NIST works with industry and science to advance innovation and improve quality of life. We're looking for a HR Specialist (Employee Benefits) to join our team! This announcement will close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the date the first 250 applications are received or July 18, 2023, whichever comes first.

Duties

At the ZA-201-II level you will: - provide routine advice and assistance to client organizations in employee benefits to include health benefits, life insurance, retirement, thrift savings plan, FEDVIP and related programs; - perform routine operational activities, including retirement counseling; retirement estimates/calculations, military deposits, civilian deposits/redeposits; - assist senior specialists on complex benefits related assignments, e.g., FERCCA; - advise on, coordinate and/or address general benefits problems and issues; - support training and outreach activities, e.g., new employee orientation, health fairs, seminars, web-based communications; - collaborate with team members, related offices, vendors, etc. to administer and promote programs; and - utilize various technology sources to aid in the processing of deliverables, data and communicating HR information. At the ZA-201-III level you will: Provide the full range of advisory federal benefits and retirement services to customers, while ensuring consistency and compliance with established policies, regulations, and laws. Federal benefits include the Federal Employee Health Benefits program; Federal Employees Group Life Insurance; flexible spending accounts; Federal Long Term Care Insurance; Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program; and the Thrift Savings Plan. As part of your operational activities, you will: - counsel employees on their eligibility and retirement options; - prepare retirement estimates/calculations, military deposits, civilian deposits/redeposits; - be responsible for working on difficult and complex cases such death and disability retirements involving sensitive and controversial problems and contested issues; - apply your knowledge of retirement policies to determine retirement system errors and take appropriate corrective action; determine eligibility under FERCCA; and counsel employees on their options; - advise on, coordinate and/or address customer benefits and retirement problems and issues; - develop, provide and/or participate in training and outreach activities, e.g., health fairs, training, seminars, new employee orientation, web-based communications, and guidance; and - collaborate with team members, organizational units, vendors, etc. to administer and promote programs.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
• Suitable for Federal employment
• Must meet time-in-grade/band requirements, as applicable
• Bargaining Unit Position: No

Qualifications

ZA-II Applicants may qualify for the position in one of the following ways: A Master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in a field related to the position. OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a degree in a field related to the position. OR Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level (or ZA-I at NIST). Specialized experience is defined as experience researching a variety of routine questions from employees and managers regarding employee benefit programs, policies, and regulations; serving as a point of contact for advice and routine guidance on retirement and employee benefit programs; reviewing, facilitating and/or processing personnel transactions; and performing personnel data input and retrieval in automated personnel systems. ZA-III To qualify, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level (or ZA-II at NIST). Specialized experience is defined as experience making retirement eligibility determinations, providing effective advisory services on retirement and benefits, including health insurance, employee flexible accounts, and retirement savings accounts, and the counseling and processing of retirements. Participated in outreach and/or education to customers to communicate benefits and retirement information. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done. We will credit all qualifying volunteer experience in your application. The qualification requirements in this vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. Applicant Reconsideration

Education

This position allows applicants to qualify with education. Transcripts must be submitted to validate that the education requirement has been met. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. However, an official copy will be required prior to a final offer of employment.

Education completed outside of the U.S. must be evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that it is comparable to education received in accredited institutions in the U.S. Click here to view a listing of accredited organizations from the Department of Education's website. A copy of the foreign education evaluation (containing the results with a course by course listing) is required with your application.

Contacts

• Address Compensation, Recognition, and Effectiveness Division 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20899 US
• Name: Sarah Sadler
• Phone: 301-975-6296
• Email: [email protected]