Program Specialist (HR Liaison)

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees and current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible. For the purpose of this job announcement, Fiduciary Hub bargaining unit employees in the commuting area are considered facility employees.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Provides management advisory services in counseling, advising management on developing and maintaining the proper balance between organization strategic plans and goals and human resource development programs; conducting systemic studies to develop management interests.
• Collaborates with the staff/managers to develop and implement policies, procedures, and guidelines which institute processes for work to run as effectively and efficiently as possible.
• Tracks any lag time with recruitment or classification actions. Provides solutions to management on how to improve processing times for recruitment actions; uses organizational studies to help management strategize on how to keep staff engaged and challenged with their current work; and how to use resources wisely to get the highest sustainable grade for all positions.
• Briefs Executive Leadership on hiring and classification actions during weekly meeting staff meetings. Also provides briefings on attrition and turnover rates are at current levels, reason for loss, and avenue for recruitment to increase or improve work issues.
• Provides technical advice and assistance and disseminates human resource information to organization. Review's classification standards, guides, to assist and coordinate classification assignments. Assist with the initial classification of individual position for submittal to the CCU. Aids supervisors and operating officials on the classification submissions and processes
• Assists in the development of initiatives to improve management processes and systems using the most efficient utilization of human resources. Studies and advises managers and supervisors on staffing requirements, resources, and problems in assigned offices involving a high degree of complexity.
• Provides advice and assistance in the areas of discipline, adverse actions, grievances, performance management and recognition, employee counseling, and related functions.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. The grade progression for this position is GS-9/11/12.

Work Schedule: Full Time, M-F 8:00am - 4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: No
Telework: This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only. The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval. Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position
Position Description Title/PD#: Program Specialist (HR Liaison); PD39563A, PD39564A, and PD39565A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required
Bargaining Unit: No

Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Additional Conditions of Employment are as follows:

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary or trial period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements I-9 Acceptable Documents.
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Incumbent must be willing to report to the duty station indicated for this position

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 09/08/2026.

Time-In-Grade: 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.

• For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at or above the GS-7 grade level.
• For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at or above the GS-9 grade level.
• For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at or above the GS-11 grade level.

To support your claim of time in grade, you must submit your most recent appointment, promotion, or within grade increase SF-50 (not an award or general adjustment SF-50). Some applicants may have to submit more than one SF-50 to demonstrate their eligibility. See the required documents section for more information.

GRADE REQUIREMENT: To receive CTAP selection priority, your grade level upon Reduction in Force must be at least 9/11/12.

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.

Minimum Qualifications: You must also qualify based on your experience and as described below:

To qualify at the GS-9 grade level:
Specialized experience: To qualify, applicants must have one (1) year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 grade level or higher in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience applying and providing guidance on multiple fields of Human Resources rules, regulations, and procedures including Personnel Management, Recruitment and Staffing, Classification, Employee Benefits (OWCP, retirements, and insurance programs), and/or Labor Relations.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Assist employees with advice on a variety of rules, regulations, and practices pertaining to human resources
• Provide guidance and explanations of the organization's policies, procedures, and guidelines to leaders and employees
• Provide advice regarding appropriate levels on personnel actions.

To qualify at the GS-11 grade level:
Specialized experience: To qualify, applicants must have one (1) year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 grade level or higher in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience applying and providing guidance on multiple fields of Human Resources rules, regulations, and procedures including Personnel Management, Recruitment and Staffing, Classification, Employee Benefits (OWCP, retirements, and insurance programs), and/or Labor Relations.
Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Provide advisory services to leaders and employees on a range of human resources concepts, laws, and policies;
• Assist leadership in solving a range of complex problems and issues;
• Participate in policy development groups or projects based on broad organizational requirements.

To qualify at the GS-12 grade level:
Specialized Experience: To qualify, applicants must have one (1) year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level or higher in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience providing advisory services, quality review services, or experience drafting and approving standard operating procedures and/or other forms of regulatory guidance covering multiple fields of Human Resources rules, regulations, and procedures including Personnel Management, Recruitment and Staffing, Classification, Employee Benefits (OWCP, retirements, and insurance programs), and/or Employee and Labor Relations.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Provide advice and guidance in the areas of classification and staffing and recruitment;
• Defending agency actions in front of a 3^rd party hearing (FLRA, MSPB);
• Experience as the chief negotiator in labor negotiations.

Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information.

Volunteer 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; religions; 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.

Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require walking in offices and similar areas for meetings and to conduct HR work. Work may also require walking and standing in conjunction with travel to and attendance at meetings and conferences away from the worksite. The work does not require any special physical effort.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Technical Competence - Understands and appropriately applies procedures, requirements, regulations, and policies related to specialized expertise (for example, engineering, physical science, law, or accounting); maintains credibility with others on technical matters.
• Reasoning - Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions.
• Oral Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
• Written Communication: Expresses facts and ideas in writing in a succinct and organized manner.
• Interpersonal Skills: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or an interview. You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package to include the documents detailed below. Failure to submit the required documents may result in your application being considered incomplete and you being deemed ineligible. It is your responsibility to ensure your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. We will not request additional documentation or accept late or missing documents after the announcement has closed.

• Resume:
  • Resumes may not exceed two pages and must be legible for review of eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.
  • Contact Information:
    • Name and how best to contact you, including email address and phone number
  • Relevant Work Experience:
    • For each relevant work experience, make sure you include:
      • 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
  • Education/Certification/ Licensure:
    • When relevant or required for the position, include your possession of education/ certification/license and provide any required documentation such as transcripts, and/or details (type and date) of certifications and/or licenses
      • Education information should include:
        • Name of school/institution
        • Completion date
        • Degree type
        • Cumulative Grade point average (GPA)
  • Optional Details:
    • When relevant, include:
      • Current Security Clearance
      • Job-related training
      • Language skills
      • Organizations and affiliations
      • Professional publications
      • Eligibility for special programs (e.g., military spouses, individuals with disabilities, etc.)
• Current Federal Employees:
  • SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action:
    • Multiple SF-50s may need to be submitted to show eligibility. Include your most recent NON-AWARD OR GENERAL ADJUSTMENT SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee.
    • An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.
      • Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
        • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
        • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old
• Current VBA Employees:
  • If you are outside the commuting area and seeking a reassignment/change to lower grade, you must submit a copy of your most recent SF-50 (non-award) AND the SF-50 placing you into your current position
• Veterans:
  • Member-4 or Service-2 DD-214 and disability rating letter (if applicable)
    • If you are currently on active duty to be released within 120 days, you may submit an armed forces certification in lieu of a DD-214.
• Military Spouse of Active-Duty Military Member:
  • A copy of your marriage license AND your spouse's active duty orders
• Military Spouse of Separated Veteran:
  • A copy of your marriage license, Member-4 or Service-2 DD-214 AND either your spouse's 1) 100% disability rating, or 2) documentation of death during active duty.
• Other Status Candidates:
  • Evidence of eligibility to apply (e.g. Peace Corps verification letter, Schedule A letter, PS-50, etc.).
• Transcript:
  • If you are using education to qualify, your transcript must show coursework and the total number of credits earned to include graduation date and degree. A diploma is NOT sufficient to determine qualifications.

The above documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

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