The FMC is the federal agency responsible for regulating the U.S. international ocean transportation system for the benefit of U.S. exporters, importers, and the U.S. consumer. The FMC is dedicated to ensuring a competitive and dependable international ocean transportation system that supports the U.S. economy and safeguards the public from unfair or deceptive practices.
Join the FMC and be part of a mission-driven organization during an important and exciting time in the maritime industry.
Summary
The FMC is the federal agency responsible for regulating the U.S. international ocean transportation system for the benefit of U.S. exporters, importers, and the U.S. consumer. The FMC is dedicated to ensuring a competitive and dependable international ocean transportation system that supports the U.S. economy and safeguards the public from unfair or deceptive practices.
Join the FMC and be part of a mission-driven organization during an important and exciting time in the maritime industry.
All candidates who meet the following are eligible to apply for this job: Current or former federal employees qualifying as Status Candidates, Federal employees currently serving on a VRA, VEOA eligibles, CTAP/ICTAP eligibles, eligible for special hiring authorities (e.g., the Schedule A appointment for persons with disabilities, or covered by an Interchange Agreement, or Land Management employees eligible under Public Law 114-47).
As a Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits) at the GS-0201-13 level, the incumbent will be part of the Office of Human Resources, Office of the Managing Director, Federal Maritime Commission. The incumbent This position is responsible for administering the employee benefits program,
which includes retirement, health insurance, life insurance, thrift savings plans, and Workers' Compensation Program.
As an HR Specialist (Employee Benefits), if selected, you will:
Develops and conducts new employee orientation and participates in onboarding. Ensures that new employees are appropriately entered on the agency rolls, counseled, and that all necessary actions related to benefits, obtaining information from prior Federal employment, employee rights and responsibilities, pay, etc. have been completed. Ensures proper completion of forms and follow up on due dates.
Provides customized expert counseling and guidance to all levels of employees on matters of a highly sensitive/serious nature, relating to the areas of retirement, which can include retirement (CSRS/FERS), health, life, and long-term care insurance, thrift savings plans, Flexible Spending Accounts, death and survivor benefits, debt and overpayments, Work Life, workers' compensation, telework, and leave administration, as well as the use of the Employee Personal Page (EPP) self-servicing system.
Counsels employees concerning service credit payments and post-1956 military service deposits. Assists employees with applications for retirement and verifies credibility of service. Provides employees and survivors of deceased employees estimates of expected benefits.
Assists managers in making proper referrals to external resources for employees with highly personal and/or controversial problems, e.g., contested disability retirements.
Identifies appropriate sources of training for FMC employees in the areas of benefits, retirement, and financial literacy. Arranges and/or conducts training to be presented to employees and develops metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the training.
Provides advice on benefits procedures, forms, eligibility requirements, and coverage. Computes benefits and processes actions to completion, advising appropriate agency staff of pending actions.
Coordinates open seasons and enrollment periods for benefits and prepares and distributes guidance and relevant materials. Organizes the annual FMC Employee Benefits Fair held during open season.
Prepares retirement estimates utilizing an automated retirement system (such as FedHR Navigator); prepares retirement packages, ensuring accuracy/completeness, and submits to NFC for processing.
Prepares the FMC's Annual Employee Financial Education Plan for submission to OPM. Identifies strategies to help the Commission improve employee financial literacy and retirement readiness.
Must be registered or exempt from the Selective Service. See www.sss.gov
A 1-year probationary period may be required.
Must be able to obtain and maintain a background investigation.
Time-in-Grade requirement must be met by the closing date of the vacancy.
All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit.
FMC participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.
May be required to file a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of appointment and annually from then on.
Qualifications
To Qualify for the GS-13: You must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position to be filled. Specialized experience required is expert knowledge of the advanced concepts, principles, practices, laws, and regulations of, and skill in applying, the program areas of retirement, benefits entitlements, health and life insurance, and Thrift Savings Plan; regulations governing military service, veterans' benefits, and prior Government service; and counseling techniques to administer the agency retirement and benefits programs and perform the full spectrum of advisory services on complex HR issues· relating to the assigned program areas. Skill and ability to analyze and solve particularly complex and sensitive problems and issues, such as those involving apparently conflicting laws or other requirements and those involving vague or untested areas of case law.
NOTE:All experience statements (i.e., duties, specialized experience, or related applicable assessment) copied from this announcement and pasted into your resume will not be considered as a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.
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.
