Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits)

Clarification from the agency

"Federal employee" means current permanent competitive service employees in the commuting area. Veterans eligibilities include 30% or more Disabled Vet, Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA). Military Spouse Preference (MSP) eligibles, Retained Grade Preference (RGP) eligibles, and Military Reserve and National Guard Technician eligibles in the commuting area may apply.

This job is also open in another announcement to:

Federal employees - Competitive service

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Military spouses

Individuals with disabilities

• Performs duties which provides full range of employee benefits services to serviced customers.
• Responsible for administering the full range of principles and methods pertaining to Federal Benefits Programs (retirement plans, survivors’ benefits, health benefits, life insurance, long term care insurance, and Thrift Savings Plan.)
• Administers and advises employees and family members on the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), CSRS Offset, and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).
• Provides guidance for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Program, Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program, Federal Employees Dental/Vision Program, and Federal Flexible Spending Account program.
• Processes applications for all Employee Benefits Programs. Ensures all appropriate documentation is included and requests any additional information.
• Resolves problems by explaining laws, regulations or policies and/or calling, writing or otherwise coordinating resolutions with customers, private sector or other federal or nonfederal personnel.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Tour of Duty: Flexible (https://www.dla.mil/Careers/Join-Our-Team/Benefits/#Work)
• Security Requirements: Non-Critical Sensitive
• Appointment is subject to the completion of a favorable suitability or fitness determination, where reciprocity cannot be applied; unfavorably adjudicated background checks will be grounds for removal.
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Non-Exempt
• Selective Service Requirement: Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service.
• Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
• Bargaining Unit Status: No
• Selectees are required to have a REAL ID or other acceptable identification documents to access certain federal facilities. See https://www.tsa.gov/real-id for more information.

Qualifications

To qualify for a Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits) position, your resume and supporting documentation must support:

A. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position and is directly in or related to this position. To qualify at the GS-07 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector. Applicants must meet eligibility requirements including time-in-grade (General Schedule (GS) positions only), time-after-competitive appointment, minimum qualifications, and any other regulatory requirements by the cut-off/closing date of the announcement. Creditable specialized experience includes:

• Providing support to customers and other specialists on various benefits programs (Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB), Long Term Care Insurance (LTC), etc.
• Completing routine personnel actions relating to the benefits programs
• Providing information to employees regarding benefits programs.

B. Education Substitution: Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Education must be from a college or university accredited by an organization approved by the U.S. Department of Education. See http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.aspx. If using education to meet basic qualifications, YOU MUST SUBMIT A TRANSCRIPT as supplemental documentation. To qualify based on education in lieu of specialized experience, you must possess:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited educational institution AND meet Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) based on ONE of the following: (1) class standing (upper third standing in graduating class); -OR- (2) grade-point average (2.95 or higher overall or over the last two years of bachelor's degree -or- 3.45 in the major field or over the last two years in the major); -OR-(3) election to membership in a national scholastic honor society

C. Possess at least one full year of graduate level study, or possess a Master's or higher degree in a field that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work of the position. Such fields include Human Resources, Business Administration, or other business-related fields. One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. If the graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study cannot be obtained, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement.

D. Combination: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for grade level GS-07 and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade GS-07.

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.

The assessments for this job will measure the following Competencies:

• Accountability
• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Flexibility
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

Once the application process is complete, a review of your resume and supporting documentation may be completed and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. The rating you receive is based on your responses to the assessment questionnaire and USA Hire assessments. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the competencies required for this position. If your resume and/or supporting documentation is reviewed and a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.

To apply for this position you must provide a complete Application Package. Each Application Package MUST include:

1. Your Resume: IMPORTANT UPDATE: Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. The resume and required supporting documentation should provide the minimum qualifications and relevant experience for the announced position. Must include the work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed. If multiple resumes are submitted by an applicant, only the last resume submitted will be reviewed for qualifications and referred for selection consideration, if eligible. The resume must not be more than 5MB and should be saved and uploaded as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. Page margins should be 0.5 inches, and font styles must be legible. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text. We recommend using a font like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans.
   
2. Applicable documents to support the eligibility(s) for which you are applying. Please review the following link for a listing of the additional documents you will need to provide: Supporting Documents.
3. If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, submit documentation to support your request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found here.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): If you are an eligible ICTAP applicant you may apply for special selection over other candidates for this position. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated at a score of 85 or higher for this position. ICTAP eligibles must submit one of the following as proof of eligibility for the special selection priority: a separation notice; a "Notice of Personnel Action" (SF-50) documenting separation; an agency certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has been terminated; an OPM notification that your disability annuity has been terminated; OR a Military Department or National Guard Bureau notification that you are retired under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456.

Priority Placement Program (PPP) DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP): In order to receive this preference, you must choose to apply using the "Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP)" eligibility. If you are claiming MSP and are determined to be among the Best Qualified for the position, you may be referred to the hiring manager as a priority applicant. To be eligible as a MSP, you must submit the following supporting documents with your application package: Spouse's Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders; Marriage Certificate or License; PPP Self Certification Checklist; Veterans' Preference documentation (e.g., DD-214, VA Letter, Statement of Service, if applicable); Transcripts (if applicable). These documents must provide acceptable information to verify: Residency within the commuting area of your sponsor's permanent duty station (PDS); proof of marriage to the active duty sponsor; proof of military member's active duty status; and other documentation required by the vacancy announcement to which you are applying. NOTE: Previous federal employees must also submit the following additional documentation: SF-50s (e.g., LWOP, highest grade held, overseas appointments, etc.), SF-75 information, and documentation of performance rating of record (dated within the last 12 months). Selected PPP MSP applicants will need to certify they have not accepted nor declined another offer of permanent, Federal employment (to include NAF and the military exchange services) since relocating to the military sponsor's current duty station.

Priority Placement Program (PPP) DoD Retained Grade Preference (RGP): In order to receive this preference, you must choose to apply using the "Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference (RGP)" eligibility. If you are claiming RGP and are determined to be Well Qualified (score of 85 or above) for the position, you will be referred to the hiring manager as a priority applicant. Information and required documentation for claiming RGP may be found at the General Applicant Information and Definitions link below. To be eligible as a RGP, you must submit the following supporting documents with your application package: a signed Retained Grade PPP Self-Certification Checklist (DD3145-1 (whs.mil)); a copy of your Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) effecting the placement in retained grade status; or a copy of the notification letter you received regarding the RIF or classification downgrade.

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