Legal Administrative Specialist (Contact Representation)

Veterans Benefits Administration; Kahului (HI); On-site; USD 62,000 - 78,000; Full time

Job summary

The Veterans Benefits Administration seeks a Legal Administrative Specialist (Contact Representation) to join the Public Contact Team in the Veterans Service Center, Kahului, Hawaii. You will provide detailed information and thorough assistance to Veterans, dependents, and beneficiaries regarding VA benefits and related non‑VA benefits.

Time‑in‑grade rules and federal qualification standards apply; you may advise on eligibility, research regulations, and support claims processing while

Qualifications

• Specialized experience showing self‑reliant decision‑making in customer service benefits counseling and claims processing.
• In‑depth knowledge of researching relevant subject matter.
• Experience from federal, military, or private sector contexts.
• Education substitution: two and a half years of progressively higher‑level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (transcripts required).
• Volunteer experience credit and combining education & experience allowed.
• Full‑time defined as ≥35 hours/week; part‑time prorated and to be specified on resume.
• Physical requirements: sedentary work, long talks, extensive computer use; walking/standing with light loads possible.

Responsibilities

• Provide information and comprehensive assistance to Veterans, dependents, and beneficiaries regarding VA benefits and related non-VA benefits.
• Assist with eligibility determinations and claims processing as part of the Public Contact Team.
• Support outreach and public contact initiatives within the Veterans Service Center.
• Ensure compliance with Time‑in‑Grade and SF‑50 documentation requirements.

Education

Graduate education leading to Ph.D.

Job description

The Legal Administrative Specialist (Contact Representation) serves as a member of the Public Contact Team, based in the Veterans Service Center. The incumbent provides in-depth detailed information and comprehensive assistance to Veterans, their dependents, and beneficiaries regarding matters within the scope of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, as well as related non-VA benefits.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:10/09/2026.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT

• For a GS-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level.
• If you are a current VBA employee requesting reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-10 or higher and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-10.

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 REQUIREMENT:

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

GS-10 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience is defined as (1) experience that has demonstrated the capability of being a self‑reliant decision‑maker and possessing the ability to work independently when providing customer service benefits counseling and claims processing.(2) The individual must possess in‑depth 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 orating to persons from a wide variety of backgrounds regarding VA benefits programs; 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 possess: Two and half years of progressively higher‑level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position (must submit transcripts).

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/.