Clarification from the agency

This position is only open to current Department of Energy employees on a career or career-conditional competitive service appointment.

As a Human Resources (Employee Benefits), you will:

• Provide employee benefits support, including functional and procedural guidance on benefit matters, to managers, supervisors, and senior HR specialists.
• Interpret rules and regulations to counsel and inform managers and employees on various federal benefits programs such as CSRS, FERS, FEGLI, TSP, LTC, FSA, and FEDVIP.
• Determine proper retirement coverage and creditable service, calculate annuity estimates, and advise employees on all aspects of retirement planning.
• Conduct audits of official personnel records to resolve discrepancies and determine the creditability of verified service for all Service Computation Dates using OPM regulations and DOE policies.
• Research legal and regulatory requirements to provide recommendations and assist with responses regarding human capital operational policies and procedures related to employee benefits.
• Assist in the planning and administration of benefits programs and processes, including providing information on enrollment, eligibility, and survivor benefits.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period. Employees serving on a probationary or trial period may be terminated at any time during the probationary or trial period for performance, conduct, or business-related reasons in the interest of Federal service.
• Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications.
• In accordance with Executive Order 14170, applicants are encouraged to respond to the four short, free-response, essay questions in the questionnaire. Answers to these questions are not scored or rated. Your answers will be reviewed by the hiring manager and agency leadership if you are referred for selection consideration.
• Total salary varies depending on location of position.
  • Loveland and Lakewood CO - $68,819.00 - $89,470.00
  • Phoenix AZ - $ 64,564.00 - $ 83,938.00
  • Folsom CA - $ 68,419.00 - $88,949.00
  • Montrose CO, Billings MT, and Watertown SD, - $ 61,722.00 - $80,243.00

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. The experience need not have been in the federal government.

To be qualified at the GS-9: Applicants must have one (1) year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at the GS-7 grade level or equivalent pay band in Federal Service. This experience includes:

• Provided administrative support in the coordination and delivery of employee services, including managing documentation and responding to inquiries related to benefits or similar programs.
• Assisted with interpreting and applying established guidelines or regulations to provide information and support to individuals regarding program eligibility and processes.
• Maintained and updated records, performed data entry, and conducted basic calculations to support financial or personnel administration functions.

OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or a LL.B. or J.D., if related

OR A combination of education and experience to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Time-in-Grade: Current career or career-conditional GS employees of the Federal government, or former career or career-conditional GS employees, who have a break in service of less than one year, are required to meet the time-in-grade restriction of one year of Federal experience at the next lower grade, with few exceptions outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b). Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to current career or career-conditional federal employees applying for a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the application process is complete, the first two pages of your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications.

Structured Resume Review: Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required competencies. SMEs will review ONLY the first two (2) pages of your resume. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume).

The Department of Energy uses an application tracking system to evaluate the scores provided from the SME resume review to place you into an initial quality category via OPM's Category Rating procedures. These categories are "Best Qualified", "Well Qualified", and "Qualified."

Minimum Qualifications: Once the application process is complete, the Human Resources Offices or Subject Matter Expert (SME) will review the first two pages of your resume and supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the minimum job qualifications.

If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses you provided in your online questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation before the vacancy closes, you may be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

• Clerical
• Compliance
• Customer Service
• Reading Comprehension

All qualified Non-competitive applicants and the best qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified".

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (01/14/2026) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12859232.

To apply for this position, you MUST provide a complete application package which includes:

• Your two (2) page RESUMEshowing all relevant work experience (paid and unpaid) including: duties performed; full name and address of the each employer; start and end dates (month/day/year); work schedule (part-time, full-time, number of hours if intermittent); salary; and any completed education and training (program title, subject area, number of hours completed, and completion date).
• Transcripts, if specific educational requirements are indicated in this job announcement. Unofficial transcripts or any report listing institution, course title, credits earned (semester or quarter hour) and final grade is acceptable. It is your responsibility to provide adequate proof that you meet the educational requirements.
  • Current Federal employees: Most recent NON-AWARD SF-50 (Standard Form 50 - Notice of Personnel Action). To properly verify status eligibility, your SF-50 must show the following. If you do not submit an appropriate SF-50, we cannot verify your status eligibility.
    • Full position title;
    • appointment type;
    • occupational series;
    • pay plan, grade, and step;
    • tenure code; and
    • service computation date (SCD).
    • If your current position SF50 does not indicate you have competitive service status or does not reflect the pay plan and grade of the highest position you have held in the competitive service, in addition to your current SF50, you must provide your previous SF-50s that provide the proof of competitive status and highest grade held on a permanent basis. . If you do not submit an appropriate SF-50, we cannot verify your status eligibility.

If applicable:

• Veterans: DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; current active duty members- certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA letter. For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center & OPM CHCOC website for VOW information.
• Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable(e.g., Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.) For more information see the OPM Guide to Career Transition.

Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

Next steps

Additional locations