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Human Resources Specialist ( Employee and Labor Relations)

Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Research Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Administrative and Financial Management, Human Resources Division, Personnel and Labor Solutions Branch with one vacancy in Kansas City, Missouri.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
06/22/2020 to 07/06/2020
Salary
$77,501 - $100,756 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Kansas City, MO
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
ARS-M20Y-10839477-SL
Control number
571546800

Duties

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  • Advises and assists managers in taking performance-based, disciplinary, or adverse actions; identifies potential alternatives to discipline.
  • Assists managers with a variety of other informal corrective actions designed to address problematic employee performance, conduct, or behavior.
  • Counsels and provides recommendations to supervisors on policies and procedures, and methods of dealing with other problems such as medical issues, attendance, and productivity.
  • Recommends constructive methods and best practices for dealing with systemic problems arising from indifference, personality conflicts, and poor work habits of behavior.
  • Advises both employees and managers to help them understand their rights and union obligations.
  • Provides information to employee on negotiated grievance procedures and work with management to review and adjudicate negotiated grievances in accordance with the Negotiated grievance procedures between the Parties.
  • Serve as a primary investigator or HR technical advisor in administrative investigations into sensitive or controversial employment matters, such as sexual harassment or claims of scientific misconduct.
  • Helps resolve disputes and identified, interprets, and develops facts, evidence, and/or aggravating, mitigating, or exculpatory factors relevant to a case.
  • Independently resolves issues/problems requiring consideration of multiple HR disciplines.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Time in grade: Applicants must have one year at the next lower grade to be considered for the next higher grade (e.g. one year at the GS-11 grade level for consideration for the GS-12 grade level).

Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are:

At the GS-12:

Qualifying experience for GS-12 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-11 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience advising employees and managers on Human Resources issues related to Employee and Labor Relations; preparing correspondences for managers to address or document performance deficiencies or conduct related incidents; applying labor and employee relation laws and regulations; preparing and conducting investigations or reports to be used for adverse actions; and resolving disputes or negotiate disputes.

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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Working Environment:
Frequent travel is required to Beltsville, Maryland and other locations in the United States.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

  • Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.
  • Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA).
  • Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.
  • For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses, Schedule A Disabled, etc., explore the different Hiring Paths on the USAJOBS website.
  • Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Refer to PUBLIC LAW 114-47-AUG. 7, 2015 for more information.
  • Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. Final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official at time of job offer.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies listed below:

  • Conflict Management
  • Customer Service
  • Employee Relations
  • Human Resources Advisory Services
  • Labor Relations


Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities need only meet minimum qualifications to be referred. Note: If after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To view the application form, visit:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10839477

Agricultural Research Service

Find Solutions to Agricultural Problems that Affect Americans Every Day, From Field to Table.

Agency contact information

Sindy Leon
Phone
703-259-9356
Email
sindy.leon@usda.gov
Address
Agricultural Research Service
5601 Sunnyside Ave
Beltsville, MD 20705
US

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