Clarification from the agency

THIS IS A MERIT PROMOTION ANNOUNCEMENT. Current or former career or career-conditional Federal employees in the competitive service; Veterans who are preference eligibles or who have been separated from the armed forces with an honorable discharge; Government employees eligible through an Interchange agreement; Candidates eligible under Non-Competitive hiring authorities; land & base management.

• Independently processes routine and complex personnel actions, payroll documents, and benefits forms, including retirements, Death cases, Service Computation Date (SCD) adjustments to include applicable leave accrual adjustments, FEHB/FEGLI elections, final lump-sum payments, child support cases, and transfer-in of pay, leave, and benefits.
• Reviews, corrects suspense errors, and validates personnel actions and corrective actions for accuracy and timeliness in accordance with OPM, NFC, and FCC requirements.
• Conducts retirement annuity computations and process civilian and military deposit requests.
• Handles all inquiries related to military leave, processing of military orders, and military pay differential requests in compliance with applicable regulations.
• Conducts informational presentations and provides consultation to new and current employees on FEHB, FEDVIP, FEGLI, FLTCIP, and TSP programs.
• Advises employees on coverage options during qualifying life events and validates/certifies enrollment eligibility.
• Handles the Payroll and Benefits Service Center (PBSC) with Open Season activities, reaches out to health care provides to attend in-person and virtual health fairs, retirement seminars, and financial literacy webinars. Develops and delivers informational briefings and training materials on payroll and benefits programs.
• Serves as the ASO, and point of contact for NFC debt management, including bills and waiver requests. Research and resolves payroll and leave discrepancies, processes manual payments, garnishments, child support claims, back pay for settlement agreements, conduct leave audits, and retroactive salary adjustments.

Conditions of employment

• US Citizenship.
• Suitable for employment as determined by a background investigation.
• Serve a probationary period, if applicable.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.
• Current Federal Employees Must Submit SF-50 which demonstrates grade.
• FCC EMPLOYEES MUST provide a legible Personnel Action, SF-50.
• Resume must not exceed two pages and must meet resume format criteria.

CURRENT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES MUST SUBMIT AN SF-50 TO DOCUMENT ONE YEAR OF TIME IN GRADE.

ALL FCC EMPLOYEES MUST provide a legible Personnel Action, SF-50, that verifies your status and highest permanently held grade.  If an SF-50 is not submitted, the application will be rated as ineligible. To request a copy of your SF-50 please send an email to PersonnelRecordsRequest@fcc.gov

Qualifications

Interested candidates should be passionate about the ideals of our American republic, committed to upholding the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution, and committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government. Hiring decisions will not be based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

Applicants must meet eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.  Current Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.  

IN ORDER TO BE DEEMED AS QUALIFIED, CANDIDATES MAY QUALIFY BY VIRTUE OF EDUCATION, SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE OR A COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE.

GS-9

A. EDUCATION

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

B. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE

In order to be deemed as qualified, candidates must have one year of specialized experience which is equivalent to the GS-7 grade level in the federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience:

1. Processing routine and complex federal personnel actions, payroll documents, and benefits forms, including retirements.
2. Using HR systems including National Finance Center (NFC), electronic retirement system(s), electronic official personnel file (eOPF) system, electronic time and attendance system(s).
3. Anticipating problems and providing solutions to payroll, benefits, and processing errors/issues.
4. Handling military pay and leave inquiries.

OR

C. Combination of both education and experience.

GS-11

A. EDUCATION

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

B. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE

In order to be deemed as qualified, candidates must have one year of specialized experience which is equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience:

1. Independently processing routine and complex personnel actions, payroll documents, and benefits forms, including retirements.
2. Conducting informational presentations and providing consultation to new and current employees on FEHB, FEDVIP, FEGLI, and TSP programs.
3. Independently conducting retirement annuity estimates and processes civilian and military deposit requests.
4. Developing and delivering informational briefings and training materials on payroll and benefits programs, whether federal or non-federal.
5. Using HR systems and granting access to HR systems including National Finance Center (NFC), electronic retirement system(s), electronic official personnel file (eOPF) system, electronic time and attendance system(s).

