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Human Resources Assistant (Employee Benefits)

Department of Agriculture
Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Business Center
Employee Operations Directorate, Benefits & Retirement Branch
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is assigned to Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Business Center (BC), This position is assigned to Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Business Center (BC), Workforce Operations, Employee Services.

The incumbent is responsible for duties relating to employee benefits, completion of required documents, communication with FPAC agencies in accordance with FPAC's, Department, and OPM federal regulations.

Locality tables may be found at 2023 Locality Charts.
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Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
11/03/2023 to 11/07/2023
This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$44,389 to - $57,709 per year

Pay range above is according to base pay scale, pay will be set dependent upon locality scale/location selected.

Pay scale & grade
GS 8
Location
Few vacancies in the following location:
Anywhere in the U.S. (remote job)
Remote job
Yes
Telework eligible
Not applicable, this is a remote position.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
8
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
FPACBC-12193143-IMP-DD
Control number
758653600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted only from current permanent USDA employees with competitive status; and CTAP/RPL eligible candidates and permanent Farm Service County Office employees.

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Duties

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  • Performs consultations with employees concerning all employee benefits programs.
  • Provides advice and guidance to employees for all retirement programs.
  • Consults and provide guidance to employees on all leave programs.
  • Provides guidance on deposits and redeposits for creditable service for CSRS and FERS employees.
  • Performs other related assignments as required.

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

Specialized Experience: To qualify at GS-08, you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level (or its non-Federal equivalent). Specialized experience for this position includes applying HR concepts, principles, regulations, and procedures to research and resolve Retirement and Benefits issues to include health insurance, life insurance, retirement, thrifts savings plan, death-in-service laws. Coordinate high level Human Resources administrative and technical support work.


OR
Education:
One and a half years of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.

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) beyond one year (total semester hours minus 18) by 9. Add the two percentages.

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the 11/20/2023 of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined above.

Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.


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.

Education

College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit with your application package evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution was appropriately accredited by an accredited body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. Education standards. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process; however, if selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Please refer to the "How to Apply" section for instructions on submitting the transcript.

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.
  • 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.
  • Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.

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:

    • Accountability
    • Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
    • Decisiveness
    • Information Management
    • Interpersonal Skills
    • Oral Communication
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/12193143

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