Status candidates must meet time-in-grade requirements (52 weeks at the next lower grade level) by the closing date of this announcement.
This position requires that the successful candidate undergo personnel vetting, which includes a background investigation and enrollment upon onboarding into "Continuous Vetting." Enrollment in Continuous Vetting will result in automated record checks being conducted throughout one's employment with FMC. The successful candidate will also be enrolled into FBI's Rap Back service, which will allow FMC to receive notification from the FBI of criminal matters (e.g., arrests, charges, convictions) involving enrolled individuals in near real-time. For more information about individual rights, Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights - FBI, FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI, and SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.gov).
Optional Narrative Statements:
The following four narrative questions provide an opportunity for you to demonstrate your commitment to public service to hiring managers and agency leadership. Although responses are optional and will not be scored, applicants are encouraged to address each question thoughtfully. Please limit each response to 200 words or fewer. At the beginning of your submission, please certify that the responses are your own work and that you did not use a consultant or any artificial intelligence (AI) tool, including large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT or Copilot.
How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience.
In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes.
How would you help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you and explain how you would help implement them if hired.
How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position.
Education
Substitution of education may not be used in lieu of specialized experience for this grade level.
Additional information
You will be expected to report to the duty station listed on this announcement.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across the FMC.
If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document that you do not have in electronic form, please refer to the agency contact information.
Suitability Statement: If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.
Shared Certificates Statement: Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for the FMC to share your application with other FMC positions and/or Federal agencies for similar positions.
Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment under Merit Promotion procedures, the veteran must be a preference eligible or a veteran separated after 3 years or more of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions.
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Programs: This program applies 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 for this position, you must: 1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position (Well qualified is defined as possessing the type and quality of experience that exceeds the positions minimum qualifications); and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. For more information: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
All newly appointed employees to the competitive (or excepted) service are subject to a probationary (or trial) period. During this time, your performance, conduct, and suitability for continued employment will be evaluated. You will not automatically convert to permanent status at the end of the probationary (or trial) period. Your supervisor must affirmatively determine that continued employment is in the best interest of the Federal service. If no certification is made before the probationary (or trial) period ends, your appointment will be terminated. You are encouraged to actively engage with your supervisor, seek feedback, and understand role expectations. Additional guidance and support will be provided during onboarding.
All employees of the Federal government are subject to the conflict of interest statutes and regulations including the Standards of Ethical Conduct that govern activities with outside organizations and reporting financial holdings. This position may require the incumbent to complete a confidential financial disclosure report within 30 days of appointment.
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.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
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, your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the Occupational Questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
Competencies:
Accountability
Attention to Detail
Customer Service
Decision-Making
Flexibility
Influencing/Negotiating
Integrity/Honesty
Interpersonal Skills
Learning
Reading Comprehension
Reasoning
Self-Management
Stress Tolerance
Teamwork
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 Assessment 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 an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.
Referral:If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site. If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)), you must receive a score of 80 or better to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Your complete application includes your COMPLETE resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, USA Hire Assessment, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply.
1. Resume - Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. The resume and required supporting documentation should provide the minimum qualifications and relevant experience for the announced position. Must include the work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed. If multiple resumes are submitted by an applicant, only the last resume submitted will be reviewed for qualifications and referred for selection consideration, if eligible. If military or a civilian Federal employee, you must include your rank and/or grade.
Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications, and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.
Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files.
We recommend using a sans-serif font style such as Lato, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, or Open San Source Sans Pro.
The USAJOBS resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
2. A complete application questionnaire and online USA Hire Assessments.
If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Assessments, you can find the Reasonable Accommodation process here.
3. Current and former civilian Federal employees - Submit a copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, which shows your current (or most recent) grade and competitive service status. (The "position occupied" block on the SF-50 should show a "1" and your "tenure" block should show a "1" or "2".) Note: An award SF-50 (ex. cash or time off award) may not indicate grade, step, and competitive status.
4. Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable - Submit a copy of your most recent, signed, completed annual performance appraisal which includes the final rating. If it is not dated within the last 12 months or if you have not received a performance appraisal, please explain why in your application.
5. CTAP & ICTAP applicants - If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents.
6. Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) Eligibles: If you are a current or former land management agency appointee - you must provide documentation to verify eligibility as follows: a) A copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, that reflects having initially been hired under competitive examining procedures to a time limited (temporary/term) appointment; b) A copy of SF-50(s), Notification of Personnel Action(s), that reflect having served under one (1) or more time-limited (temporary/term) appointments by a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of two (2) or more years; and (c) A copy of your Performance Appraisal Plan and/or Supervisor Memorandum that reflects having performed at an acceptable level during each period of service.
