Human Resources Specialist (Retirement \u0026 Benefits)
Winchester, VA
| Employer: | FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency |
| Job Type: | Full Time |
Description | |
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Summary \u003Cp\u003EThis position is in the Retirement \u0026 Benefits Branch responsible for providing a full range of retirement \u0026 benefits support to employees. The ideal candidate provides expert advice and counseling in all aspects of benefits, directly to managers, supervisors and employees and is responsible for reviewing and making decisions on highly complex retirement, death, disability, creditable service and benefits cases.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E \u003C/p\u003E Duties \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat will I do in this position if hired? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EIn this position, you will serve as Human Resources Specialist (Retirement \u0026 Benefits). Typical assignments include:\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECounseling employees, their survivors, and management officials to provide them with accurate and timely information concerning retirement eligibility and benefits.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPreparing estimates of benefits available under the various retirement systems and combinations (offsets).\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EProviding expert technical advice and assistance to agency employees on a wide variety of benefits questions including communicating billing information when employees are in non-pay status/ LWOP.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EReviewing complex cases, making decisions and counseling employees on the outcome.\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EResponding to inquiries in a timely manner.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat else do I need to know?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAt FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management. \u003C/strong\u003EEvery FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee\u0027s official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFEMA is committed to ensuring that its workforce reflects the diversity of the nation.\u003C/strong\u003E At FEMA, our workforce includes the many identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, ages, cultures, and beliefs of the people we serve. To learn about FEMA\u0027s ongoing diversity and inclusion efforts, reasonable accommodation process, and the FEMA Core Values, please visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http://www.fema.gov/\u0022\u003Ewww.fema.gov\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E Requirements \u003Cp\u003ECurrent Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the Federal service. The time-in-grade and qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETo qualify for this position at the GS-13 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following:\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EApplying laws, regulations, policies, and precedents of Federal employee life insurance, health benefits, Thrift Savings Plan programs; AND\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECounseling management, employees, and beneficiaries on Federal retirement and benefit program details; AND\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EInterpreting, applying, and explaining Federal employee retirement and insurance laws and regulations to employees; AND\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EReview employees creditable Federal service and calculate retirement estimates, service credit and military deposits.\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPlease read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application:\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDo not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPlease limit your resume to five pages. If more than five pages are submitted, only the first five pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EYour resume serves as the basis for experience related qualification determinations, and you must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity. Please use your own words, be clear, and specific when describing your work history. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAre you qualifying based on your work experience? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EQualifications are based on your ability to demonstrate in your resume that you possess one year of the specialized experience for this announcement at a comparable scope and responsibility. \u003C/strong\u003ETo ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/account/documents/resume/build/\u0022\u003EUSAJOBS online Resume Builder\u003C/a\u003E. If you choose to use your own resume, it must contain the following information \u003Cstrong\u003Eorganized by\u003C/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003Eexperience/position\u003C/strong\u003E: (1) job title, (2) name of employer, (3) start and end dates of each period of employment (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY), (4) detailed description of duties performed, accomplishments, and related skills, and (5) hours worked per week (part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience). \u003Cstrong\u003EFederal experience/positions must also include the occupational series, grade level, and dates in which you held each grade level. \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAre you a current or former FEMA Reservist/Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE)? \u003C/strong\u003ETo accurately credit your experience from intermittent positions and Reservist Deployments, you must list the dates (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) of deployments that are relevant to your qualifying experience, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EDetermining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information. Failure to provide the above information in your resume may result in your application being found \u0022not qualified.\u0022\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EExperience 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 provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EFor additional information on crediting experience and/or education, please reference the OPM \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer\u0022\u003EGeneral Schedule Qualification Standards\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E | |