Survivors and Memorial Support Program Specialist

Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks; Fayetteville (AR); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks is seeking a Program Specialist for the Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support (SAMS) Program. You will manage end‑of‑life services, coordinate with funeral services, and support program budgeting and reporting in a hospital setting.

The role involves collaboration with palliative care, fiscal staff, and volunteers, with telework potential discussed during interviews. Strong attention to detail and stakeholder communication are essential.

Qualifications

• Requires transcript to verify education qualifications.
• Consideration of foreign education requires a foreign credential evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Reviews eligibility and entitlement for burial and death benefits and assists with applications.
• Ensures unclaimed remains receive dignified funeral and burial at VA expense.
• Coordinates release of remains with funeral homes and outside agencies as needed.
• Collaborates with palliative care to improve end-of-life care and reporting.

Skills

Attention to detail

Customer service

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Education

Transcript required

Foreign education equivalency

Job description

Summary

The position serves as a Program Specialist assigned to the Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support (SAMS) Program under the Chief, Social Work Service at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks as a primary person responsible for the facility SAMS Program. SAMS's focus is to provide personalized, supportive services to families, caregivers and survivors at the end of a Veteran's life and ensure Veterans without identified family receive dignified burials to honor their service.

Major Duties

Duties include, but are not limited to: Reviews eligibility and entitlement of burial and death allowances and advises on the process for applying for those benefits. Ensures Veterans with no relatives (unclaimed remains) are provided with a dignified funeral and burial at VA (contract or purchase order) expense. Coordinates release of remains with appropriate services/outside agencies in the event of autopsy, or organ/tissue/body donation. Collaborates with palliative care to promote quality end-of-life care by assisting in developing action plans and process improvements related to quantitative and qualitative reporting from the Bereaved Family Survey. The position collaborates with Fiscal office to financially support SAMS operations. Assesses past budget requirements, projects future budget needs, submits budget requests and manages program budget. The position participates in facility initiatives relating to No Veteran Dies Alone (NVDA). Collaborates with the VA Center for Development and Civic Engagement to recruit, train, schedule and oversee volunteers at the facility. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm (Subject to change based on the needs of the Agency) Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Position Description/PD#: Survivors and Memorial Support Program Specialist/PD033660 and PD033670 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Pre-employment physical required Subject to background/security 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). 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. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial 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. Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. Routinely views the body and/or remains of deceased Veterans at funeral homes using an authorized vehicle. Work Environment: The physical environment of the work is primarily performed in an administrative office setting that is frequented by staff and clients. The position will perform some tasks in other offices, rooms and on station buildings, such as the morgue and community funeral homes and other organizations which provide mortuary and burial services.

Evaluations

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

Other Information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. 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‑based 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 Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly‑appointed Federal employee's credit for their job‑related non‑federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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 current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well‑qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.