OR

C. Combination of both education and experience.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID 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; religious; 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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Optional Four Essay Questions

At the time of application, applicants have the option of answering the following four short, free-response essay questions.

1. How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience.
2. In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes.
3. How would you help advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.
4. How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples, and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position.

Applicants will be required to certify that they are using their own words, and did not use a consultant or AI (such as a large language model [LLM]). The responses to each question cannot exceed 200 words per question.

At the time of application you are required to take an external skills-based assessment which is based upon government-wide recognized competencies and consistent with OPM Merit Hiring Plan requirements and the Chance to Compete Act. Should you receive a passing score of 70 or higher, your application will be reviewed by HR to determine if you meet the OPM qualification requirements for this position.

COMPETENCIES

• Work requires comprehensive technical knowledge of HR payroll and benefits regulations.
• Ability to apply OPM retirement handbooks, BALs, OPM benefits guidance, FRTIB rules, Title 5 USC/CFR, NFC manuals, and court order regulations to independent casework.
• Ability to interpret conflicting documentation, evaluate service credit, calculate deposits, provide advisory counseling, and prepare comprehensive written determinations.
• Communication skill is required to brief employees and supervisors and to translate complex regulatory frameworks into understandable formats.
• Ability to conduct retirement annuity computations and process civilian and military deposit requests.
• Ability to conduct informational presentations and provides consultation to new and current employees on federal or non-federal benefit programs.

Merit Hiring Plan Resume Requirements

In compliance with Executive Order 14170, Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service resumes must not be longer than two pages in length. The resume must address minimum qualifications and other requirements listed in the job announcement.

Resumes must include all of the following information outlined below:

Contact Information

Name and how best to contact you, including email address and phone number.

Relevant Work Experience

• Job Title and Employer (including series and grade for any Federal positions)
• Start and end dates with month/year (e.g., 05/2019 –08/2022)
• The number of hours you worked per week

Ensure work experience descriptions are aligned with the job announcement and address all required qualifications. Brief descriptions should demonstrate your ability to perform the tasks at the required level as stated in the job announcement.

Resumes must be formatted as outlined above. If the two page resume criteria and/or the resume formatting requirement is not met candidates will be rated as ineligible and will not be referred for hiring consideration.

The FCC is providing the following applicant resume resources: 

• Applicant Guidance on the Two-Page Resume Limit
• USAjobs-How to Write a Federal Resume

Your resume must clearly document how you meet the specialized experience in order to meet the minimum qualification requirements for this vacancy. Some positions require supplemental document(s). All required supporting documents MUST be received by midnight U.S. Eastern Time of the closing date of the announcement, as specified in this announcement. If you do not submit a required document (e.g. transcripts, etc.) your application will be considered incomplete and you will not receive further consideration.

Once you apply to this vacancy you will be prompted by the system to upload the documents. If you are unable to upload the required documentation, contact the HR Specialist listed on the vacancy announcement prior to 5:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on the closing date of the announcement. 

Electronic Supplemental Documents Required:

1. When the area of consideration is "Government-Wide" (Merit Promotion) current Federal employees, including those eligible for noncompetitive transfer or reassignment, must provide an electronic copy of Personnel Action, SF-50, that verifies your status and highest permanently held grade.

2. If applying for consideration under a non-competitive appointment such as Schedule A, Excepted Service, all documentation establishing your non-competitive eligibility must be provided.

3. Veterans MUST upload and submit a Member 4 DD-214, "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty" or a "Statement of Active Service". The type of discharge must be annotated. Disabled veterans MUST upload and submit the VA letter and/or Schedule A letter which demonstrates the overall percentage of disability. Any/all documentation verifying or confirming veterans preference or non-competitive eligibility as a veteran must be uploaded and submitted electronically at the time of application. If veterans preference is claimed but the appropriate documentation is not provided to substantiate the veterans preference claim, the veterans status will be adjusted to reflect "non-veteran".

4. College Transcripts (For Positive Education Required positions and if qualifying based on education and or experience and education.), if applicable. For positions which require education as a qualifying factor, transcripts MUST BE SUBMITTED.  If the transcript is not submitted, the application will be rated as ineligible.

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