Program Specialist

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/10/2026. 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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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 some former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Specialized experience is defined as experience in payroll systems operations and payroll/timekeeping databases with a focus on data mining and analytical techniques, including extracting data from corporate data systems, developing data marts, and gathering data from multiple sources to analyze and report information necessary to improve business operations; applying analytical and evaluative methods to interpret data trends, identify discrepancies, and generate reports for management decision-making; developing strategies to address system deviations and coordinating with functional and technical specialists to troubleshoot and implement corrective strategies; ensuring compliance with applicable government rules, policies, and procedures; and consulting and collaborating with staff and external agencies to resolve complex issues. 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: Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list series and grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 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: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be 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/. 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 for this vacancy. To be found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications: In-depth knowledge of payroll systems operations and payroll/timekeeping databases, data mining, and analytical techniques to analyze and synthesize data from diverse data sources and produce reports in a variety of formats. Skill in extracting data from VA's corporate data systems and developing data marts and other tools to analyze and report information necessary to improve business operations for the Financial Payroll Service. Ability to apply analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to review program effectiveness, identify adverse quality trends or conditions in HR/payroll files and reports, and develop strategies for addressing serious deviations from anticipated criteria. Experience monitoring biweekly payroll production reports and timekeeping files to ensure quality control, compliance with applicable government rules, policies, and procedures, and to provide advice to higher-level management on data quality trends. Experience consulting and collaborating with Financial Payroll Service staff, other VA and external agencies, and management officials at all levels to determine data and reporting needs, design and implement new data reporting systems, and prepare and present substantive written reports and presentations to senior officials. 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/. Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Austin, Texas. This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from 1619 Woodward Street, Austin, TX 78741. This position is located in the Reports and Analysis(RA), Systems Divisio(SYSD), Payroll Support Service(PSS), Financial Services Center, Austin, TX. The incumbent serves as a member of the team providing information and analytic support to the Financial Payroll Service and works to ensure a high level of data integrity for all data requests.