7. Veterans Employment Opportunity Act, 30% Disabled Veteran Eligible: DD-214, SF-15 Form and VA letter, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days.
8. Current or Former Political Appointees (if applicable) - OPM must authorize employment offers for former or current Political Appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information. Submit proof of your former or current status, such as your SF-50. Please see here.
9. Schedule A Documentation: A copy of your Schedule A letter from a physician, local, state or federal rehabilitation office citing your eligibility under 5 CFR 213.3102 (u).
10. Peace Corps & AmeriCorps VISTA: A copy of your Peace Corp Description of Service (DOS) Letter, SF-50, or your VISTA Verification of Service letter from your representative after successful completion of the program.
11. Military Spouses (if applicable) - You must submit verification of the marriage to the service member (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage) AND: (1) a copy of your spouse's active military orders; OR (2) verification of your spouse's 100% service-connected disability (VA Letter and/or DD-214); OR (3) verification of the service member's death while on active duty (DD-1300/Death Certificate). You are not eligible if you were not married to the veteran at the time of death or have since remarried.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, and assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date (07/08/2026) of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
Click the Apply Online button.
Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.
You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS My Account tab and clicking on Application Status. For a more detailed update of your application status, you may click on more information.
Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
Your complete application includes your COMPLETE resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, USA Hire Assessment, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply.
1. Resume - Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. The resume and required supporting documentation should provide the minimum qualifications and relevant experience for the announced position. Must include the work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed. If multiple resumes are submitted by an applicant, only the last resume submitted will be reviewed for qualifications and referred for selection consideration, if eligible. If military or a civilian Federal employee, you must include your rank and/or grade.
Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications, and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.
Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files.
We recommend using a sans-serif font style such as Lato, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, or Open San Source Sans Pro.
The USAJOBS resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
2. A complete application questionnaire and online USA Hire Assessments.
If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Assessments, you can find the Reasonable Accommodation process here.
3. Current and former civilian Federal employees - Submit a copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, which shows your current (or most recent) grade and competitive service status. (The "position occupied" block on the SF-50 should show a "1" and your "tenure" block should show a "1" or "2".) Note: An award SF-50 (ex. cash or time off award) may not indicate grade, step, and competitive status.
4. Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable - Submit a copy of your most recent, signed, completed annual performance appraisal which includes the final rating. If it is not dated within the last 12 months or if you have not received a performance appraisal, please explain why in your application.
5. CTAP & ICTAP applicants - If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents.
6. Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) Eligibles: If you are a current or former land management agency appointee - you must provide documentation to verify eligibility as follows: a) A copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, that reflects having initially been hired under competitive examining procedures to a time limited (temporary/term) appointment; b) A copy of SF-50(s), Notification of Personnel Action(s), that reflect having served under one (1) or more time-limited (temporary/term) appointments by a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of two (2) or more years; and (c) A copy of your Performance Appraisal Plan and/or Supervisor Memorandum that reflects having performed at an acceptable level during each period of service.
7. Veterans Employment Opportunity Act, 30% Disabled Veteran Eligible: DD-214, SF-15 Form and VA letter, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days.
8. Current or Former Political Appointees (if applicable) - OPM must authorize employment offers for former or current Political Appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information. Submit proof of your former or current status, such as your SF-50. Please see here.
9. Schedule A Documentation: A copy of your Schedule A letter from a physician, local, state or federal rehabilitation office citing your eligibility under 5 CFR 213.3102 (u).
10. Peace Corps & AmeriCorps VISTA: A copy of your Peace Corp Description of Service (DOS) Letter, SF-50, or your VISTA Verification of Service letter from your representative after successful completion of the program.
11. Military Spouses (if applicable) - You must submit verification of the marriage to the service member (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage) AND: (1) a copy of your spouse's active military orders; OR (2) verification of your spouse's 100% service-connected disability (VA Letter and/or DD-214); OR (3) verification of the service member's death while on active duty (DD-1300/Death Certificate). You are not eligible if you were not married to the veteran at the time of death or have since remarried.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, and assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date (07/08/2026) of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
Click the Apply Online button.
Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.
You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS My Account tab and clicking on Application Status. For a more detailed update of your application status, you may click on more information.
Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
