This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Central Office (VACO) Human Resources Service Center (HRSC) that focuses on the establishment and transition of human capital services for VACO staff offices from the Veterans Health, Veterans Benefits, and National Cemetery Administrations. This vacancy may be filled in Washington, DC; or a location determined. Selected candidate must secure space at a Veterans Affairs or other government facility to receive an official offer.

Duties

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: HR Specialist Total Rewards Major Duties Include: Individually or as a team member, conducts special studies/surveys, makes recommendation/decisions and is typically responsible for such areas of human resources administration as reviewing legislative and regulatory changes to develop solutions to complex problems of employee benefits program improvement, implementing/administering employee benefits programs; interpreting/clarifying complex/controversial policies, regulatory guides and laws involving broad aspects of insurance benefits and worklife benefits programs. Responsible for administering and providing advisory services on workplace flexibilities, tour of duty, group life insurance, health benefits, and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) programs and Reasonable Accommodation (RA). Serves as the specialist on benefits issues, including general information about retirement benefits, resolution of health benefits issues, and advises on insurance coverage options. Resolves problems in the administration of Worklife/Employee benefits programs.

Requirements

• Subject to a background/security investigation.
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

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, 05/10/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: 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. 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. The BASIC REQUIREMENT for the HR Specialist GS-0201 series is presumed met if found qualified at the GS-0201-07 level and above. Specialized Experience GS-09: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: conducts special studies, makes recommendation/decisions and is typically responsible for such areas of human resources administration as reviewing legislative and regulatory changes to develop solutions to complex problems of employee benefits program improvement, implementing/administering employee benefits programs; interpreting/clarifying complex/controversial policies, regulatory guides and laws involving broad aspects of insurance benefits and worklife benefits programs. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successful completion of a master's or equivalent graduate degree or two full years of progressively higher-level graduate level education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position? This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. (TRANSCRIPTS 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 successfully completed graduate level education (beyond the first two years) and specialized experience, as described above, to meet the total requirements. The education portion includes graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of this position, (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) Specialized Experience GS-11: 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: conducts special studies, makes recommendation/decisions and is typically responsible for such areas of human resources administration as reviewing legislative and regulatory changes to develop solutions to complex problems of employee benefits program improvement, implementing/administering employee benefits programs; interpreting/clarifying complex/controversial policies, regulatory guides and laws involving broad aspects of insurance benefits and worklife benefits programs. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successful completion of a Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree, three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., if related. Such education demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. (TRANSCRIPTS 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 successfully completed graduate level education (beyond the first two years) and specialized experience, as described above, to meet the total requirements. The education portion includes graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of this position. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) Specialized Experience GS-12: 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 would typically include, but are not limited to: conducts special studies, makes recommendation/decisions and is typically responsible for such areas of human resources administration as reviewing legislative and regulatory changes to develop solutions to complex problems of employee benefits program improvement, implementing/administering employee benefits programs; interpreting/clarifying complex/controversial policies, regulatory guides and laws involving broad aspects of insurance benefits and worklife benefits programs. 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 successfully completed graduate level education (beyond the first two years) and specialized experience, as described above, to meet the total requirements. . Successful completion of a graduate level degree or higher and three years of progressive specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level. Such experience was gained in administrative, professional, technical or other responsible work positions in the public (i.e., Government or military) or private sector. Qualifying specialized experience includes: experience that has provided you with knowledge of federal employee benefits; answering questions related to federal employee benefits entitlements; preparing communications to inform individuals of federal employee benefits; assisting in the development of work-life benefits programs. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: 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. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

Education

Qualifying education for the GS-0201 series includes courses and programs in HR, HR development, HR management, business, business management/administration, industrial relations, labor relations, industrial psychology, organizational psychology, organizational development, management, organizational behavior, pre-law/law, legal studies, health care management/administration, public administration, public policy, human services, leadership and/or humanities.
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Reference: VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix F1; Human Resources Specialist Qualification Standards GS-0201. This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.
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.

Contacts

• Address VA Human Resources Service Center 810 Vermont Ave NW Washington, DC 20420 US
• Name: Jonell Tomlinson
• Phone: 317-916-3660
• Email: [email protected]