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Human Resources Specialist (ER/LR)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Sierra Pacific Health Care Network (VISN 21)

Summary

The purpose of this position is to provide HR Services including leadership consulting and advisory functions in employee relations and labor relations. It includes an emphasis on providing leaders and employees with quality customer service, program accountability, and problem resolution.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 07/22/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 22, 2026
Location
few vacancies in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$89,508 - $116,362 per year

Salary range listed is for Rest of US locality. Actual salary dependent on location of selectee. Locality based pay tables available at www.opm.gov

Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Not required
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CBSW-13004952-26-ARH
Control number
877084900

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Duties

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VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: HR Specialist Total Rewards

Duties for this position to include but no limited to the following:

Employee Relations

  • Provides technical guidance, advice and counseling to management officials and supervisors to address issues with workforce-related conduct and performance.
  • Develops strategies to respond to employee-related issues.
  • Prepares appropriate agency responses to employee relations matters.
  • Provides consultation on associated program areas, such as reasonable accommodation and leave management.
  • Delivers training for management and employees on a variety of employee relations topics. Incumbent prepares a variety of correspondence on behalf of the agency to address complex employee relations matters including, disciplinary and adverse actions, settlement agreements, and congressional correspondence.
  • Provides services to an integrated healthcare network, ensuring strict adherence to all contractual and regulatory timeframes.
  • Advises management officials at all levels of the network, including senior leaders, about appropriate disciplinary or other corrective techniques in response to a range of conduct and performance problems.
  • Explains rules and procedures to employees and management to help them understand rights and obligations while maintaining and encouraging objectivity in situations that may be charged with emotion and involve assumptions.
  • Resolves disputes and evaluates events and/or identifies aggravating or mitigating factors relevant to the case.
  • Conducts and Advises on ER matters, all proposed adverse actions, coordination and oversight, including OAWP, DAB, AIB, fact findings, grievance examiner, state licensure reviews, suitability, Drug Free Workplace, Workplace Violence Prevention Program, and third-party hearing representation
  • Must also apply a high degree of insight and technical competence to recognize and accomplish management objectives without sacrificing fundamental principles.
  • Must have the stature, foresight, maturity, and ability to negotiate and reach amicable solutions to complex and controversial problems.
Labor Relations:
  • Provides services to an integrated healthcare network, ensuring strict adherence to all contractual and regulatory timeframes.
  • Develops management strategies to respond to labor issues.
  • Prepares appropriate agency responses to labor-related matters.
  • Offers technical guidance, information and assistance to management and senior leadership officials on sensitive, serious, and controversial labor relations issues regarding employees in a wide variety of administrative and clinical occupations with substantial differences in working conditions, entitlement, and occupational practices and policies.
  • Provides technical and consultative guidance, including actions of a disciplinary or adverse nature, grievances, demands to bargain, impasse proceedings, local bargaining, unfair labor practices, performance management and recognition, employee counseling, appeals, complaints, drug testing and related functions.
  • Provides management with interpretation of policies, procedures, and collective bargaining agreements.
  • Analyzes changes to regulations and policies to determine the impact on the labor relations program; determines need for impact and
  • implementation or full bargaining at the appropriate level (local, network, or national bargaining).
  • Represent management at arbitrations and in situations involving proceedings before other third-parties, as appropriate.
  • Other related duties as assigned

Work Schedule: Full Time; Monday - Friday; 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. PST; Subject to change to meet the needs of the Agency
Telework: Ad hoc telework authorized
Virtual: This is a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Human Resources Specialist (ER/LR)/PD99976S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.

Requirements

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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 identification 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 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 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, 07/22/2026.

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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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.

The BASIC REQUIREMENT for the HR Specialist GS-0201 series is presumed met if found qualified at the GS-0201-7 level and above.

To qualify for this position at the GS-12 level, you must meet one of the following listed Criteria:

Criteria 1: Graduate Degree and Specialized Experience: Successful completion of a graduate level degree or higher and three years of progressive specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level. Such experience may be gained in administrative, professional, technical or other responsible work positions in the public (i.e., Government or military) or private sector. Qualifying specialized experience includes: Provides consultation on associated program areas, advises management officials at all levels of the network, including senior leaders, about appropriate disciplinary or other corrective techniques in response to a range of conduct and performance problems, resolves disputes and evaluates events and/or identifies aggravating or mitigating factors relevant to the case. ~OR~
Criteria 2: Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in federal service that demonstrates HR management knowledge, concepts and principles and the performance of work in one or more of the HR specialty areas. Such experience may be gained in administrative, professional, technical or other responsible work positions in the public (i.e., Government or military) or private sector. Qualifying specialized experience includes: Provides technical guidance, advice and counseling to management officials and supervisors to address issues with workforce-related conduct and performance, resolves disputes and evaluates events and/or identifies aggravating or mitigating factors relevant to the case, conducts and Advises on ER matters, all proposed adverse actions, coordination. and oversight.

Creditable Experience: Creditable experience is specialized experience that demonstrates the application of HR management knowledge, concepts and principles and the performance of work in one or more of the HR specialty areas. This experience may be obtained in the public sector, private sector or military (see Quality of Experience section below). This experience must be equivalent to Federal service in terms of difficulty and complexity of duties. Skills obtained from these experiences are cumulative, which means that as an employee progresses in their career, skills acquired at lower levels remain applicable as new skills are added.

Impact of Time-in-Grade Restrictions: Unless excluded from coverage under 5 C.F.R. Part 300, Subpart F, current (and some former) Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements to qualify for the grade level through Criteria 1: graduate degree and specialized experience.
.

Education

Qualifying education for the GS-0201 series includes courses and programs in HR, HR development, HR management, business, business management/administration, industrial relations, labor relations, industrial psychology, organizational psychology, organizational development, management, organizational behavior, pre-law/law, legal studies, health care management/administration, public administration, public policy, human services, leadership and/or humanities.

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

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

  • Accountability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Communication
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Employee Relations
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Labor Relations
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
  • Technical Competence


Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

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.

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.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

Agency contact information

Allison Hoffman
Phone
304-350-2062
Email
Allison.Hoffman2@va.gov
Address
VISN 21 SIERRA PACIFIC NETWORK
391 Taylor Blvd
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
US

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