Clarification from the agency

This opportunity is open to Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) employees ONLY.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: HR Specialist Total Rewards

Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Communicates performance and quality targets and ensures staff understand and are working to meet them.
• Exercises independent judgment to administratively and technically direct and mentor the work of CCU subordinate direct reports.
• Communicates grade variations to management with supporting criteria and justification to foster understanding and acceptance of findings.
• Reviews PD and classifies positions, explains findings through in-depth written evaluation statements, and signs Optional Form-08 for PDs, including one-of-a-kind, complex, rare, unusual and standardized PDs.
• Assesses information related to the classification request from the customer and/or HR staff on positions that are general schedule, wage system, leaders, or supervisors.
• Coordinates the submission of documents for appeals, Conducts thorough desk audits of difficult cases and prepares comprehensive written results that explain conclusions.
• Analyzes the effects of changes in law and regulations when providing comments on draft OPM standards, including addressing their impact on applicable positions within the network.
• Reviews new or proposed HR policies, procedures, guidelines and the impact on organization practices and makes recommendations to management on the need for changes in existing network policies.
• Considers the applicability across the network for like positions with comparable complexities and determines the state of regulatory compliance, classification accuracy, and other classification program requirements.
• Participates in meetings (in-person, online, or over the phone) to interpret and correlate policy, procedures, and guidelines related to controversial or contentious actions and recommends solutions.
• Provides technical explanations in layman's terms of complex issues referred by customers and HR staff.
• Develops and provides tools, such as written guides, references and templates for teammates, HR staff, and/or customers.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, subject to change based on the needs of the facility.
Telework: This position may be authorized for Ad-Hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Human Resources Specialist (Classification)/PD99986S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-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.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/10/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: 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 by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows 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.
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.

The BASIC REQUIREMENT for the HR Specialist GS-0201 series is presumed met if found qualified at the GS-0201-7 level and above.


To qualify for this position at the GS-13 level, you must meet one of the following listed Criteria:

Criteria 1- Graduate Degree and Specialized Experience: Successful completion of a graduate level degree or higher and three years of progressive specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level. Such experience may be gained in administrative, professional, technical or other responsible work positions in the public (i.e., Government or military) or private sector. Qualifying specialized experience includes:

• Classifying positions and developing detailed and complete position descriptions and functional statements.
• Applying classification law, theories, principles, and practices to classification actions.
• Interpreting classification standards and other Human Resource policies as it relates to position management and classification.
• Meet and deal tactfully and persuasively with others to resolve issues.
• Working with organizational proposals that involve analysis of organizations.

~OR~

Criteria 2- Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in federal service that demonstrates HR management knowledge, concepts and principles and the performance of work in one or more of the HR specialty areas. Such experience may be gained in administrative, professional, technical or other responsible work positions in the public (i.e., Government or military) or private sector. Qualifying specialized experience includes:

• Providing masterful advice and guidance to colleagues and managers in the area of classification.
• Developing and re-evaluating position descriptions, reviewing and designing organizational structures.
• Researching and conducting thorough analysis of positions and making determinations on the allocation of grade levels to positions using classification job grading standards, desk/telephone audits, and information obtained through research.
• Establishing program/work goals and objectives.
• Directing, coordinating, or overseeing work to be accomplished by subordinates, training and working efficiently with subordinates from a variety of backgrounds and with different levels/ areas of training.
• Communicating with others effectively both orally and in writing in working out solutions to problems or questions relating to the work.
• Coordinating and integrating the work activities and resources of several organizational segments or of several different projects.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Manages Human resources
• Classification
• Technical Credibility
• Customer Service

Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR 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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.

Resume Requirement: Your resume must include the following information: Job title, description of duties, beginning and ending date (month/year) of employment, and average hours worked per week.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Performance Appraisal
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please 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.

• Cover Letter
• Time in Grade SF-50
• Performance Appraisal
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

• Most recent 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
• Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying 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; or
  • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Next steps

Additional locations