Human Resources Specialist

Summary

About the Position: The Army Fellows Program provides an exciting opportunity to embark on a developmental, accelerated career path as an Army Civilian including continued training/educational opportunities with no military obligation. Fellows may also receive paid training, certifications, and rotational assignments. Don't wait! Apply now to start your Civilian Army career today! GS-05 - Salary $40736-$52957 GS-07- Salary $50460-$65599 GS-09 - Salary $61722-$80243 GS-11 - Salary $74678-$97087

Duties

Explains basic provisions, eligibility requirements, and procedures for various federal employee benefits programs, including the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB), Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), and the Thrift Savings Plan.
Processes routine and recurring benefits actions, ensuring all election forms and supporting documents are complete, accurate, and properly coded in the automated Human Resources Information System (HRIS).
Responds to routine inquiries from civilian employees and candidates regarding benefits enrollment periods, qualifying life events, and changes to existing elections.
Assists higher-graded HR Specialists in gathering data and preparing documentation for more complex benefits scenarios, such as preliminary retirement estimates and service computations.
Maintains employee benefits records and files, conducting periodic audits and reviews to ensure all documentation complies with Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Department of the Army policies and regulations.

Requirements

Qualifications
Who May Apply: To be eligible for consideration you must meet the definition of recent graduate as defined below: Recent Graduate: a person who was awarded a degree by an institution of higher education not more than two years before the date of the appointment of the applicant. Exception: For a person who has completed a period of obligated service in a uniformed service of more than four years, the degree may be awarded by an institution of higher education not more than four years before the date of the appointment of the applicant. In order to qualify, you must meet the requirements described below. 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). In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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).You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant education and experience. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. GS-05 Minimum Qualification Requirement General Experience: Three years progressively responsible experience, 1 year of which was equivalent to at least the GS-04 grade level, which includes analyzing problems to identify significant factors, gather pertinent data, and recognize solutions; planning and organizing work; and communicating effectively orally and in writing. This definition of general experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-04). OR Education: Four year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree. 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%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 36. Then divide your total number of completed undergraduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 120. Add the two percentages. GS-07 Minimum Qualification Requirement: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes assisting employees or customers with routine inquiries regarding personnel or benefits programs (e.g., health insurance, life insurance, or retirement options); or, reviewing personnel or benefits forms and documents for completeness and accuracy; or, entering and retrieving data using automated human resources or personnel management systems. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05). OR Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: human resources management, human relations, industrial relations, public administration, political science, business (any business field including accounting, finance, etc.), psychology, sociology, labor relations, law, communication, data analytics/science, management science, information systems/technology/cyber, mathematics, operations research, economics, statistics, government, international affairs/relations, education, and administration/management of any sort (health care admin, etc.) OR Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement. In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. Superior Academic Achievement is based on:(1) Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR (2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR (3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/). NOTE: Grade point averages will be rounded to one decimal point. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0, and 2.94 will round to 2.9. NOTE: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) was taken on a pass/fail or similar basis, your S.A.A. claim must be based on class standing or membership in an honor society and you must provide evidence of your class standing or honor society membership with your application. 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%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant education and experience. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Education
FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/

Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist for Public Announcements As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further. 1. Your resume: Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position. Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume. If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy. For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume. 2. Other supporting documents: Cover Letter, optional Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable You must submit a copy of your transcript to determine eligibility under this hiring authority. Further, if you claim qualifications based on education and do not submit a supporting transcript, your education will not be used in making a qualification determination and you may be found not qualified. Unofficial copies are acceptable; however, if selected, official transcripts are required. You MUST submit your unofficial college transcripts with your application to include transfer courses, credit hours and grades to calculate GPA, along with your graduation date. If you received Advanced Placement (AP) credits, you MUST also submit either your high school transcripts showing your AP grades or your AP Exam Score from the College Board. If you have graduated within the past 30 days and your transcripts have not yet been updated to include your graduation date, you must also include your graduation date, to include both month and year, on your resume, or provide a letter from your college or university with your graduation date. Applicants who fail to provide transcripts AND degree completion information (if degree date is not shown on the transcripts) will be marked as insufficient and will not receive consideration for this position. See: Transcripts and Licenses NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.