Legal Administrative Specialist

Veterans Benefits Administration; Hagåtña (GU); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

The Legal Administrative Specialist (LAS) serves on the Public Contact Team in the Veterans Service Center, providing in-depth information and comprehensive assistance to veterans, dependents, and beneficiaries concerning VA benefits and related non-VA benefits.

To qualify, applicants must meet time-in-grade and education requirements, including GS-07/09 paths, with potential federal experience and SF-50 documentation. Time-In-Grade rules apply to current VBA staff as well.

Qualifications

• One year of specialized experience in customer service, benefit counseling, and claim processing.
• Knowledge of researching relevant subject matter.
• Experience derived from federal, military, or private sector.
• Bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement (3.0 GPA or higher) or higher as substitution for experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide information and assistance to veterans, dependents, and beneficiaries regarding VA benefits and related non-VA benefits.
• Assist with inquiries and guidance on eligibility and claim processing.
• Research and interpret regulations to determine Veterans' eligibility for benefits programs.

Education

Bachelor's degree with SAA

Master's degree substitution

Job description

The Legal Administrative Specialist (LAS) serves as a member of the Public Contact Team, located in the Veterans Service Center. The incumbent provides in-depth information and comprehensive assistance to veterans, their dependents, and beneficiaries concerning any matter within the scope of VA benefits and related non-VA benefits.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:10/13/2026.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT

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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05.
• For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07.
• If you are a current VBA employee requesting reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS- 07 or higher and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-09.

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. 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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

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

GS-07 Grade Level

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-5). 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.
  • Specialized experience is defined as:
    1. The ability to work with direct supervision or guidance when providing customer service, benefit counseling, and claim processing.
    2. The individual must possess knowledge of researching relevant subject matter.
    3. The experience should be significantly and directly derived from federal, military, or the private sector.
  • Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to:
    1. Orating to persons from a wide variety of backgrounds regarding VA benefits programs
    2. Performing research of local, state, and Federal laws and regulations to determine Veterans' eligibility for benefits programs.
• Education Substitution: You may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have:
  • One (1) full your of graduate level education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position;
• A Bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement (3.0 GPA or higher). Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) is based on: 1) class standing, 2) grade point average or 3) honor society membership. For more information on calculating SAA please visit www.opm.gov.

GS-09 Grade Level

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-7). 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.
  • Specialized experience is defined as:
    1. The ability to work with minimum supervision or guidance when providing customer service, benefit counseling, and claim processing.
    2. The individual must possess moderate knowledge of researching relevant subject matter.
    3. The experience should be significantly and directly derived from federal, military, or the private sector.
  • Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to:
    1. Orating to persons from a wide variety of backgrounds regarding VA benefits programs
    2. Performing research of local, state, and Federal laws and regulations to determine Veterans' eligibility for benefits programs.
• Education Substitution: You may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have:
  • A master's or equivalent graduate degree in an accredited or pre-accredited college or university; or
  • 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or possession of a LL.B. or J.D degree, if related. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position.

Combining Education & Experience

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.

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 is mostly sedentary. The employee will be required to talk for long periods of time which occasionally puts a strain on the throat/vocal cords. There are no other special physical demands required to perform the work. 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. Extensive use of a computer and a telephone with a headset is required.

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/.