Program Specialist (Safety and Training)

Summary This position is located at the Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California. Responsibilities This position is located at Riverside National Cemetery (RNC) in Riverside, CA. The incumbent serves as Program Specialist and represents the Cemetery Executive Director in public relations by assisting in maintaining positive rapport with employees and the public in general to represent the best interest of RNC, Los Angeles National Cemetery (LANG) and the National Cemetery Administration (NGA). RNC is the most active national cemetery in the nation with an annual burial over 8,500. It is comprised of 1,274 acres with over 275,000 existing burials in over 250,000 gravesites. The annual budget is more than $14 million. Authorized FTEE of 69 employees when fully staffed. LANG is the satellite cemetery of RNC with over 600 interment and FTEE of 12. The incumbent serves as Program Specialist for RNC Training and Safety expert providing valuable assistance to the Executive Director on employee's safety and required training decisions. The incumbent should be an expert utilizing accounting and fund control systems to maintain proper financial balance and to assure that management obtains maximum benefit from financial resources without sacrificing efficiency or violating rules or regulations. The incumbent performs a variety of clerical and technical support functions to support the administrative, logistical, and analytical activities related to the Safety and Training at RNC and LANG. The incumbent ensures employees perform the function(s) of their job in a safe manner. The incumbent appropriately to emergencies and medical events, reports job-related illnesses or injuries and seeks medical treatment if needed, reports safety issues/hazards, uses safety equipment, personal protective equipment if required and follows safety requirements. The incumbent assists new employees with the information for New Employee Orientation (NEO) and ensures employees complete all NEO training within established deadlines. The incumbent provides appropriate training and coaching that increases employees' skills and ability to accomplish assigned work. Provides challenging assignments to reinforce learning. Incumbent ensures all collected data is properly submitted in the allotted timeframe to Pacific District and Central Office. Performs public outreach as needed. Work schedule: Required to work Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not Available Telework: Not Available Position Description Title/PD#: Program Specialist (Safety and Training)/PD1634027 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/13062491 Requirements Conditions of Employment 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, 09/22/2026. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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 REAL ID compliant valid state driver's license. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education, as described below: GS-11 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: supervising or coordinating the ordering, delivery, and placement of headstones and markers in a national or state veterans cemetery; developing, managing or supporting a high volume case production environment related to headstone and markers in various VA systems and ensuring compliance with NCA standards and timeliness metrics; working within a case production environment supporting the issuance and tracking of government furnished headstones and markers; experience with memorial product specifications, cemetery operations, and quality assurance procedures. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 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 which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. 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 the 36 semester hours of graduate education earned. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analysis and Problem Solving Critical Thinking Administration and Management Computer Skills Communication 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. There may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items like papers or books. No special physical demands are required to perform work. 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. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. PLEASE NOTE: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications (particularly positions with a positive education requirement). Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Additional Information Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced 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 (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about 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/. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.