Program Analyst

Program Analyst

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Elwood, Illinois

Salary Range: $68999 - $89703 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is located at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois. The primary purpose of the position is to perform a variety of analytical, planning, and evaluative duties to assess the facility's operational program(s).

Major Duties:

• The Program Analyst conducts audits, studies, and operational reviews to ensure compliance with established policies, practices and procedures. Provides cemetery managers with objective information on program operations that support compliance and improvement. Incumbent interprets policy and regulations and presents controversial and critical observations, findings and proposal for solutions/changes in program operations to management. Administers the internal review, quality, and productivity initiatives for the organization. Develops short and long-range goals and coordinates quality assurance plans for the cemetery. Research and compiles information for reports. Generates required reports, standard operation procedures, and data collection methods for the cemetery. Incumbent develops the need for and maintains an awareness of available resources, and makes recommendations to cemetery management regarding needs, distribution, or redistribution of these resources. Manages budget for several fund control points. Assists Cemetery Director with budget related matters. The incumbent manages procurement and contracting for the organization. This may include preparing procurement requests, evaluating proposals for work, acting as a COR for procurements, and/or maintaining procurement and contracting records. Work schedule: Required to work Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. May include occasional weekends. Due to the mission of the National Cemetery, the cemetery cannot be closed for more than 2 consecutive days at any given time. Additionally, when a Federal holiday falls on a Monday or Friday, staff may be required to work on that holiday or a Saturday. All staff is required to work Memorial Day and Veteran's Day each year. Staff will be required to work overtime, weekends and holidays when necessary to meet the needs of the cemetery. Occasionally staff may be called back to the facility to perform emergency overtime work. Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not Available Telework: Not Available Position Description Title/PD#: Program Analyst/PD1725489 The full performance level of this position is GS - 09. Relocation Expenses: Not Authorized Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required If interested in applying for this position you ay preview the online application: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12894426

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all specialized experience and time in grade requirements within 45 days of the closing date of this announcement, 03/13/2026. 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 within 45 days of the closing date of this announcement. 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 your most recent non-award 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 non-award SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade. 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. Must have the ability to type at least 40 words per minute. Must possess and maintain a valid state driver's license. You may qualify for a GS-09 position based on your education and/or experience, as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS 7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: performing analytical work, analyzing business needs for clients, communication and customer service skills, ability to run and monitor a project, and experience in gathering, analyzing, documenting and presenting data. OR, Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level 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. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first 18 semester hours of graduate-level education earned. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Analytical Thinking Communication Cost Estimation and Analysis Technical Competence 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: Work is primarily sedentary and performed in an office environment. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In 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 interest.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must 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 03/13/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12894426. 1. 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. 2. 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. To verify your application is complete, log into your USA JOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Application page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USA JOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USA JOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-13