Legal Administrative Specialist (Contact Representation)

Veterans Benefits Administration; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Benefits Administration in Phoenix seeks a Legal Administrative Specialist (Contact Representation) to provide detailed information and comprehensive assistance to Veterans, dependents, and beneficiaries on VA benefits and related non-VA benefits. Applicants must meet all requirements by 08/28/2026 and, for GS-10, time-in-grade requirements.

The role emphasizes independent customer service, research of laws and regulations, and accurate claims processing.

Qualifications

• Experience in customer service and counseling within a benefits/claims setting.
• Ability to research and interpret laws and regulations related to benefits.
• Experience working in or with federal service or military programs is advantageous.

Skills

Customer service

Research skills

Independent work

Education

Two and half years of grad education toward 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, 08/28/2026.

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-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level.

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 REQUIREMENTS

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

Specialized Experience for GS-10

For a GS-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the 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.

Specialized experience is defined as

• 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.
• The individual must possess in-depth knowledge of researching relevant subject matter.
• 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.

OR

• 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).

OR

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond two years of progressively higher level graduate education.

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. Click here for more information.

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/.