VHA has adopted the HR Modernization and Shared Services Implementation to organize and consolidate essential HR functions and services to the VISN level related to the acquisition, compensation, retention, and performance of staff, as well as the consistent execution of HR-related administrative functions to benefit both staff and Veterans.

Duties

Employee Relations Incumbent provides technical guidance, advice and counseling to management officials and supervisors to address issues with workforce-related conduct and performance. Develops strategies to respond to employee-related issues. Prepares appropriate agency responses to employee relations matters. Provides consultation on associated program areas, such as reasonable accommodation and leave management. Delivers training for management and employees on a variety of employee relations topics. Incumbent prepares a variety of correspondence on behalf of the agency to address complex employee relations matters including, disciplinary and adverse actions, settlement agreements, and congressional correspondence. Labor Relations Develops management strategies to respond to labor issues. Prepares appropriate agency responses to labor-related matters. Offers technical guidance, information and assistance to management and senior leadership officials on sensitive, serious, and controversial labor relations issues regarding employees in a wide variety of administrative and clinical occupations with substantial differences in working conditions, entitlement, and occupational practices and policies. Incumbent provides technical and consultative guidance, including actions of a disciplinary or adverse nature, grievances, demands to bargain, impasse proceedings, local bargaining, unfair labor practices, performance management and recognition, employee counseling, appeals, complaints, drug testing and related functions. Provides management with interpretation of policies, procedures, and collective bargaining agreements. Researches and interprets legal and regulatory program guidance, including case law, United States Code, Code of Federal Regulations, and VA Handbooks and Directives. The incumbent serves as subject matter expert regarding policies and procedures pertaining to Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) and Federal Services Impasses Panel (FSIP). Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; Tour of duty will be set between the hours of 6:30am - 5:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Available Remote: No. Telework: As determined by agency policy Position Description/PD#: Human Resources Specialist (ER/LR)/PD99976S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Notifications: This position is not a Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Current permanent VA employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is in the Competitive Service. Time-in-Grade Restriction: 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. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in the Federal service.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/21/2023. 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 by the closing date of this announcement. (This is separate from your experience and is mandated by statutory and regulatory requirements.) For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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 the most recent 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 SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: 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. You must also qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below. Simply meeting the time-in-grade requirements does not automatically make you qualified for the positions, you must have detailed experience performing the duties listed on your resume in an Human Resources related position. Specialized Experience: In addition to meeting the basic requirements for the series, applicants must also possess the specialized experience required for specific grade levels. GS-09: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience include but not limited to: knowledge of a wide range of methods, principles, and practices commonly used in the employee & labor relations process; knowledge of the occupational design of positions within assigned organizations sufficient to: advise management officials on various types of actions and their appropriate application in both the competitive and excepted services; advise on the procedural and regulatory requirements governing the employee & labor relations process. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute a Master's or equivalent graduate degree, two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.B. or J.D., if related. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) 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 one year of graduate level education. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) GS-11: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience include but not limited to: Providing technical guidance, advice and counseling to management officials and supervisors to address issues with workforce-related conduct and performance, developing strategies to respond to employee-related issues, preparing correspondence to address employee relations matters including, disciplinary and adverse actions, settlement agreements, and congressional correspondence, delivering training on employee relations topics, explaining rules and procedures to employees and management to help them understand rights and obligations, conducting analysis to identify obscure or underlying causes of misconduct or poor performance, coding personnel actions, developing management strategies to respond to labor issues, and providing management with interpretation of policies, procedures, and collective bargaining agreements. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, three full years of progressively higher- level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.M. if related. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). 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 a master's degree. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) GS-12: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience include but not limited to: Offering technical guidance, information and assistance to management and senior leadership officials on sensitive, serious, and controversial labor relations issues regarding employees in a wide variety of administrative and clinical occupations with substantial differences in working conditions, entitlement, and occupational practices and policies; researching and interpreting legal and regulatory program guidance, including: case law, United States Code, Code of Federal Regulations, and VA Handbooks and Directives; Reviewing requests and submitting justification for those ER/LR actions requiring approval by Network Director, VHA, VA, or higher authority, then takes appropriate action and preparing necessary correspondence; recognizing and accomplishing management objectives without sacrificing fundamental principles. OR, Education/Experience Combination: Applicants may substitute education and experience. To qualify based on education/experience for this grade level you must have a graduate level degree or higher and three years of progressive specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationCustomer ServiceEmployee RelationsLabor Relations 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: No special physical exertion is required. The work is primarily performed while sitting at a desk, conferences, meetings, etc., and occasional visits to activity work sites. Though some work may require periods of standing. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address VISN 1 VA New England Healthcare System 200 SPRINGS ROAD BEDFORD, MA 01730-1114 US
• Name: Shannon Klare
• Email: [email protected]