Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to those eligible for the following: Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL), Federal employees - Competitive service, Individuals with disabilities, Land & Base Management, Military spouses, and Veterans Hiring Paths.

Major duties include:

• Conducting compliance reviews and audits of HR operations, personnel records, official personnel folders, and HR transaction files to assess accuracy, completeness, and adherence to Federal statutes, VA policy, and OPM guidance.
• Analyzing audit and review findings to identify trends, root causes, and systemic issues; developing and recommending corrective actions and process improvements.
• Preparing written audit findings, compliance reports, and briefing materials for HR leadership and stakeholders, applying recognized audit reporting standards (criteria, condition, cause, effect, recommendation).
• Monitoring changes in Federal laws, regulations, OPM guidance, and VA policy; analyzing the compliance implications of such changes and providing findings and recommendations to inform HRSC's compliance posture.
• Communicating quality assurance findings, compliance requirements, and process changes to HR staff, program offices, and delegated offices.
• Supporting the Quality Management team in needs assessments and program impact evaluation of HRSC's human capital strategy, services, and practices.
• Providing insight and subject-matter expertise on internal control activities and monitoring mechanisms, identifying and documenting risk to HR program quality and compliance to support HRSC's internal control program, consistent with the GAO Green Book.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• 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.

• 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/11/2026.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to some former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade.

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-13 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-11 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. Specialized experience at this level includes performing HR program work in one or more HR disciplines with a developing understanding of how that work supports the broader Human Capital Program. Qualifying specialized experience includes:

• Applying foundational knowledge of Federal HR regulations to the work performed;
• Drafting written summaries, findings, or briefing material components for supervisory review;
• Identifying and documenting discrepancies, gaps, or issues for resolution by a supervisor or senior HR specialist;
• Performing HR program work - such as processing, reviewing, or supporting HR transactions, records, or program activities - under supervision, with growing awareness of the regulatory and programmatic context of that work.

• Preparing written analyses, findings, reports, or briefing materials for supervisory or leadership review;
• Applying knowledge of Federal HR regulations and internal control principles to identify risk or process gaps and recommend corrective action;
• Analyzing HR processes, transactions, or program outcomes to identify issues, trends, or improvement opportunities, and communicating those findings to others;
• Performing HR program work with a demonstrated understanding of the regulatory, policy, or programmatic context in which that work operates, and of the downstream effects of errors, gaps, or inconsistencies in that work.

Quality Ranking Factors (QRFs):
QRFs are not mandatory for employment but may be considered by the Selecting Official when ranking candidates.

Auditing - Demonstrated ability to apply accepted auditing standards and methodologies to compliance, program, or economy and efficiency audits; independently plan and execute audits or reviews, including defining scope, gathering and testing evidence, and reaching supported conclusions; conduct both broad-based and targeted compliance reviews across multiple program areas or offices.

Audit Reporting - Demonstrated ability to independently produce audit or compliance findings and reports organized using recognized audit reporting elements (criteria, condition, cause, effect, and recommendation); analytically sound, identifying root causes and presenting actionable, evidence-supported recommendations that withstand review by senior leadership and external oversight bodies, such as the VA Office of Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office, and the Merit Systems Protection Board.

Internal Controls - Demonstrated ability to evaluate internal control activities (e.g., authorizations, verifications, reconciliations) and assess their operating effectiveness; distinguish material weaknesses or systemic root-cause deficiencies from isolated surface-level errors; apply a recognized internal control framework, such as the GAO Green Book or the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) framework, to structure findings; and translate control gaps into corrective action recommendations that address underlying process failures.

Physical Requirements: The regular and recurring work of the position involves sitting at a desk, conferences, meetings, etc., and occasional visits to activity work sites. No special physical exertion is required.

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

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications: Design, implement, or evaluate internal control activities (e.g., authorizations, verifications, reconciliations) within an HR or comparable administrative program; Assess the operating effectiveness of existing controls, not merely their existence or documentation; Distinguish material weaknesses or systemic/root-cause deficiencies from isolated, surface ­level errors; Apply a recognized internal control framework (e.g., GAO Green Book/ COSO) to structure findings and recommendations; Translate control gaps into corrective action recommendations that address the underlying process failure.

Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Washington, DC. This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from 810 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC 20420.

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.

Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list series and grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 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.

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 for this position:

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

• Compliance
• Internal Controls
• Personnel and Human Resources
• Quality Assurance
• Risk Management
• Technology Application
• Writing

Area of Consideration: Eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

• CTAP eligibles
• All current, permanent VA Employees in the HRSC
• All other current, permanent VA employees
• ICTAP eligibles
• All other applicants (if status)