The Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) works to promote safety, protect the environment, and conserve resources offshore through vigorous regulatory oversight and enforcement. For information about our bureau go to: http://www.bsee.gov/

Duties

This position is located within the Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Associate Director for Administration, Human Resources Division (HRD), HR Benefits and Support Branch, within the Benefits and Systems Unit. NOTE: This position is ONLY open to current Department of the Interior (DOI) employee serving under a permanent competitive service appointment or a current DOI employee with eligibility under a special appointing authority for an excepted service appointment (e.g., 30% Service Connected, Schedule A, Pathways within the 120 day conversion time frame). This position is responsible for carrying out a variety of benefits and retirement functions. Duties include advisory to management and counseling to employees on such programs as health and life insurance, leave, Thrift Saving Plan (TSP), the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and other related benefits. At the full performance level (GS-13) the major duties of this position include but are not limited to the following: 1. Serves as the technical expert and provides guidance and assistance to managers, supervisors, and employees in executing a variety of employee benefits' programs, which may include workers' compensation, retirement, health and life insurance, Thrift Savings Program (TSP), and the Long-Term Care Program. 2. Handles correspondence to employees/survivors on complex, delicate, or highly contested determinations of benefits eligibility and/or retirement coverage (e.g., FERCCA cases, VERA/VSIPs, employee death, re-employed annuitants, etc.). 3. Advises, interprets, designs, implements, and assesses benefits program policies and initiatives. 4. Responsible for carrying out benefits activities and providing advice to managers, supervisors, and employees concerning the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). 5. Serves as the OWCP program manager in formulating, implementing, and managing the full range of policies, programs, and procedures. 6. Provides advice on/calculates retirement determinations in complex cases, such as re-employed annuitants and disability retirements; provides advice and guidance on similarly complex entitlement determinations where the benefit program and/or requirements are vague or difficult to apply specific cases. 7. Responsible for conducting periodic data integrity audits and for trouble-shooting areas of non-compliance in order to identify fundamental causes of such errors and to propose corresponding solutions. Salary Range Information (Per Annum): *First time hires to the federal government typically start at the beginning salary in the range for their respective grade level. Sterling, VA Salary Rate Range Information: GS-09: $64,957 - $ 84,441 GS-11: $78,592 - $102,166 GS-12: $94,199 - $122,459 Jefferson, LA Salary Rate Range Information: GS-09: $57,118 - $74,250 GS-11: $69,107 - $89,835 GS-12: $82,830 - $107,680 Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting for duty in this position will be the responsibility of the selected employee. This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.

Requirements

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the Education or Specialized Experience for the grade to which you are applying. Specialized Experience: To Qualify for the GS-09 Grade Level, you must meet A, B, or C below to qualify for this position: NOTE: Applicants utilizing education to qualify at the respective grade level must provide transcripts (unofficial are acceptable) in order to verify that the educational requirement has been met. The documents must be received by the closing date of the announcement. Failure to provide this information will result in you receiving an "INELIGIBLE" rating. GS-9 Specialized Experience: A. Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-09, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully, the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1. Making retirement coverage determinations upon appointment of employees; AND 2. Providing guidance on benefit entitlements when an employee has experienced a Qualifying Life Event; AND 3. Providing guidance to managers, supervisors, and employees concerning the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.; AND 4. Providing benefit information for separating Federal employees. MUST MEET ALL. -OR- B. Education: You may substitute education for experience if you have achieved: Master's (or equivalent graduate degree), OR 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. OR LL.B. or J.D., if related. -OR- C. Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and experience that total 100% of the experience requirements for the GS-7 grade level. --- GS-11 Specialized Experience: To Qualify for the GS-11 Grade Level, you must meet A, B, or C below to qualify for this position: A. Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-11, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully, the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1. Analyzes OPM and DOI program guidance to advise management and counsel employees on eligibility for such programs as health and life insurance, leave, Thrift Saving Plan (TSP), physical capability requirements and /or the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA); AND 2. Coordinates with survivors on employee death in service benefit claims; AND 3. Conducts benefit and retirement trainings/presentations on Open Season and FERS retirement. MUST MEET ALL. -OR- B. Education: You may substitute education for experience if you have achieved: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, OR 3 full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, OR LL.M., if related. -OR- C. Combination of Education and Experience: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and experience that total 100% of the experience requirements for the GS-11 grade level. --- GS-12 Specialized Experience: At the GS-12 Grade level, you may not substitute education for experience. Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-12, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully, the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1. Administers the benefits program and provides advice to managers and employees concerning complex reemployment benefit provisions; AND 2. Writes correspondence to employees/survivors on complex, delicate, or highly contested determinations of benefits eligibility; AND 3. Provides guidance on traumatic and occupational injury claims; AND 4. Provides advice on/calculates retirement determinations in complex cases, such as disability retirements; provides advice and guidance on similarly complex entitlement determinations where the benefit program and/or requirements are vague or difficult to apply specific cases. MUST MEET ALL. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Merit Promotion candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

Education: If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide transcripts as proof of meeting the requirements.

Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

Contacts

• Address Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement 45600 Woodland Road Sterling, VA 20166 US
• Name: Kelly Souza
• Phone: 703-787-1430
• Email: [email protected]