Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to the following current, permanent employees: VISN 15, VISN 16, VISN 17, and VISN 19 and those eligible for CTAP only.

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Duties include, but are not limited to:Technical Consultation, Advisory and Program Management

• Serving as a key member in various VISN committees and activities working directly with leadership to develop an HR strategy that closely supports and facilitates meeting local organizational goals.
• Examining the forecasting data to project managerial strategies, organizational processes, competencies, and human resources interventions necessary to create the required cultures to support new and establish VHA initiatives.
• Supporting leadership and organizational goals, which includes, but is not limited to: Resource Management Committee; Succession Planning; Emergency Management; Diversity and Inclusion; Activations Planning; Quality Management; Joint Commission Planning;Workforce Planning; and any others as applicable.
• Advising leadership and providing responses to proposed legislation, policies, and standards of higher authority regardinghuman resources issues.
• Developing, communicating, and coordinating HR strategies, policies, and initiatives with the units and corporate organizations.
• Leading the succession planning process and coordinating expert services in performing analyses of the workforce to identify succession plan priorities
• Leading and managing the HR Employee Relations section of the HR Strategic Business unit.
• Establishing trust and creditability with leaders and acting as a valuable sounding board on organizational and talent issues.
• Proactively providing guidance and advice to mangers and leaders on employee engagement.
• Ensuring leaders and managers assess results and build comprehensive action plans from employee performance appraisals, proficiencies, competencies and all employee surveys.
• Collaboratively driving complex employee relations issues for field-based employees such as employee complaints, harassment allegations, and work performance issues while ensuring legal compliance, leveraging employee abilities and managing risks.
• Assisting with local fact finding and investigations.
• Conducting exit interview, analyzing trends in turnover, separations and grievances to determine support or actions needed to adjust unfavorable trends.
• Working with leadership, staff and operational officials, employee groups, etc., to develop and explore labor relations alternatives to improve policies, techniques, and procedures.
• Working collaboratively with the all levels of leadership and the Compensation Center of Excellence (CCoE), by establishing strategy for the utilization of Special Salary Rates, Nurse Pay Schedules, Physician, Dentist, and Podiatrist Pay, Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP), Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), Recruitment, Relocation, and Retention (3Rs) incentives, and any associated facility-wide advisory boards.
• Reviewing and consulting with the CCOE on valid wage evaluations, ensuring the integrity of comparable data from reliable sources are utilized as evidentiary support of establishment/update/continuance of compensation considerations.
• Leading matrixed teams in conducting special projects or studies of considerable scope and depth.
• Sustaining current workforce by providing subject matter expert services to resolve issues.
• Acting as an interpretive conduit for programmatic changes to better meet the needs of the organization and its people.
• Presenting, explaining and defending controversial policies to persuade organizational leaders with widely differing goals and interests to follow a recommended course of action consistent with established policies, objectives, and regulations.

Supervisory Duties

• Recruiting and hiring subordinate staff members in line with merit staffing procedures and equal employment opportunity guidelines.
• Supervising a minimum of three full performance level GS-0201-12 HR Specialists and administrative staff as deemed necessary. This is subject to change under future phases.
• Planning and establishing work schedules, hours of duty, etc.
• Reviewing completed work of the staff and providing feedback to encourage top performance to enhance an atmosphere of teamwork in the office.
• Approving expenses such as overtime and employee travel.
• Evaluating the work performance of subordinate staff members and recommending appropriate awards to enhance effective performance or acting to deal with inadequate performance, through counseling, training, coaching and other means.

Incumbent may be responsible for covering more than one facility within their VISN.

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm CST
Telework: Available on Ad-Hoc basis only
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Assistant Human Resource Officer (Senior Strategic Business Partner (SSBP))/PD99991-A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: NOT Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): NOT Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): NOT Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/08/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-13 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: providing advice and guidance to all supervisory levels on human resources management principles, techniques and acceptable practices; directing, overseeing and coordinating work projects and action items timely; providing advice to management on the interpretation and implementation of union agreement; providing staff assistance in analyzing personnel problems and exploring possible solutions; utilizing subordinate supervisors to direct, oversee, and coordinate work related to the range of functions within human resources and evaluating subordinate supervisors and advising on the most appropriate action to take that will most effectively assist management in accomplishing objectives.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Personnel and Human Resources
• Planning and Evaluating
• Technical Competence
• Organizational Stewardship
• Critical Thinking
• Interpersonal Effectiveness

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; religions; 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.