HR Specialist Job

Vacancy No. 24-12461294M-HCS-0201-13 Department Internal Revenue Service
Salary $103,409.00 to $167,336.00 Grade 13 to 13
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 7/1/2024 Close Date 7/8/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Anchorage, AKFairbanks, AKBirmingham, ALDothan, AL


Job Description (Please follow all instructions carefully)

Summary

Click on "Learn more about this agency" button below to view Eligibilities being considered and other IMPORTANT information.

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OTHER IRS CAREERS? Visit us on the web at www.jobs.irs.gov

Duties

WHAT IS THE HCO-HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICE DIVISION?
A description of the business units can be found at: https://www.jobs.irs.gov/about/who/business-divisions

Vacancies will be filled in the following specialty areas: Human Capital Office of Human Resource Operations Labor/Employee Relations and Negotiations

The following are the duties of this position at the full working level.

  • As a top senior expert, serves as personal advisor to and/or representative of top-level management in the most sensitive/controversial discussions and negotiations with representatives of the NTEU (National Treasury Employees Union). Receives and acts on labor organization requests for bargaining unit contract negotiations. Conducts Impact and Implementation (I & I) analysis and bargaining as appropriate. Develops strategies to incorporate Service-wide policies in negotiations with impacted NTEU chapters. Reviews existing local program guidance/management issues and develops long/short range plans for negotiations with NTEU chapters and works with management to integrate strategies developed with the local management agenda.
  • Serves as the authoritative resource in the field to top-level management for all phases of the employee and labor relations programs. Provides expert employee and labor relations interpretations and decisions to senior HR supervisors and managers to resolve disputes and interpret facts, events, and/or identifying aggravating or mitigating factors relevant to cases. Explains ambiguous rules and procedures and helps support customers by understanding their rights and obligations; maintains and encourages objectivity in situations that may be charged with emotion and involve assumptions; resolves disputed facts, including those which require expert level determinations for which previous studies and established techniques are frequently inadequate. Advises management about appropriate disciplinary or other corrective techniques to respond to a full range of conduct and performance issues. Advises management officials and supervisors on the performance management program, giving specific directions as needed on procedural and complex procedural and regulatory requirements for annual and other appraisals; explains requirements for developing, modifying, and issuing performance plans; preparing performance improvement plans; and initiating performance-based actions.
  • Utilizes legal research methods, information gathering techniques, and analytical skills sufficient to locate, interpret, and analyze for applicability and appropriateness, precedent and substantive decisions, and/or legal opinions that various courts and administrative bodies have rendered. Maintains expert knowledge of employee and labor relations practices and policies through extensive review of FLRA (Federal Labor Relations Authority), FSIP (Federal Service Impasses Panel), OPM (Office of Personnel Management), OGC (Office of General Counsel), and MSPB (Merit Systems Protection Board) issuances and decisions, the contract, case law, policies, and precedents. Develops and issues Service-wide program guidance relative to changes in case law, policy, and strategy.
  • Receives, researches, analyzes, and coordinates allegations of Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs) and resolves when possible. Receives and reviews requests for petitions from labor organizations. Independently conducts and/or serves as project leader of a team in the study of major and highly-complex/controversial employee and labor relations' issues including grievances, misconduct, poor performance, unfair labor practice charges, MSPB appeals, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaints, Office of Special Counsel (OSC) cases, settlement agreements, adverse actions, information sharing, contract interpretation, training, and preparation and conduct of contract bargaining. Develops and recommends improvements in policy, negotiated contracts, and negotiating techniques. Analyzes top management plans and initiatives to identify issues that affect Service-wide policies and/or are precedent-setting in nature. Prepares proposed changes in program policies for agency consideration.


Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National and provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. (Birth certificate showing birth in the U.S; Unexpired U.S. Passport; Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization; or Report of Birth Abroad of a U.S. Citizen (Form FS-240))
  • A 1-year probationary period is required.
  • Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
  • Undergo a review of prior performance/conduct and an income tax verification. Refer to "Get Your Tax Record" at http://www.irs.gov/ to check the status of your account, balance owed, payment history, make a payment, or review answers to tax questions. If you are not in compliance, you will be determined unsuitable for employment with IRS.
  • This position requires that the successful candidate undergo personnel vetting, which includes a background investigation and enrollment upon onboarding into "Continuous Vetting." Enrollment in Continuous Vetting will result in automated record checks being conducted throughout one's employment with Treasury. The successful candidate will also be enrolled into FBI's Rap Back service, which will allow Treasury to receive notification from the FBI of criminal matters (e.g., arrests, charges, convictions) involving enrolled individuals in near real-time. For more information regarding your rights refer to Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights - FBI, FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI, and SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.gov).
  • Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
  • If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
  • Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. These documents must be unexpired original or certified copies.
  • The employment of any candidate, including a current employee or a new hire, selected for this position may be conditional upon classification and/or audit of federal tax returns. This audit may include up to 2 years of returns.

