This position is in the VA Regional Office. The incumbent is assigned to the Office of the Director and reports to the Assistant Director. The incumbent serves as a Program Specialist responsible for providing performance management and technical support for the regional office HR program. The incumbent is the key advisor to the Director and the Division Chiefs on all human resources issues and coordinates directly with the HR Center.

Duties

Specific duties include: Communication and performance of duties involves managing a large workload, a diverse workforce, and leaders tasked with significant responsibility for large numbers of federal employees. They offer a need viable strategy recommendation and course of action in emotionally charged situations often with imperfect information and short response times. Provides leaders and managers with strategic counsel and advice interpreting and implementing provisions of agency policy, management of programs, collective bargaining agreements, and practices as they apply to individual cases. Provides leaders, employees, and job applicants with accurate information and interpretations of Federal civilian recruitment policies and placement procedures. Provides information to all employees on matters pertaining to federal employee benefits to include FEHB, FEGLI, TSP, EAP, leave and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Develops multiple recruitment strategies utilizing various hiring flexibilities and authorities. Prepare recruitment packages to include crediting plans, job analysis on a variety of complex positions using research, interview, observation, and analytical techniques. Provide assistance on Employee Relation and Labor Relation matters. Conduct in-processing and out-processing employee interviews. Process and track Office of Worker's Compensation Program (OWCP) cases. Provide training to leadership and employees in all HR matters. Provides outstanding customer service to both internal and external entities, in such a way as to enhance customer satisfaction; design work processes and practices. 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. The grade progression for this position is: GS-9, GS-11, GS-12 Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Program Specialist (Regional Office Liaison to HR); GS-9: 39565A, GS-11: 39564A, GS-12: 39563A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

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

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:08/23/2024. 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. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07 level. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 level. 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. These requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement and those applying for a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. If you are a current VBA employee outside of the commuting area seeking reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-09 (or higher) and the promotion potential of your current position must be at least GS-12. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-09 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience at least the next lower grade level (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience applying and providing guidance on multiple fields of Human Resources rules, regulations, and procedures including Personnel Management, Recruitment and Staffing, Classification, Employee Benefits (OWCP, retirements, and insurance programs), and/or Labor Relations. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assist employees with advice on a variety of rules, regulations, and practices pertaining to human resources. Provide guidance and explanations of the organization's policies, procedures, and guidelines to leaders and employees. Provide advice regarding appropriate levels on personnel actions. Education Substitution: 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. GS-11 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience at least the next lower grade level (GS-09) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience applying and providing guidance on multiple fields of Human Resources rules, regulations, and procedures including Personnel Management, Recruitment and Staffing, Classification, Employee Benefits (OWCP, retirements, and insurance programs), and/or Labor Relations. Provide advisory services to leaders and employees on a range of human resources concepts, laws, and policies. Assist leadership in solving a range of complex problems and issues. Participate in policy development groups or projects based on broad organizational requirements. Education Substitution: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related GS-12 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience which was at the GS-11 level and must have been held in the Federal Government. Specialized experience is defined as experience providing advisory services, quality review services, or experience drafting and approving standard operating procedures and/or other forms of regulatory guidance covering multiple fields of Human Resources rules, regulations, and procedures including Personnel Management, Recruitment and Staffing, Classification, Employee Benefits (OWCP, retirements, and insurance programs), and/or Employee and Labor Relations. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Provide advice and guidance in the areas of classification and staffing and recruitment; Defending agency actions in front of a 3rd party hearing (FLRA, MSPB); Experience as the chief negotiator in labor negotiations. Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information. Volunteer Experience: 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. Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require walking in offices and similar areas for meetings and to conduct HR work. Work may also require walking and standing in conjunction with travel to and attendance at meetings and conferences away from the worksite. The work does not require any special physical effort. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited towards qualifications. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

All education claimed by applicants will be verified upon appointment. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript to receive credit.

Contacts

• Address St Paul Regional Benefit Office 1 Federal Dr, Fort Snelling St Paul, MN 55111-4050 US
• Name: Michele Martin
• Phone: 303-236-6166
• Email: [email protected]