Summary The primary purpose of the position is to serve as a Loan Production (LP) technical expert in the administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home Loan program. The Organizational Location is the LP section with the Regional Loan Center (RLC). RLC's jurisdiction encompasses the entire United States and its territories; involving wide and varied geographical, economic, social, and influences, which have significant effects on the real estate and mortgage lending industries. Responsibilities Major Duties: The primary purpose of the position is to perform a wide variety of administrative and technical duties in support of Loan Production (LP). The incumbent is responsible for developmental and other routine assignments in the administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Home Loan program. The Organizational Location of the position is the LP section within the Regional Loan Center (RLC). RLC's jurisdiction encompasses the entire United States and its territories; involving wide and varied geographical, economic, social, political conditions, and influences, which have significant effects on the real estate and mortgage lending industries. Duties include, but are not limited to: The incumbent reviews submitted documentation including VA forms, makes eligibility determinations, and issues Certificates of Eligibility (COE). Reviews the underwriting of loan applications submitted to VA for guaranty in-order to ensure lender compliance with VA underwriting guidelines and regulations such as fees and charges. Communicates with lenders to resolve data discrepancies in-order to issue COEs. Recommends approval or disapproval of restoration of entitlement, release of liability and substitution of entitlement applications; and audits releases processed and approved by lenders. Resolves problems, which occur with coding of loans into LP computer systems; prepares reports and quality control reviews, lender monitoring, lender and underwriter approvals, lender file maintenance; and makes recommendations as to the most effective and efficient means of managing the workload with allocated resources. Underwrite complex loan applications; by analyzing the financial capacity of joint mortgagors, marginal loan applicants, Veterans who receive pensions, income based on operations of business firms, multi-family housing rentals, or unstable incomes. Collects, researches, analyzes, interprets, retrieves, and inputs data for/from a variety of computer systems utilized in LP. Conducts training and outreach with individual lenders throughout assigned areas to survey operations and meet with underwriters, processors, loan originators, and loan closers/shippers to ensure they are complying with laws, regulations, and all VA Home Loan program directives. 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: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Available Virtual: Yes this a Virtual position - Employee is expected to report to one of the VBA Loan Guaranty office locations listed. Employee will be expected to report to duty to the location selected within the application questionnaire per telework agreement as determined by the hiring office Position Description/PD#: 37715A; 37729A; 37330A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: No Financial Disclosure Report: Not required 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. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/02/2024. 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 level. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. For a GS-11 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 IOR: This position does have an IOR (Individual Occupational Requirement) that must be met in addition to the Time-in-Grade and regular Specialized Experience qualifications. In order to qualify for this position, you must have the education or experience listed below: Experience that demonstrated competence in agricultural, commercial, realty, or other types of loans. Experience may have been gained in such work as reviewing and passing upon applications for agricultural, commercial, bank or mortgage loans; servicing a loan portfolio of a bank or other loan association; performing financial analysis of commercial concerns for investment purposes; appraising real estate to determine property valuation; or similar work. OR Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- finance, business administration, economics, accounting, insurance, engineering, mathematics, banking and credit, law, real estate operations, statistics, or other fields related to the position, such as agriculture, agricultural economics, farm, livestock or ranch management, or rural sociology. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience:GS-7 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: In addition to the IOR, applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-05) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in federal or other service that equipped the applicant with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position. It is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as experience conducting mortgage loan servicing tasks, OR residential mortgage underwriting, OR experience with residential real estate sale transactions. OR Education: Completion of one full year of graduate level education OR Bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement (SAA). OR Combination: A combination of education and experience equaling 100% of the required specialized experience.Superior Academic Achievement is based on the following: Class standing-Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, based on completed courses Grade-point average-Applicants must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed bases on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final two years of the curriculum Honor Society Membership-Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society. GS-9 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: addition to the IOR, applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in federal or other service that equipped the applicant with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position. It is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as experience underwriting loan applications and making eligibility determinations for mortgage loans. Education: You must have a Master's or equivalent graduate degree or two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B or J.D., if related. GS-11 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: In addition to the IOR, applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in federal or other service that equipped the applicant with the competencies to perform successfully the duties of the position. It is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as experience auditing and performing quality review of mortgage loans, analyzing data from various programs to underwrite a variety of mortgage loans, and making eligibility determinations on a variety of loan types or grants. Education: PH.D or equivalent doctoral degree or three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M, if related. OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. 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 Note: To receive proper credit for your experience, please be sure to include the dates of employment as well as the hours worked for each position in your resume. (i.e. 12/16/13 - 10/15/16, 40 hours per week). Your paygrade must be listed for all periods of employed Federal Service. Please also be sure to address your Specialized Experience with specific details in your resume. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience.[NOTE: YOU MUST SUBMIT COPIES OF YOUR OFFICIAL OR UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS for your education to be considered. 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. Note: 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. Physical Requirements: This work is primarily sedentary, but does involve standing, walking, bending, lifting and carrying objects weighing up to 50 pounds, and the operation of a motor vehicle. 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/. Education Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. GS-07: You must have completed (1) full year of graduate level education or a superior academic achievement GPA of 3.0 recorded on your transcript, based on 4 years of education GS-09: You must have completed a Master's or equivalent graduate degree or (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related GS-11: You must have completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. Additional Information VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Receiving Service Credit or 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. 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. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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 (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and 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/. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHR M Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.