Qualifications

Federal experience is not required. The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector or Volunteer Service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-timework is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date 07/08/2024 of this announcement.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: GS-13 QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

To be eligible for this position at the grade 13 level you must have 1 year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes: Demonstrated experience applying a full range of labor relations and employee relations law, theories, principles, and practices with an understanding of the full range interrelationships of human resources management programs sufficient to provide integrated solutions to labor and employee relations problems/issues; in depth knowledge of collective bargaining/union agreements (e.g., IRS NTEU agreement) in order to advise and assist management in the interpretation/execution of the contract and other agreements; extensive knowledge of principles and methods used in collective bargaining, including negotiating strategies, interest/position based bargaining processes, and dispute resolution sufficient to articulate and facilitate management interests; knowledge of communicative techniques in order to meet and deal tactfully and persuasively with others to resolve issues which are often controversial and sensitive in nature and to maintain harmonious relationships with all parties. Expert skills in consulting and facilitation techniques and methods.

AND

MEET TIME IN GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT: You must meet applicable TIG requirements to be considered eligible. To meet TIG for positions above the GS-05 grade level, you must have served at least one year (52 weeks) at the next lower grade (or equivalent) in the normal line of progression for the position you are applying to. Advancement to positions up to GS-05 is permitted if the position to be filled is no more than two grades above the lowest grade held within the preceding 52 weeks.

AND

TIME AFTER COMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT: By the closing date (or if this is an open continuous announcement, by the cut-off date) specified in this job announcement, current civilian employees must have completed at least 90 days of federal civilian service since their latest non-temporary appointment from a competitive referral certificate, known as time after competitive appointment. For this requirement, a competitive appointment is one where you applied to and were appointed from an announcement open to "All US Citizens".

For more information on qualifications please refer to OPM's Qualifications Standards.

Education

For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click here (Section 3, Explanation of Terms) or here for Foreign Education Credentialing instructions.

Additional information

  • We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. Additional jobs may be filled.
  • The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the minimum locality pay up to maximum locality pay for all duty locations listed. The range will be adjusted for selected duty location. General Schedule locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages.
  • This is a non-bargaining unit position.
  • Tour of Duty: Day Shift - Start and stop times between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
  • The employment of any candidate selected for this position, including a current employee or a new hire, selected for this position may be conditional upon classification and/or audit of federal tax returns. This audit may include up to 2 years of returns.
  • Alternative work schedule, staggered work hours or telework may be available.
  • In the event that a building is closed due to rent management, new hires may be placed in a local commuting location.
  • Telework Eligible Positions: Telework eligible positions do not guarantee telework. Employees must meet and sustain IRS telework eligibility requirements (e.g., reporting at least twice a pay period to your assigned Post of Duty (POD)) and supervisor's approval to participate in the IRS Telework Program. Employees must also be within a 200-mile radius of their official assigned post-of-duty (POD) while in a telework status. As a reminder - If you are selected for a position, you are responsible for reporting to your designated POD (location) on the negotiated start date or as directed by management
  • The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Treasury and its bureaus from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Treasury by email at, FairChanceAct@treasury.gov. To learn more, please visit our page at: Treasury.gov/fairchanceact.
  • Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.

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.

Your application includes your resume, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination. Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further.

In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical competencies required to perform the job. In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process, meet all qualifications, and receive a passing score on the required assessment(s). Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or on the application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment will result in your removal from consideration.

Rating:
Your application will be evaluated on the competencies of the position to be filled per the IRS Merit Promotion Plan in the following areas: Analytical Skills, Interpersonal Skills, Labor Relations, Managing Human Resources, Oral Communication, Organizational Knowledge, Problem Solving, and Writing


Your application will also be rated and ranked among others, based on your responses to the online questions regarding your experience, education, training, performance appraisals and awards relevant to the duties of this position. Your rating may be lowered, if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application.

IRS employees may obtain most recent awards listing at https://persinfo.web.irs.gov/

Referral: A category-like rating (Quality Group) will be used to rate, rank and select eligible candidates. If qualified, you will be assigned to one of three quality level categories, Superior/Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, and Qualified. Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements and current employees must have at least a fully successful or equivalent performance rating to receive consideration.

You may be required to participate in a selection interview (telephonic and/or in person at the discretion of the Selecting Official in accordance with hiring polices). We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.


If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP), you must meet the eligibility criteria and receive a rating of Highly Qualified or better to receive special selection priority.

Non-Competitive Hiring Authorities: If you are applying under a non-competitive or special hiring authority (e.g., Military Spouse), you will still be required to complete the online assessment, however the results will not be used to rate and rank your application. Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine if you are minimally qualified for this job.

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be provided with your application. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English.

