Loan Specialist

Specific duties include:

• The incumbent reviews submitted documentation including VA forms resolving data discrepancies to make eligibility determinations and issue Certificates of Eligibility.

• 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.

• Answers incoming calls and personally handles inquiries through personal or written contacts to guide counsel and instruct program participants on aspects of the VA Home Loan program while ensuring prompt and courteous service.

• Recommends approval or disapproval of restoration of entitlement release of liability and substitution of entitlement applications; and audits releases or assumptions processed and approved by lenders requesting additional documentation as necessary.

• Maintains records and controls in compliance with established procedures; prepares reports and quality control reviews and performs all functions relative to the maintenance of lender files. To include lender monitoring underwriter approvals and review of supervised/non-supervised lender applications.

• Underwrites 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 including Microsoft Word Excel SharePoint and Salesforce applications.

• 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.

• Completes post guaranty loan reviews and based on findings from the review notifies mortgage lenders of technical errors any actions necessary for correction and makes recommendations of specific training needs.

• Provides preliminary recommendation for Funding Fee refunds by researching computer systems and the Funding Fee Payment System (FFPS).

• Maintains section registers logs feeder information and other systems of records needed for quality control and reports. Establishes and maintains a diary system to ensure all required actions are completed in a timely manner.

• Resolves problems which occur with coding of loans into Loan Production computer systems while protecting data from unauthorized release loss alteration or deletion.

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. The grade progression for this position is GS-07 GS-09 and GS-11.

Work Schedule: Full time Monday through Friday (8:00AM - 4:30PM local time)
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Telework: This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only. The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval. Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Loan Specialist GS-09 PD#37729A GS-11 PD#37730A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

As a condition of employment for accepting this position you may be required to serve a 1 year or 2-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public 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 Conditions of Employment are as follows:

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary or trial period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Required to attend an 8 week training session which may require travel.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements I-9 Acceptable Documents.
• Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 07/17/2026.

Note: All applicants must meet both the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) and the Specialized Experience as defined below:

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR):

Experience
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

Education
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.

In addition to the IOR applicants must possess specialized experience and/or education as described below:

Specialized Experience:

To qualify at the GS-09 grade level: Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07). Specialized experience is work experience that equipped the applicant with the knowledge skills and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience for this position is defined as: experience underwriting loan applications and making eligibility determinations for mortgage loans.

OR

Applicants may substitute education for experience to qualify at the GS-09 grade level:Applicants must have a masters or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years (36 semester hours or 54 quarter hours) of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D. if related. This graduate degree or education must demonstrate the KSAs to do the work of this position. If you are claiming to qualify based on your education your application must include an official or unofficial copy of graduate level transcripts that demonstrate this information.

OR

Applicants may combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-09 grade level: Applicants may combine specialized experience and education beyond one full year of graduate level education. If you have some but not all of the graduate education described above AND less than one full year of the specialized experience described above you may qualify by combining the amount of creditable education and experience that you do have. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade GS-09. To calculate first identify the education you have earned beyond your first year of study as a percentage of a total of two years of study. Then identify the number of months of specialized experience you have as a percentage of 12 months. Add the two percentages. The total must equal at least 100 percent in order to be qualifying. For example an applicant who has 27 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required beyond the first 18 credit hours earned) and who has 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the one year of specialized experience required) would meet 100% and thus be qualified for the position. If you are claiming to qualify based on your education your application must include an official or unofficial copy of graduate level transcripts that demonstrate this information.

To qualify at the GS-11 grade level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09). Specialized experience is work experience that equipped the applicant with the KSAs to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience for this position 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.

OR

Applicants may substitute education for experience to qualify at the GS-11 grade level:Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three full years (54 semester hours or 81 quarter hours) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M if related. This graduate degree or education must demonstrate the KSAs to do the work of this position. If you are claiming to qualify based on your education your application must include an official or unofficial copy of graduate level transcripts that demonstrate this information.

OR

Applicants may combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-11 grade level: Applicants may combine specialized experience and education beyond two full years of graduate level education. If you have some but not all of the graduate education described above AND less than one full year of the specialized experience described above you may qualify by combining the amount of creditable education and experience that you do have. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade GS-11. To calculate first identify the education you have earned beyond your first two years of study as a percentage of a total of three years of study. Then identify the number of months of specialized experience you have as a percentage of 12 months. Add the two percentages. The total must equal at least 100 percent in order to be qualifying. For example an applicant who has 45 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required beyond the first two years) and who has 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the one year of specialized experience required) would meet 100% and thus be qualified for the position. If you are claiming to qualify based on your education your application must include an official or unofficial copy of graduate level transcripts that demonstrate this information.

Note: 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 you document to include volunteer experience.