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HR Specialist (Employee & Labor Relations)

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our greatest natural resource.

This position is located in Billings, Montana. At management's discretion this position may be physically located within any BLM State, District, or Field Office. Negotiable after selection.

Information about the Billings area can be found at the Billings Chamber of Commerce website.

We expect to fill 1 vacancy at this time; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement if authorized.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
08/24/2022 to 09/08/2022
Salary
$66,214 to - $103,176 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Billings, MT
Location Negotiable After Selection, United States
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Only if moving to Billings, Montana, then travel and relocation expenses will be paid consistent with the Federal Travel Regulation, Chapter 302, and Departmental policy. Selectee will be responsible for tax obligations related to payments for moving expenses - 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act, Public Law 115-97. See "Other" section for additional information on 2017 Tax Cuts as related to PCS.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
MTMP-22-11612097-RLM
Control number
673511700

Duties

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  • Administers and implements employee relations programs, providing policy guidance and advice to leadership, program managers, other management officials and supervisors.
  • Applies a wide range of HR case law, principles, practices, and regulations to perform detailed analyses and draw conclusions on complex legal issues, problems, and situations.
  • Uses interest-based problem-solving techniques to attempt to resolve conflicts and issues at the lowest possible levels.
  • Uses legal research methods, information gathering techniques, and analytical skill to locate, interpret, and analyze for applicability and appropriateness, precedent and substantive decisions, and/or legal opinions.
  • Researches case law and assists supervisors in preparing written responses and decisions related to employee relation letters (reprimand, conduct, removals, etc.)

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Be sure to read the 'How to Apply' and 'Required Documents' Sections.
  • You cannot hold an active real estate license: nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
  • Direct Deposit Required.
  • Appointment will be subject to a favorably adjudicated background/suitability investigation/determination.
  • Your resume must contain enough information to show that you meet the qualification requirements as defined in the announcement. In addition, your responses to the questions must adequately reflect in your resume.
  • May require a one year probationary period.
  • BLM may use certain incentives, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract high quality applicants.
  • Applicant(s) tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit a pre-employment drug screen.

Qualifications

In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the qualification requirements - please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

For the GS-11: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-09. Specialized experience is further defined as providing guidance on sensitive Federal civilian employee relations matters; providing guidance and identifying regulatory citations to assist supervisors and managers on complex Federal employee relations matters such as disciplinary actions including short suspensions and reprimands, reasonable accommodations and performance issues; experience interpreting and applying 5 CFR 752 and 5 CFR 432; and preparing Federal ER related correspondence, communications, and memorandums for legal review/concurrence; OR a PhD or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR a combination of education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 2 years of graduate school.

For the GS-12: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-11. Specialized experience is further defined as Developing recommendations and providing consultation services on sensitive Federal civilian employee relations matters and technical advice and guidance to supervisors and managers on complex Federal employee relations matters, such as disciplinary actions including short suspensions and reprimands, reasonable accommodations and performance issues; experience interpreting and applying 5 CFR 752 and 5 CFR 432; and development of complex Federal ER related correspondence, communications, and memorandums legal review/concurrence.

There is no substitution of education for experience at the GS-12 grade level of this announcement.

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 by the closing date of the announcement.

Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade requirement in accordance with 5 CFR 300.604. If you are a current Federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks at the next lower grade level.

Education

If using education to qualify, you must submit copies of all transcripts or a list of college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. See Required Documents section for more information.

Additional information

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit E-Verify.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/lnteragency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information: CTAP or ICTAP

Tax Law Impact for PCS: Moving expenses reimbursement is a taxable benefit. However, the Federal Travel Regulation 18-05 issued by General Services Administration has authorized agencies to use the Withholding Tax Allowance and Relocation Income Tax Allowance to pay for "substantially all" of the increased tax liability resulting from the "2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" for certain eligible individuals.

The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. The selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document, you do not have in electronic form; view the following link for information regarding an Alternative Application

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant
to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Executive Order 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire will be made. Your responses to the online questionnaire will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be contacted for an interview.

Your answers to the online questionnaire will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:

Personnel and Human Resources: Knowledge of hiring, classification, benefits, employee relations, negotiation, and federal, state, and local employment regulations.
Technical Competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on the job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.
Problem Solving: Identifies and analyzes problems; uses sound reasoning to arrive at conclusions; finds alternative solutions to complex problems; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information to make logical judgements.
Research: Knowledge of the scientific principles, methods, and processes used to conduct a systematic and objective inquiry; including study design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; and the reporting of results.
Written Communication: Expresses facts and ideas in writing in a succinct and organized manner.

In the evaluation process, due weight will be given to job related experience, education, training, incentive awards and performance appraisals. Applicants must have a performance rating of at least the equivalent of fully successful to be eligible for promotion or placement. Applicants may provide a copy of a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months. If the applicant is unable to provide a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months, the applicant may provide a written explanation as to why.

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 successful completion of the following additional assessment: Subject Matter Expert Resume Panel Review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

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