Program Specialist

About the role

The purpose of the position is to serve as the Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support (SAMS) Program Specialist under the direction of the Chief, Social Work or Social Work Executive at the VA medical facility as a primary person responsible for the facility SAMS Program. SAMS's focus is to provide personalized, supportive services to families, caregivers & survivors at the end of a Veteran's life and ensures Veterans without identified family receive dignified burials to honor their service.

Major duties: Major duties include but are not limited to: Developing VA medical facility SAMS (Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support) standard operating procedure which includes written procedures for clinical staff or health care provider to notify SAMS staff or the Health Administrative Specialist on Duty (HOD), Chaplain, and social work staff of Veteran deaths. Ensuring the offering of information on funeral, interment and survivors' benefits, and referral to VBA or NCA to access benefits to bereaved family member(s). Ensuring remains are assessed for unclaimed determination and recommending the appropriate disposition to the VA medical facility Director, Determines the nature of the needs of callers and walk-in customers pertaining to questions about the SAMS, VHA, VBA. Implements information systems to track service activities including visits, referrals, demographics and outcomes. Investigates and analyzes adverse qualify trends or conditions and initiates corrective action. Facilitates quality management plan development and implementation. All other duties as assigned. 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 (8:00am - 4:30pm) Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist/PD035020 and PD035030 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/23/2026. 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 by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-07 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: assisting Veterans, families, or survivors with end-of-life, burial, or survivor benefit information and referring them to appropriate resources; helping coordinate administrative processes that follow a death, such as death notifications, death certificates, release of remains, and personal effects, with clinical staff, funeral homes, and county offices; tracking program activities and compiling data or reports for management; assisting with budget, purchasing, or fund control activities; and researching and applying policies, directives, and regulations to program work (NOTE: 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). OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a bachelor's degree. GS-09 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: advising Veterans and next of kin on burial and death-related benefits and eligibility; coordinating death-related administrative processes, including unclaimed remains, contract burials, release of remains, and disposition of personal funds and effects, with clinical staff, funeral homes, county offices, and other agencies; collecting, analyzing, and reporting program data to management and higher-level program offices; monitoring program budgets, purchase card, fund control, or contract requirements; educating staff and coordinating volunteers on a support program; and interpreting policies, directives, and regulations to recommend improvements to program processes; developing VA medical facility SAMS (Survivors Assistance and Memorial Support) standard operating procedure which includes written procedures for clinical staff or health care provider to notify SAMS staff or the Health Administrative Specialist on Duty (HOD), chaplain, and Social Work staff of Veteran deaths. (NOTE: 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). OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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 (NOTE: If using education, you MUST submit transcripts at time of application). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and graduate education beyond the first year or 18 semester hours to meet total experience requirements. (NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required). 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. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Veterans Health Administration

Source: USAJOBS, read 11/15/2026. Apply on the source’s own site.