Job details
Salary $53,443 - $84,049 a year job type full-time
Full job description
Duties
Summary
The human resource specialist (benefit) provides retirement options and counseling for employees and/or their survivors involving federal retirement programs, including the civil service retirement system (csrs), csrs offset, federal employees retirement system (fers), fers-revised annuity employee (rae), and fers further revised annuity employee (frae) for assigned regional offices within in the jurisdiction of the human resources center - jackson.
Responsibilities
This position is established in the department veterans affairs (va), veterans benefits administration (vba), office of human capital services (hcs), office of staff operations (oso) division, at one of the five human resources centers (hrc) located nationwideThe position is responsible for conducting service assignments by rendering employee benefits programs for general schedule title 5 and wage grade positions throughout vba which services all human resource needs within its purview.
Administering and providing advisory services on the federal employee retirement, group life insurance, health benefits, and the thrift savings plan programsServes as the technical expert on benefits issues, retirement benefits issues, health benefits issues, and insurance coverage options.
Resolves complex and sensitive problems in the administration of these· programsRepresents the agency in external matters both in the public and private sector on benefits programs, including making presentations at retirement and benefits seminars.
Works with team to develop vba-wide guidance material on the implementation of methods and procedures for retirement program operations involving areas that require new or substantially modified work methods and procedures because of operational problems or deficiencies.
Analyzes operational effects of changes in law or regulations, identifies and clarifies problems and issues, and proposes fully researched agency implementation actionsThis includes: modification of local policies and regulations to implement changes to programs; briefing management and serviced organizations on the changes to these programs; training employees and supervisors regarding the latest changes; and preparing communications to inform as large an audience as possible of future changes including procedural, technical, and program modifications required; and serving as the subject matter expert for these programs.
Provides individual employee counseling on retirement options, eligibility requirements, health and life insurance, and thrift savings plan issues.
Explains options to employees regarding prior government service and provides information necessary to help employees obtain maximum gains from available benefits.
Handles the most difficult and complex cases such death and disability retirements involving sensitive and controversial problems and contested issues.
Conducts fact finding needed to support technical decisions; sets forth the final decision and the basis for conclusions; and maintains the appeal file to serve as the administrative record in the event of a further appeal to the merit systems protection board.
Interprets and prepares informative material for employees on new, changed, and pending policy, and outlines impact on existing benefits program entitlements for management.
Analyzes and implements the latest changes as issued by department of labor or other committees.
Performs other related duties as assigned.
Travel required
Occasional travel - you will occasionally be expected to travel for training and participation in work groups.
Supervisory status
No
Promotion potential
11
Job family (series)
0201 human resources management
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Specialists, human resources
Requirements
Requirements
Conditions of employment
You must be a u.sCitizen to Apply Now
Subject to a background/suitability investigation
Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
May serve a probationary period
Selective service registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
A complete application package; resume, transcripts, etc.
Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by close of this announcement.
You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below for gs-09:
Gs-09 specialized experience: applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (gs-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organizationSpecialized experience is defined as applying health insurance, life insurance, retirement, thrifts savings plan, and death-in-service laws, regulations, procedures, and counseling techniques provided in a regionalized environment.
Gs-09 minimum qualification requirement: possess a master`s or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or llbOr j.d, if related; or possess a combination of specialized experience and education: only graduate level education beyond the first year may be used to qualify at the gs-09 levelTo compute your combined percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one year by 18Add the two percentagesThe total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify for this grade.
Gs-11 specialized experience: applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (gs-09) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organizationIn addition to the specialized experience required at the gs-09 grade level, the applicant must also have experience calculating supplemental annuities, creditable military service, social security off-set, death benefits and retirement estimates; providing counseling to employees on individual employee benefits cases which involve sensitive or serious problems or controversial issues.
Gs-11 minimum qualification requirement: possess a ph.dOr equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher- level graduate education leading to such a degree or ll.m., if related or possess a combination of specialized experience and education: only graduate level education in excess of the first 2 years of graduate study may be used to qualify at the gs-11 levelTo compute your combined percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one year by 18Add the two percentagesThe total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify for this grade.
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 employmentYou will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Education
Transcripts (official or unofficial) must be submitted when using any part of education to qualifyTranscripts must show degree type and date awarded.
Note: only education or degrees recognized by the u.sDepartment of education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for federal employmentYou can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.
If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a certificate of foreign equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that educationAll education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly.
Additional information
As required by executive order 14043, federal executive branch employees are required to be fully vaccinated against covid-19 regardless of the employee`s duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.) as of november 22, 2021, subject to such exceptions as required by lawIf selected, you will be required to be vaccinated against covid-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before appointment or onboarding with the agencyThe agency will provide additional information regarding which forms of documentation can be accepted and how you can request of the agency a legally required exception from this requirement.
Va supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergenciesThis position may be authorized for teleworkTelework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
The following will be communicated to applicants for va employment in a testing designated position and will also be included in all va vacancy announcements for such positions: all applicants tentatively selected for va employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointmentApplicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with va.
The interagency career transition assistance plan (ictap) and career transition assistance plan (ctap) provide eligible displaced va competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacanciesTo be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the jobInformation about ictap and ctap eligibility is on opm`s career transition resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/.
Receiving service credit for earning annual (vacation) leave: federal employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a federal employeeVa may offer newly-appointed federal employee`s credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military serviceThis credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leaveSuch credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an alternate application.
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 specificWe will not make assumptions regarding your experienceApplicants will be referred in alphabetical order.you will be rated on the following competencies based on your application for this positionApplicants must possess training and experience that clearly demonstrates the following competenciesThis experience and/or training must be reflected by descriptions of your experience in our resume:
1Employee benefits - knowledge of hr concepts, principles, and practices related to retirement, insurance, injury compensation, and other employee benefits programs.
2Writing - uses correct english grammar, punctuation, and spelling to communicate thoughts, ideas, information, and messages in writing.
3Oral 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.
4Technical competence - understands and appropriately applies procedures, requirements, regulations, and policies related to specialized expertise, maintains credibility with others on technical matters.
5Decision making - makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.
If you are referred for consideration you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include responses to the competencies outlined in the announcement; and/or completion of a work sample; and/or an interviewPlease follow all instructions carefullyErrors or omissions may affect your rating or your further consideration for employment.
Note: a full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per weekPart-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activitiesApplicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their
Background checks and security clearance
Security clearance
Not required
Drug test required
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate risk (mr)
Trust determination process
Suitability/fitness
Required documents
Required documents
Documents accepted:
Cover letter
Dd-214/ statement of service
Disability letter (va)
Other (1)
Performance appraisal
Resume
Separation notice (rif)
Sf-15
Sf-50/ notification of personnel action
Transcript
Documents required:
Resume
Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application.not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your sf-50, transcript, ictap/ctap documentation (for displaced federal employees)You will not be contacted for additional informationApplicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.
Veterans` preference: since the direct-hire recruitment authority is being used, traditional veterans` preference rules do not applyQualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.
Applications are accepted onlineApplying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the u.sDepartment of education in order for it to be credited towards qualificationsTherefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the u.sDepartment of education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Benefits
Benefits
A career with the u.sGovernment provides employees with a comprehensive benefits packageAs a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewardingOpens in a new windowlearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time, or intermittentContact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Help
This job is open to
The public
U.sCitizens, nationals or those who owe allegiance to the u.s.
Clarification from the agency
All us citizens direct hire authority: this position is being filled using direct-hire authority (5 cfr 337.201) for this occupation.
