The Bowen Group, a GTSC company, is hiring experienced online call center customer service representatives to support the Veterans Experience Office at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Location: This is a 100% virtual position. Your residence must be located within 60-minute driving distance to a Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) facility at Arlington VA, Columbia SC, Murfreesboro TN, Nashville TN, Salt Lake City UT, Martinsburg WV, or San Antonio TX. Visits to the facility are for training, picking up equipment, troubleshooting, or dropping off items. Transportation to/from the facility is your responsibility.
Must have a REAL ID-compliant identification card or acceptable alternative (US Passport, Department of Defense ID card for active / retired / military family dependent member) to enter a federal facility.
Your Mission:
Help Veterans in potentially stressful situations find assistance. You MUST be an excellent communicator and have empathy for others with challenges in their life. Your mission is not to solve their problem. Your mission is to connect them to someone that can help. Engaging the Veteran until that connection is made is core to your mission.
Compensation:
Full time position of $17.75 per hour + 11 paid holidays + benefits of Medical, Dental, Life Insurance, and more. There are no part-time or seasonal positions.
You Need to Know
- Extensive training will be provided. Training is part of your job. Accepting a position means commitment to completing your training. During training, you will be on camera at all times in an interactive classroom environment. Responsiveness and attention to training is monitored during training.
- Positions staffed 24/7. All CCR positions require shiftwork.
- Positions are NOT seasonal work. We want you as part of our team for years to come. There is opportunity to grow into supervisory positions! We hire from within for supervisors.
About your Mission
Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) provide front-line operational support to Veterans for the Veterans Experience Office's premier Contact Center. In this role, you assist Veterans by directing them to proper resources to address questions, issues, and complaints. Phone calls are from a wide variety of individuals, primarily Veterans and their family members and/or representatives. Some callers are stressed, and you need the patience and empathy to help them find an appropriate resource.
QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS:
- MUST have six (6) months of consecutive call center or contact center experience.
- Your computer must direct-connect via cable into your wired cable service home High-Speed Internet router. Your speed test must indicate a minimum 25 Mbps download without delay / Minimum 10 Mbps upload, both without any delay.
- By the end of your completion of orientation training (first two weeks), you will be furnished with a VA-issued computer and other equipment necessary for you to perform your work.
Note: Internet is to be supplied by the employee. For which you will receive a monthly stipend to offset this cost. Wi-Fi-only internet (like Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T Wireless, and others) cannot reliably sustain the necessary internet speeds or a reliable connection. The required speed test you take will show the kind of internet access that you have. High-speed wireless internet service is not acceptable due to frequent connectivity drops.
- Must be able to perform work in accordance with established schedules, including timely start and end times, scheduled breaks and meal periods, and adherence to workforce management requirements necessary to meet customer service and contractual obligations.
- Must be able to handle incoming customer interactions from assigned work queues and perform the full scope of assigned duties regardless of call subject matter or customer presentation.
- Regular and reliable attendance is an essential function of this position.
- You must have a work-at-home environment that is ergonomically sound, conducive to taking customer calls, quiet, and free from distraction. A call can take just minutes to as long as an hour. Your mission: help!
- Ability to work under pressure by calmly and effectively dealing with escalating or difficult calls. Callers can be experiencing challenges in their lives.
- Excellent verbal, interpersonal and written communication skills. You must be able to listen, talk, think and document your interaction in real time. Familiarity with the military and veteran community programs is a plus.
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or a Green Card Holder having lived in the USA for three (3) years prior to hire. Requires Proof of eligibility to work in the United States and MUST have a REAL ID-compliant identification card or acceptable alternative (US Passport, Department of Defense ID card for active / retired / military family dependent member).
CORE FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Learn, understand and explain Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) services and procedures.
- Ask clarifying questions to identify complex or vague requests for VA services and information.
- Accurately record details of calls and other service requests in an expected time frame.
- Select appropriate VA services to meet the specific needs of Veterans.
- Establish and maintain effective communication and working relationships with VA employees, outside agencies, and the public.
- Use and navigate a multi-screen computer system with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications.
- Maintain confidentiality and privacy of callers.
Physical / Essential Functions
Employees must be able to remain professional, focused, and productive while handling emotionally charged, graphic, upsetting, or otherwise distressing conversations. The nature of the work requires employees to engage with the full range of customer contacts assigned to them and maintain established quality, productivity, attendance, and schedule adherence standards throughout these interactions.
Note: This position operates in a high-volume contact center environment and routinely involves direct interaction with individuals experiencing crisis situations, significant emotional distress, traumatic life events, and urgent personal circumstances. Employees may be exposed to discussions involving suicide and self-harm, threats of violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse or neglect, animal abuse or neglect, substance abuse, severe mental health crises, homelessness, grief and loss, serious illness, financial hardship, and other highly sensitive or disturbing subject matter.
General Physical Requirements
- Must be able to work at a computer workstation for extended periods throughout the workday, with the ability to remain seated for significant portions of the shift while performing job duties.
Note: This is a 40-hour per work week position. There are currently no part time positions on this program. In addition, this job requires sitting at a desk and using a computer and computer monitor for 8 hours daily.
- Must be able to use a computer, keyboard, mouse, headset, and related technology to access, navigate, and document information within multiple software applications throughout the workday.
Note: You MUST be able to correctly assemble a computer. This includes being able to correctly connect and test the PC, power, internet connection, monitor(s), mouse, keyboard, docking station, and headset. You must also be able to troubleshoot any technical issues that may arise while using your Government-Issued Equipment (GFE).
- Must be able to view, read, and interpret information displayed on computer screens for extended periods, including simultaneously navigating multiple applications and reviewing detailed information accurately.
- Must be able to maintain sustained concentration, work performance standards, and attention while interacting with customers, navigating multiple software systems, and documenting information accurately throughout the workday.
- Must be able to communicate effectively through computer-based voice systems, including speaking, hearing, and participating in prolonged customer and team interactions.
- Must be able to accurately enter, review, and document information while maintaining attention to detail, meeting quality standards, and managing multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment
- Must be able to lift, carry, push, and pull equipment and materials weighing up to 20 pounds.
- Must be able to assemble, connect, disconnect, and troubleshoot workstation equipment, which may require reaching, bending, stooping, crouching, and working around desks or other office furniture.
- Must be able to transport assigned equipment and travel to designated work locations or support facilities, as needed, for equipment maintenance, replacement, or technical support.
BOWEN PERKS:
- Health and Dental Insurance - Employee Premiums 100% paid by Bowen!
- Group Life Insurance - Employee Premiums 100% paid by Bowen!
- Short-term Disability - Employee Premiums 100% paid by Bowen!
- Generous vacation and sick leave
- 11 Paid Federal Holidays
- 401(k)
The Bowen Group provides support to federal government clients. Some of these clients may require our employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Therefore, by applying for this position, you understand that you may be required to disclose your vaccination status as a condition of employment.
The Bowen Group is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to recruiting, hiring, and promoting qualified people of all backgrounds, regardless of sex; race; color; creed; national origin; religion; age; marital status; pregnancy; physical, mental or sensory disability; sexual orientation; gender identity or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law.
Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant. The Bowen Group is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with physical and mental disabilities.
Note: This accessibility is intended for individuals requiring accommodations and should not be used to check on the status of your application. Inquiries not specific to requesting accommodation will be discarded. The Bowen Group participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations as required by law. Learn more about the E-Verify program.
