Duties
As a HR Specialist (Employee Benefits/Compensation), GS-0201-09, you will:
Provide counseling to management, employees, annuitants, and family members of deceased employees by interpreting, applying, and explaining retirement and insurance laws, regulations, and policies on available retirement insurance benefits, death benefits, entitlements/options. Research and interpret appropriate regulations to provide advice to employees concerning reinstatement of insurance, conversion of life insurance and features of the programs and options associated with retirement. Assist employees in the preparation of retirement applications and related documents and forwards to the Army Benefits Center Civilian (ABC-C). Determine type of separation and completion of eOPF maintenance for documents. Maintain a current knowledge of legislative development, agency reorganizations and other pertinent activities that may have an impact on management and employees. Provide technical guidance and assistance in the development and implementation of benefit program changes and open seasons. Determine entitlement to retirement annuities, eligibility for continuation of life and health insurance. Provide technical advice to personnel on a variety of programs such as health and life insurance and Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Provide initial overview to new employees on the benefit programs available to them.
Assist in administering programs such as the Mass Transit, Reasonable Accommodations (RA), Telework, Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act, military, or civilian deposits for CSRS/FERS, disability benefits, Light Duty Program, and Workers Compensation Program. Develop and process termination memorandums. Compose termination memorandums (30-day notice) in compliance with formats contained in the correspondence regulation for non-retention, mandatory removal date (MRD), mandatory separation date (MSD), medical disqualification, age 60, etc. Monitor and ensure the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) program is properly publicized and supervisors are provided the appropriate guidelines for use of the program. In coordination with the NGB J1-Functional Manager ensure prompt submission of claims and medical documents. Work with Department of Labor (DOL), Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service (DCPAS), to ensure only legitimate claims are submitted. Coordinate with Safety Managers and Supervisors to ensure all applicable workplace validation and documentation is obtained for the claim. Potentially fraudulent and questionable claims are reported to the appropriate office for investigation. Assess and analyze situations to ensure minimum compensation costs are expended and light duty policies are implemented.
Provide technical advice on flexibilities and appropriate use of leave issues such as Sick Leave for Family Care and Bereavement, Disabled Veterans Leave, Advanced Leave, Compensatory Time, Leave Without Pay, Absence Without Leave, Presidential Leave, Court Leave, and Military Leave. Provide technical advice on the use of the Family and Medical Leave Act, Paid Parental Leave, and Voluntary Leave Transfer Program. Interpret guidance and regulations to provide advice to management and employees on pay schedule adjustments, severance pay, back pay, debts, and compensation. Process donated leave requests within the State. Use automated system to effectively process personnel actions in accordance with the Guide to Processing Personnel Actions and local personnel systems checklists as required. Provide technical advice and assistance to employees in the availability of the within the applicable federal employee benefit system. Maintain the Electronic Official Personnel Files by uploading required documentation in accordance with the Guide to Personnel Recordkeeping.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Federal employment suitability as determined by a background investigation.
- May be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
- Participation in direct deposit is mandatory.
- This position requires a SECRET security clearance; the incumbent of this position must obtain and maintain a Secret Clearance.
- This position is covered by the Domestic Violence Misdemeanor Amendment (30 Sep 96) of the Gun Control Act (Lautenberg Amendment) of 1968.
- An individual convicted of a qualifying crime of domestic violence may not perform the duties of this position.
- Irregular and/or overtime (compensatory) hours may be required to support operational requirements or contingencies or may be required to work hours outside of the normal duty day.
- Ability to establish effective professional working relationships with coworkers and customers, contributing to a cooperative working environment and successful accomplishment of the mission.
- May be required to travel by car, in military and/or commercial aircraft, and by other means of transportation as appropriate to perform temporary duty assignments.
- The duties and responsibilities of your job may significantly impact the environment.
- You are responsible to maintain awareness of your environmental responsibilities as dictated by legal and regulatory requirements, your organization, and its changing mission.
- This position is designated as Essential Personnel and may be subject to duty in preparation for, or in response to, a state emergency or disaster declaration.
- This designation will not exceed 14 calendar days per year unless otherwise approved in advance by the TAG.
Qualifications
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. 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.
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.
In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is
in this document.
Specialized Experience: To qualify based on your experience, your resume must describe at least one year of experience which prepared you to do the work in this job. Specialized experience is defined as: providing technical, procedural and evaluative assistance in the area of employee benefits for both Army and Air National Guard organizations. Accomplishes work through the use of an automated personnel system. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07).
OR
Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as Human Resource Management or Business Administration. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)
Education
To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.
If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.
Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in any field leading to a bachelor's degree, in an accredited college or university, meets the GS-5 level requirements.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Once the announcement has closed, your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine if you meet the qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application package, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this position. If you are found to be among the top qualified candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.
Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):
- Employee Benefits
- Employee Benefits Processing
- Interpretation & Application of Employee Benefits Laws
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application/Occupational Questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To view the Occupational Questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12769469
A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.
To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.
Next steps
Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position. After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application.