Human Resources Specialist

Summary

This vacancy is for a Human Resources Specialist in the Office of the Secretary within the Department of Commerce.

Duties

As a Human Resources Specialist, you will: Provide advisory services on complex recruitment, staffing, and classification issues and makes recommendations to resolve issues and improve hiring process. Prepare job opportunity announcements, job analysis, assessments and crediting plans. Review applications/resumes and determine qualification and appointment eligibility. Prepare certificates of eligibles, adjudicates veterans' preference, and refers applicants in accordance with Federal rules and regulations, and DOC policies. Establishes rates of pay and prepares job offers. Provide guidance on competitive, non-competitive and excepted service appointing authorities, recruitment, relocation, and retention (3Rs) incentives, student loan repayments, creditable service for annual leave accruals. Provide oversight for new employee orientation and ensure the HR Assistant completed required forms necessary to process the action timely. Audit certificates and recruitment case files. Develop narrative and statistical reports to document and track results of hiring activities and HR program accomplishments. Provide guidance classification actions including application of OPM and DOC classification standards covering GS, FWA, and CAPS positions. Assist with the development and/or classification of position descriptions and position evaluation statements. Keep abreast of current policies, regulations, emerging trend and technological changes to implement new guidance. Provide expert customer service to TA customers, ensuring prompt and effective responses to their needs and concerns and coordinating interactions with providers where required. Collaborate with DOC headquarters and bureau/operating unit HR offices to develop procedural guidance and propose changes in policies. This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Human Resources Specialist ZA-0201-3, FPL: 4 positions within the Department of Commerce in the same geographical location or local commuting area with the same qualifications and specialized experience. This JOA is also being advertised at the ZA-4 under OS-OHRM-ST-26-13042143, which is open to Merit Promotion eligible applicants. The ZA-4 position is the full performance level of the ZA-3 position. If you wish to be considered for both the ZA-3 and ZA-4 positions, you must apply to both. Requirements

You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position. You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. A probationary or trial period may be required. Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/). If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application. All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing. Bargaining Unit Position: No Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE form 450): No Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expense: Will not be paid License required: No Drug Test Required: No Time-in-grade/band requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement unless eligible for special hiring authority, reinstatement eligible, non-current Federal employee applying as a VEOA eligible which do not require time-in-grade/band. Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Occupational-Series Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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, religious; 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. This position is being filled under the Department of Commerce Alternative Personnel System (CAPS). Under CAPS, positions are classified by career path and pay band. The ZA-03 is equivalent to the GS-11/12 grade levels. To qualify at the ZA-03: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-02/GS-9 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience: Applying Federal rules and regulations and providing advice and guidance on staffing, recruitment, classification and pay setting issues; Developing vacancy announcements, job analysis, and certificates of eligibles for merit promotion and delegated examining recruitment case files; Applying classification principles and concepts to interpret and adapt classification standards to determine the correct pay category, occupational series, title, and grade level; and Developing narrative and statistical reports to track and document results of recruitment and placement actions. -OR- SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M, if related; -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%.

Education

There is no positive education requirement for this position. See Qualifications Above. If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information. NOTE: Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration. How You Will Be Evaluated

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., two-page resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, the result of the USA Hire assessment and Structured Resume Review required for this position. Structured Resume Review: Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. SMEs will review ONLY two (2) pages of your resume. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume). Applicants passing the structured resume review will move on to the next phase of the assessment process. For Certain Military Spouses: All applicants who meet the qualification requirements and military spouse noncompetitive eligibility requirements (see "Additional Information" section above") will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for consideration on a separate referral list. While veterans' preference is not a consideration when filling positions under the military spouse non-competitive hiring authority, preference eligibles are encouraged to submit their supporting documentation (DD-214, stating disposition of discharge or character of service, VA letter, SF-15, etc.). Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. The assessments will evaluate you on the following general/technical competencies required to perform the job; please do not provide a separate written response: Technical Competence Personnel and Human Resources Customer Service Written Communication Accountability Attention to Detail Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Decision Making Reading Comprehension Reasoning The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. Do NOT include the following types of information in your resume/application. If any are included, you will be deemed INELIGIBLE for consideration. Classified or government sensitive information Social Security Number (SSN) Photos of yourself Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc. To preview the questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13042141 Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered. Other Information

The following links provide information on various hiring authorities that do not fall under competitive examining procedures; however, they may enable you to apply through merit assignment procedures, or be eligible for a non-competitive appointment. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) Military Spouse Non-Competitive Hiring Authority Veterans Recruitment Act (VRA) Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) 30% or more disabled veterans Persons with disabilities ICTAP and CTAP Eligibles: CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a rating of 85 out of 100. Information about ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: Employee Guide to Career Transition Military Spouse: The spouse of a member of the armed forces seeking eligibility under the non-competitive hiring authority of certain military spouse MUST submit various required documentation by the closing date of the announcement in accordance with one of the three below eligibilities: Spouse of a member of the armed forces serving on active duty, Spouse of service member who incurred a 100% disability, or Un-remarried widow or widower of a service member killed while performing active duty. Please review the "Required Documents" Section for specific documents pertaining to each of the above eligibilities that MUST be included with your application, if you are applying as a Military Spouse. 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, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. Reasonable Accommodations (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. 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.