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Human Resources Specialist (Recruitment)

Department of Homeland Security
Customs and Border Protection
Office of Human Resources Management
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Human Resources Management (HRM), Talent Management Directorate (TMD), National Recruitment Division (NRD), located in:

  • San Diego, CA
  • Jacksonville, FL
  • Miami, FL
  • Tampa, FL
  • El Paso, TX
  • Buffalo, NY
  • Fayetteville, NC
  • Killeen, TX
  • Colorado Springs, CO
  • Savannah, GA
  • Atlanta, GA
  • Boston, MA
  • Houston, TX
  • Detroit, MI
  • Orlando, FL
  • San Antonio, TX

Overview

Help
Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
05/07/2025 to 05/13/2025
Salary
$73,939 to - $115,213 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Locations
Many vacancies in the following locations:
San Diego, CA
Colorado Springs, CO
Jacksonville, FL
Miami, FL
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
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
12
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
HRM-DE-12732977-JLM
Control number
836547700

Duties

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You will use your skills and experience identifying recruitment needs based on hiring plans, current staffing levels and future staffing needs of the assigned CBP Program. You are responsible for providing direct support to either the Frontline Operations Branch or the Operations and Professional Recruitment Branch by performing recruiting functions in support of the talent acquisition process aimed to meet CBP's recruiting and hiring objectives and enabling a mission ready CBP workforce.

This position starts at a salary of $73,939.00 (GS-11, Step 1) to $115,213.00 (GS-12, Step 10).

Salary: Salary listed reflects the rest of U.S. scale and, if applicable, will be adjusted to meet the locality pay or cost of living expenses of the duty location upon selection.

GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position. Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts.

Major Duties for GS-11 Include:

  • Leveraging recruitment strategies and available recruitment tools to identify, attract, and engage potential leads.
  • Collaborating with program office/subject matter experts (SMEs) for joint and/or individual attendance at job fairs, college recruitment fairs, conferences, and annual professional meetings.
  • Assisting in the development of initiatives, procedures, and programs to solve challenging, unconventional, and/or contentious recruitment issues and problems and improve recruitment operations.
  • Participating in internal and external stakeholder meetings to identify current and projected employment gaps and develop innovative recruiting solutions.

Major Duties for GS-12 Include:
  • Identifying recruitment needs based on hiring plans, current staffing levels and future staffing needs of assigned CBP Program.
  • Collaborating with program office/subject matter experts (SMEs) for joint and/or individual attendance at job fairs, college recruitment fairs, conferences, and annual professional meetings.
  • Developing new methods and techniques to resolve difficult recruitment problems or situations that involve significant uncertainty and may not always have precedents available for reference.
  • Preparing research findings and briefs for National Recruitment Division (NRD) and Talent Management Directorate (TMD) leadership.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
  • Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below)
  • You may be required to pass a background investigation
  • CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures
  • As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce that is dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards. Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties. Please review further details via the following link.
  • DHS uses E-Verify, an internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify including your rights and responsibilities.
  • Bargaining Unit: This position is not covered under the bargaining unit.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for the GS-11 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

  • Utilizing HR laws , executive orders, federal and department regulations, internal policy directives, written instructions, verbal instructions and manuals to solve issues.
  • Providing customer service and guidance to individuals with various technical expertise levels and backgrounds with minimal supervision.
  • Maintaining and fostering relationships with internal and external stakeholders, such as federal organizations, professional organizations, schools, universities, and military installations.
  • Demonstrating effective written and oral communications with respect to delivering presentations and providing input for briefings, project papers and correspondence to customers with minimal supervision.
  • Demonstrating sound recruitment knowledge and representing employers at conferences, conventions, professional organizations, job fairs, and other recruitment events.
Education Substitution: A Ph.D. or an equivalent doctoral degree, or three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work and have been obtained in an accredited college or university. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise three years of graduate study. If that information is not available, use 54 semester or 81 quarter hours.

Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels specified in the table, and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-11. (When crediting education that requires specific course work, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.) More information on this qualification standard is located here.

TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED. FAILURE TO PROVIDE TRANSCRIPTS WILL RESULT IN LOSS OF CONSIDERATION

Experience:
You qualify for the GS-12 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
  • Utilizing HR laws, executive orders, federal and department regulations, internal policy directives, written instructions, verbal instructions and manuals to solve complex and/or controversial issues independently.
  • Reviewing, refining and improving customer service experience by independently performing various process improvement methods.
  • Resolving difficult and / or controversial problems by utilizing independent judgement and modifying, adapting, and/or refining broader guidelines to resolve problems, research trends and patterns; develop new methods and criteria; and propose new policies and practices.
  • Cultivating, maintaining, and expanding relationships with internal and external recruitment partners and centers of influence such as federal organizations, professional organizations, schools, universities, and military installations.
  • Demonstrating effective and persuasive written and oral communications with respect to developing high-level briefings, project papers and correspondence, as well as conducting briefings to managers and organizational leaders.
  • Exhibiting professional experience in public speaking in front of large and varied audiences and demonstrating recruitment expertise by servicing as subject matter expert at conferences, conventions, professional organizations, job fairs, and other recruitment events.
NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.

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.

You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 05/13/2025.

In order 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. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The USA Hire Assessments 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.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information on the preemployment process, review the following link: Applicant Resources | CBP Careers

Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:
  • Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military
  • A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government
  • Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university
  • Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.

Additional information

Reasonable Accommodation (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, based on your adjudication decision. 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 here.

Positions with known promotion potential do not guarantee promotion, nor is the promise of promotion implied.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. View information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibilityon OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered eligible under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be placed in the Well-Qualified category for this position, as described within this announcement. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this job announcement.

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.

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 how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics).

This self-assessment will be used to assess the following technical competencies or KSAs:

  • Customer Service (Human Resources)
  • Interpersonal Skills (Human Resources)
  • Reading/Reading Comprehension (Human Resources)
  • Customer Service (Recruitment & Placement)
The USA Hire Assessment will be used to assess the following general competencies:
  • Accountability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
If you meet the minimum qualifications, we will use responses you provide on the application questionnaire and the result of the online assessments required for this position to place you in one of three categories based on your experience, education, and training:
  1. Highly Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF), and appropriate Quality Ranking Factors (QRF) as determined by the job analysis.
  2. Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPF's and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
  3. Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. This position is not considered scientific/professional. Other 10 point preference eligibles and veterans with 5 point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. View information on veterans' preference.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be contacted for an interview. As a part of the interview process, additional selection criteria may be administered by the hiring manager. Preview the job questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12732977

For more general information, system requirements, reasonable accommodation information, and to request assistance regarding the USA Hire Assessments, review the following resources: USA Hire Assessments.

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