  1. Resume - Your resume MUST contain dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or present). To ensure you receive full credit for relevant experience, include the hours worked per week. We recommend that your resume not exceed 5 pages. If including Federal service experience, you MUST provide the pay plan, series, and grade, i.e., GS-0301-09. If the pay plan, series, and grade are not provided, it may result in an ineligible determination.
    Your resume must NOT include photographs, classified or government sensitive information, social security number (SSN), encrypted/digitally signed documents, or other inappropriate material or content. If your resume contains prohibited information as listed above, your application will be determined ineligible, and you will not receive consideration for this position. (Cover letters are optional.) Please view Resume Tips.
    It is also recommended that your resume not include personal information such as age, gender, religion, race, disability, etc.
  2. Online Application - Questionnaire
  3. Education - See Education Section above
  4. Registration/License (if applicable) - active, current registration/license
  5. Veterans Employment Act (VEOA) of 1998 (if applicable) - You MUST submit a copy of your DD-214 (Member 4 copy), or other official documentation from a branch of the Armed Forces or the Department of Veterans Affairs showing dates of service and type of discharge. If you are serving under active duty, provide certification from the Armed Forces that you will be discharged or released within 120 days from the date of certification. The certification must indicate your dates of service, rank and that you will be separated under honorable conditions. 10-point preference eligible - Submit an Application for 10-point Veteran Preference, SF-15, along with the required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 Veterans Affairs/Armed Forces certification must include the percentage of the service-connected disability or disabilities (including the "combined" percentage if you have more than one disability). Refer to FedsHireVets for additional information on VEOA
  6. Military Spouses (if applicable) - You MUST submit verification of the marriage to the service member (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage) AND:
  • a copy of your spouse's active military orders; OR
  • verification of your spouse's 100% service-connected disability (e.g., VA Letter and/or DD-214); OR
  • verification of the service member's death while on active duty (DD-1300/Death Certificate). You are not eligible if you were not married to the veteran at the time of death or have since remarried.
  1. Current and Former Federal Employees Documentation (if applicable) - You MUST submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or equivalent personnel action form which shows your current grade and competitive service status (Position Occupied/Block 34 should reflect "1" and Tenure/Block 24 should reflect "1" or "2"). If applying for a higher grade, it is recommended that you provide an SF-50(s) or equivalent which clearly demonstrates you meet the 52-week time-in-grade requirement (e.g., Promotion with an effective date more than one (1) year old, Within-Grade-Increase at the highest grade held).
  2. Performance Appraisal/Awards (if applicable): You are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your most recent, signed, completed annual performance appraisal which includes the final rating and copies of any incentive/performance awards you received. Providing these documents allows the selecting official information surrounding your potential to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of the position being filled.
  3. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) (if applicable) - You MUST submit the required documentation as outlined at: Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP). If you are an IRS CTAP eligible, you can apply for jobs within and outside the commuting area. If you are a Treasury CTAP eligible can apply for jobs within the commuting area.
  4. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) (if applicable) - If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click Interchange Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents.
Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, your application will be determined incomplete, and you will not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

How to Apply

The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 07/08/2024 and/or cut-off dates in this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on 07/08/2024.

To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12461294

  • To begin the application process, click the "Apply Online" button.
  • You will be re-directed to USA STAFFING to complete your application process; answer the online questions and submit all required documents. (To submit supporting documents, import documents from USAJOBS to the appropriate document types. If the document you need was not imported from USAJOBS, you may upload it directly into this application. To protect your privacy, we suggest you first remove your SSN).
  • To complete, you must click the "Submit Application" button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on 07/08/2024.
  • After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to complete additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system and will be provided any necessary instructions at that time. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder.
  • If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements.
  • Note, set aside adequate time to take these assessments. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under Track my application link for the corresponding application.
  • To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account. On the Home page, scroll down and locate your job application. Once the job has been located, click the Track this application link on the right under the application date. The page will refresh to display the Agency's Application Information page where you can scroll down and review any notifications the agency has sent you. 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/.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests (USA Hire Competency Based Assessments): If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

Agency contact information

(ERC) Employee Resource Center
Address
HCO OHRO - Labor/Employee Relations and Negotiations
1111 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20224
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Treasury believes in a working environment that supports inclusion; to review reasonable accommodation policies and procedures please visit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employment/reasonable-accommodations/. We provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.

Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Your assessment results will be kept on record for the life of the assessment and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments. If you fail any part of the assessment, you will need to wait 8 months from your test date to retake it. Due to a change in testing requirements, scores rendered prior to 12/1/2021 will no longer be valid.

Before attempting to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you should visit https://cdn.apps.pdricloud.com/cdn/v1/files/pub/inline/7e5/6/15/f/5f7a7b45-d373-4126-8738-aa5c07cadd92.html to determine if the computer you are using is likely to experience any issues during testing. If you have questions about the computer requirements, require technical assistance, accidently deleted the invitation to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, or otherwise need the information re-sent (e.g., you feel you have not received it due to a SPAM filter), you should contact https://apply.usastaffing.gov/HelpTicket to request the invitation to be re-sent. Requests to re-send invitations to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments must be received by https://apply.usastaffing.gov/HelpTicket BEFORE the close of the Job Opportunity Announcement.

Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. If your email mailbox is full or blocked (SPAM) you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

Additional Locations


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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