Program Analyst (College Graduate)

Program Analyst (College Graduate)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia

Salary Range: $70623 - $111087 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs (OCLA). OCLA serves as the primary congressional and legislative affairs office for all VA Administrations, staff offices, and program offices. The incumbent coordinates closely with the Office of General Counsel, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and Federally Mandated Committees to ensure all policies and procedures are adhered to.

Major Duties:

• This position is located in the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs (OCLA). OCLA is responsible for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) relations and interactions with the Congress of the United States. OCLA acts as the congressional and legislative affairs office for all VA Administrations and staff offices, and coordinates closely with the program offices of the Administrations, staff offices, the Office of General Counsel (OGG), the Government Accountability Office, and Federally Mandated Committees, assuring that Departmental congressional activities, priorities, and communications align with those of the Administration to improve the lives of Veterans and their families. The incumbent of the position serves as an analyst and advisor to management on the content, appropriateness, and effectiveness of all information on all VA programs, policies, and procedures provided to Members of Congress, congressional staff and outside entities. Specific duties include: Responding to inquiries from congressional members and committee staff on VA policy and program issues as well as requests for information about VA programmatic and policy issues. Arranging meetings and briefings between VA Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and congressional members and their staff that are responsive to requests for information about VA Policy and programmatic and policy issues. Researching issues to be discussed and providing background documentation to assist Congressional Relations Officers in their preparation of SMEs engagements with congressional members. Attending congressional oversight and legislative hearings where VA has an interest in the issues and outcomes; preparing a summary on the hearing proceedings; and coordinating department responses to Pre and Post Hearing Questions for the Record. Tracking data and information provided to congressional Members, committees and staff. Preparing and providing briefings and presentations on VA programs and issues of congressional interest and making recommendations. Assisting management in interpretation and utilization of reports and congressional information provided. Developing various tables, charts, and figures to present trends, performance status, capability, and related management information. Working diplomatically with a wide variety of individuals either in person, by phone, or e-mail in potentially difficult and delicate situations in a persuasive manner. Interpreting, analyzing, and communicating policies, laws and regulations to develop solutions to problems and to advise higher level management. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level GS-11, 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-9/11. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: AvailableVirtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Analyst (College Graduate); PD20381A and PD20382A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:05/15/2026. COLLEGE GRADUATE HIRING REQUIREMENT: You must have obtained a qualifying graduate/equivalent or higher level degree from an institution of higher education within the previous two years. Veterans who were precluded from applying due to their military service obligation (of not less than 4 years) begin their 2-year eligibility period upon release or discharge from active duty. Eligibility for these veterans cannot exceed 6 years from the date on which the degree was completed. AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-09 Grade Level: 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: Responding to requests for information regarding policy and program issues Researching issues to be discussed/providing background documentation Communicating, orally and in writing, with a wide variety of individuals. Preparing summary and analysis of briefings and meetings. Tracking data and information provided to management, staff and customers. Education Substitution: You may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education or masters or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B. or J.D., in a related field of the position to be filled. Education at the graduate level must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. [NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application] OR Combining Education & Experience: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-9 level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 18 semester hours of graduate level education that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for a GS-9 position. For example, an applicant who has 27 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience equivalent to GS-7 (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the GS-9 position. [NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application] GS-11 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Preparing and providing briefings and presentations on programs and issues of interest. Writing and reviewing a full range of correspondence/information to be provided to a variety of audiences. Providing technical assistance to program staff on how to respond to programmatic inquiries. Compiling workload metrics Interpreting reporting requirements contained in bills and enacted legislation. Preparing complex reports for senior department and OCLA management. Assisting management in interpretation and utilization of reports and congressional information provided. Education Substitution: You may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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. [NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application] OR Combining Education & Experience: You may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-11 level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 36 semester hours of graduate level education that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for a GS-11 position. For example, an applicant who has 45 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience equivalent to GS-9 (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the GS-11 position. [NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application] 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 is primarily sedentary although some slight physical effort may be required, including attending hearings/briefings on Capital Hill.

How to Apply: Complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 05/15/2026 to receive consideration. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12955488. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center. 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. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

Application Deadline: 2026-05-15