertion. The work is mostly sedentary. However, there may be some walking, standing, and carrying of light items such as papers, books, claims folders, and files from one desk to another or for returning to storage. Carts are utilized to carry large number of claims folders. This will require the incumbent to push or pull the cart from one area to another.

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/.