Human Resources Specialist (Recruitment and Placement)

Summary

This position is established in VHA Workforce Management and Consulting's (WMC) Human Resources Operations Office (HROO), Recruitment & Staffing Shared Services Unit (R&S SSU). HROO is the exclusive operational HR service provider for VHA's Central Office (VHACO) as well as most of the VA Staff Offices.

Duties

Major Duties include but are not limited to: Provides expert technical advice and counsel on internal placement and staffing matters through individual contacts and training. Advises on internal/external staffing matters to include assessment and evaluation of staffing needs, methods, impact of mission changes, etc. Reviews administrative and technical procedures to assure maximum efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of operations. Collaborates with supervisors, teams and customers to develop HR solutions. Prepares job announcements in USA Staffing, rates applicants, issues certificates, codes and processes personnel actions. Provides analysis and advisory service regularly to management on the evaluation of the effectiveness of Recruitment & Staffing operations and/or the productivity. Provides technical advice and assistance to personnel and customers in the resolution of difficult recruitment and staffing related problems for all levels and complexities and organizations. HR advisory functions include establishing and maintaining cooperative working relationships with leadership, management, and staff to further issue guidance to clarify conflicting guidance or alleviate other potential or existing problems, as well, as to provide recommendations that meet immediate and long-term program, project, or mission needs. Revises, develops and/or adapts training materials and desk guides as regulations are revised. Reviews draft regulations, standards, or other guidance for impact on serviced organizations. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Available at supervisor's discretion Telework: This position may be authorized for ad hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Ad hoc is defined as occasional, non-recurring telework. Virtual: This position may be authorized for Virtual Work. Virtual Work eligibility is for current VA employees that are already subject to the return to in person work mandate in their current position. Definition of Virtual Work: Employee works outside of original hiring duty station at a VA owned or leased space. Return to Office (RTO): RTO mandates are in effect and selectees will be required to report to in person work unless they have an approved exception or an exemption. Any approval for an RTO exception, exemption, or extension will happen after a tentative job offer, but before a final job offer. Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 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. 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will 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 period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Applicant Count: This job announcement will remain open until 10/13/2026. Applications received up to 11:59pm EST on the date in which 50 applications is reached will receive first consideration (initial cutoff). Applications received after 11:59pm EST on the date in which 50 applications are received may not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management. Additional applications will be reviewed in one-day increments at management request. Note: Submitting multiple applications will change the order in which your application is reviewed. Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/13/2026. 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 level. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: 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: applying knowledge and advisory services in HR processes, regulations, practices, and systems in the assigned area related to Title 5, Hybrid Title 38, and Title 38 occupations; working on special assignments or projects; resolving a wide variety of HR issues or problems; assisting with, reviewing, and applying interpretation of human resources policies, procedures, and collective bargaining units. 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. Applying advanced knowledge in Federal, VA, and VHA laws, regulations, policies, processes and practices in recruitment and staffing; utilizing consultative skills and knowledge of hiring authorities, regulations and recruitment tools for Title 5, Title 38 and Hybrid Title 38 positions to provide management with creative options for filling hard-to-fill positions; Utilizing USA Staffing to post vacancy announcements, review qualifications and issue certificates; Utilizing knowledge of the business in which their customers work to provide relevant, quality HR advisory services; Participating in a variety of hiring initiatives designed to attract qualified applicants for both clinical and administrative positions; Analyzing HR issues or problems and developing and recommending possible approaches, alternatives, and solutions; Resolving difficult recruitment and staffing issues and problems requiring consideration of the total HR management program. 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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You 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 education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. How You Will Be Evaluated

Area of Consideration- Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order: Well Qualified CTAP applicants. Current Workforce Management and Consulting Recruitment and Staffing Shared Services Unit employees. Current Veterans Health Administration employees. All other agency employees. 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 for this position: Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. Other Information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. 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 employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such 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. 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 vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.