Employee and Labor Relations Specialist

Summary

As an Employee and Labor Relations Specialist in the Workforce Relations Center, Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM), you will serve as a recognized expert performing complex work and providing guidance on employee and labor relations policies and programs. Location of position: Positions may be filled in Washington, DC; Kansas City, MO; Lakewood, CO; Raleigh, NC; Fort Worth, TX. We are currently filling two vacancies, but additional vacancies may be filled as needed.

Duties

As an Employee and Labor Relations, you will perform the following duties: Provides leadership, expert assistance, and authoritative advice on interpretation of human resources policy in the employee relations program area. Researches sensitive, complex, or controversial issues; interprets legal sources; and develops policy recommendations based on extensive analysis. Provides technical expertise on extraordinary, unique, or contentious employee relations matters and develops innovative solutions. Identifies, designs, and delivers training on key employee relations concepts. Serves as a coordinator and representative for major employee relations issues and meetings involving internal and external organizations. Reviews program activities to identify problems and recommend corrective measures or alternative approaches. Leads or participates in studies of national significance and leads employee relations initiatives. Develops, updates, and analyzes program measures and metrics to monitor and assess program success and effectiveness. Develops policies, operating procedures, and directives implementing enterprise-wide labor relations policy and manages related programs. Prepares high-level strategy briefings and represents the organization in formal dealings with national-level and regional union representatives. Researches and assesses policy and practice changes for labor relations obligations. When designated, serves as Chief Negotiator or other team member in national-level negotiations, mediation, and impasse proceedings and prepares, presents, documents, and advocates for proposals, counterproposals, responses, and offers. Provides expert-level advice to Human Resource Directors, Labor Relations Specialists, managers, and supervisors in developing solutions to broad and complex problems. Serves as a point of contact on complex labor relations issues and best practices. Provides expert advice on highly complex, unusual, or far-reaching issues. Develops, updates, analyzes, and reports on labor relations measures and performs trend analysis to improve program effectiveness. Serves as a Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator and facilitates agency RA cases. Develops and implements RA policies, procedures, and directives; provides expert technical assistance on the interactive process, essential job functions, and reasonable accommodations; and oversees centralized accommodation case files. Analyzes program data and performance metrics and coordinates with legal counsel, medical professionals, and external agencies to resolve complex or contentious accommodation cases. Requirements

If selected, you must meet the following conditions: Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non­Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service. Serve a one year probationary period, if required. Undergo and pass a background investigation (Tier 2 investigation level). Have your identity and work status eligibility verified if you are not a GSA employee. We will use the Department of Homeland Security's e-Verify system for this. Any discrepancies must be resolved as a condition of continued employment. Qualifications

To evaluate your qualifications, your resume must clearly demonstrate how you meet the specialized experience described below. Your resume must not exceed two pages. To ensure your qualifications can be fully evaluated, we recommend including the following information: Name, address, telephone number, email address; Job Title (if Federal Service, provide series and grade; if not in GS plan, provide GS equivalent grade); Relevant work experience—should include employer name, job title, start and end dates (month/year), the number of hours worked per week and descriptions that explain how you meet the required qualifications in the job announcement. Education, certifications or licensures—If the job announcement requires any education, certifications or licensures, make sure to include the required information and any required documents like transcripts. Your resume should contain enough information to make a valid determination that you fully meet experience requirements for each grade level you are applying to. If you do not provide enough information for us to determine your qualifications, you may be rated ineligible. If you have volunteered your service through a National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, Americorps), we encourage you to apply and include this experience on your resume. The GS-14 salary range starts at $127,829 per year. If you are a new federal employee, your starting salary will likely be set at the Step 1 of the grade for which you are selected. Locality pay will be determined upon selection. To qualify, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level or higher in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience: Advising on employee and labor relations matters and interpreting applicable laws, regulations, policies, and case law; Developing or evaluating employee and labor relations policies, programs, or procedures; Researching labor relations issues and developing recommendations for negotiations, mediation, or other labor relations matters; and Providing guidance on reasonable accommodation matters, including applying the interactive process and evaluating accommodation requests.

How You Will Be Evaluated

A panel of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) will review the application of qualified candidates and assign a score for each of the five required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) based on the experience documented in the resume and narrative responses. Knowledge of the laws, rules, regulations and case law that establish and define Federal employee relations policies, programs and related procedures to provide authoritative employee relations advice and guidance. Skill in providing employee relations advice and guidance and serving as a point of contact on developing, interpreting, and applying regulations and procedures governing employee relations programs and cases. Skill in applying high-level conflict resolution, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), mediation, and impasse-resolution techniques to resolve complex labor relations issues and support national-level negotiations. Knowledge of Federal employee and labor relations laws, directives and new developments to address employee and labor relations problems and to make decisions or recommendations involving the interpretation or development of important employee and labor relations policies and programs. Knowledge of Federal disability laws, the interactive process, and evaluation of medical documentation against essential job functions to serve as a Reasonable Accommodations Coordinator. Demonstration of these KSAs must be supported by your application. Applicants should also make note of each KSA, as you will be asked to address them later in the application process. Consideration will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards in merit promotion selection decisions in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3). You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume so that information will be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation. If you are eligible under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) or GSA's Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), your resume must clearly demonstrate experience in at least 3 of the 5 required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) to receive priority consideration. You may preview questions for this vacancy. Benefits

You will have access to many benefits including: Health insurance (choose from a wide range of plans) Life insurance coverage with several options Sick leave and vacation time, including 11 paid holidays per year Thrift Savings Plan (similar to a 401(k) plan) Transit and child care subsidies Flexible spending accounts Long-term care insurance Training and development Other Information

Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin. Applicants are encouraged to make their resume searchable in their USAJOBS.gov profile. This will allow Federal hiring specialists and hiring managers across agencies to find their resume as part of agency recruitment campaigns or staffing searches. If you apply to this position and are selected, we will not ask about your criminal history before you receive a conditional job offer. If you believe you were asked about your criminal history improperly, contact the agency or visit GSA's webpage. Relocation-related expenses are not approved and will be your responsibility. On a case-by-case basis, the following incentives may be approved: · Credit toward vacation leave if you are new to the federal government Additional vacancies may be filled through this announcement in this or other GSA organizations within the same commuting area as needed; through other means; or not at all.