Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits)

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 EDUCATION: There is no positive education requirement for this position. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: 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. 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. To qualify at the ZA-3 or (GS-11/12) level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: One full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-2 or (GS-9) in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Providing advice and assistance in the areas of employee benefits such as health benefits, life insurance, retirement, thrift savings plan, and FEDVIP Programs; and Providing counseling on Federal retirements (i.e., optional, disability, discontinued, FERCCA, phased retirement, and death-in-service cases) and retirement estimates/calculations. -OR- SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: PhD or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or L.L.M. if related. -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE NOTE: only graduate education in excess of two years is qualifying for combination.
This position is located within the Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Human Capital Services (OHCS), Workforce Relations Branch (WRB), Retirement and Benefits Counseling Branch with 1 vacancy located in Boulder, CO; Silver Spring, MD; Norfolk, VA; Seattle, WA.