Veterans Service Representative

Veterans Benefits Administration; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 55,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The Veterans Benefits Administration seeks a Veterans Service Representative (VSR) to explain benefit programs and entitlement criteria, analyze claims material, gather evidence, and conduct interviews to adjudicate claims. You will input data to generate the award and a notification letter describing the decision.

Applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of the announcement, 2026-08-21. Time‑in‑grade rules apply for current federal employees as outlined in the posting.

Qualifications

• You must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-05 level or higher for GS-07.
• For GS-09, one year at GS-07 or higher with interpretation of legal/medical docs.
• For GS-10, one year at GS-09 or higher with adjudication of veterans' claims.

Responsibilities

• Explain benefit programs and entitlement criteria.
• But analyze claims material to identify issues.
• Gather relevant evidence and conduct interviews to adjudicate claims.
• Input data to generate award and notification letters describing decisions.

Skills

Analytical reasoning

Interviewing

Data entry

Case file maintenance

Education

Bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement

Graduate level education (1 full year)

Master's degree or higher (for GS-10 substitution)

Tools

Federal data systems

Job description

The Veterans Service Representative (VSR) explains benefit programs and entitlement criteria, analyzes claims material, identifies issues, gathers relevant evidence, conducts interviews to adjudicate claims and inputs data necessary to generate the award and notification letter to the veteran describing the decision.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/21/2026.

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.

• For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05 level.
• For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level.
• 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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT

GS-07 Grade Level

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level or higher. Specialized experience is defined as the interpretation or application of laws, regulations, or procedures to analyze evidence to make determinations and research routine issues to resolve discrepancies. Examples of experience include:

• Using various computer systems for data entry and maintaining/monitoring case files
• Applies use of federal laws when processing compensation and benefit claims for a state or federal agency, insurance company, worker's compensation, disability, retirement or pension program;
• Determines basic employment qualifications and eligibility for benefit programs.

OR

Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have:

• One (1) full year of graduate level education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position; OR
• 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 the GS-07 level or higher. Specialized experience is defined as experience which required the interpretation of legal and medical documentation to determine the claimant's eligibility for services and benefits programs. Examples of specialized experience include:

• Determining the eligibility for Federal or State-administered benefits, such as disability, education, housing, medical, and/or veterans' benefits;
• Interpreting and applying Federal and State laws, including case law, existing statutes and procedures, and precedent rulings, to process claims pertaining to a service program;
• Gathering and requesting evidence to build service program case files, respond to claimant inquires, and identify errors, inconsistencies, or omissions;
• Explaining Federal or State claims decisions to claimants, special interest groups, dependents, and/or representatives in an effort to gain acceptance of the determination.

OR

Education Substitution: Applicants 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 an LL.B. or J.D degree, if related. Graduate-level education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position.

GS-10 Grade Level

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level or higher. Specialized experience is that which demonstrates competence in adjudicating veterans' claims. Specialized experience is typically gained in positions that have involved the development, examination, investigation, adjudication, and authorization of claims for disability compensation, disability pension, death compensation, death pension benefits, life insurance benefits, etc. Such experience is to be substantive and relevant and requires a high degree of independence and judgment in the interpretation of more complex legal and medical documentation to determine claimant's eligibility and supporting evidence for services and benefits.

OR

Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have:

• Two and a 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.

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 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 and books.

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/.