Human Resources Specialist (Employee Relations)
What you'd do
This position is located in the Washington Headquarters Services (WHS), Human Resources Directorate (HRD), Labor and Management Employee Relations (LMER) Division. The division directly supports the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), WHS, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) and other organizations serviced by the Washington Headquarters Services.
Major duties
Incumbent typical work assignments include the following: Providing authoritative policy guidance, technical assistance, and strategic recommendations on complex disciplinary, adverse, and performance-based actions. Advising and guiding management on the legal merits, procedural requirements, and strategic risks of disciplinary and adverse actions to ensure full compliance with federal statutes, OPM regulations, and MSPB case law. Serving as the principal technical expert for leave administration, interpreting complex leave statutes to resolve highly sensitive or unprecedented issues, and advising employees and supervisors on requirements for requesting, documenting and granting leave (such as FMLA or LWOP). Managing the administration of the OSD/WHS Grievance System, and serving as the primary technical expert to facilitate the resolution of formal and informal grievances. Evaluating, drafting and updating internal policies, component-level directives, and standard operating procedures pertaining to employee relations, identifying program gaps and recommending operational enhancements.
What you need to qualify
In order to qualify for this position, you must meet the requirements described below. To qualify at the GS-13 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the the next lower grade level (GS-12) in the federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) demonstrating: Providing authoritative advisory services and policy interpretations to senior leadership, and delivering persuasive, high-level oral briefings to managers and executives on highly complex, sensitive, and precedent-setting employee relations matters; Interpreting complex, sometimes ambiguous, federal statutes and regulations-including Title 5 and Title 10, U.S.C.-to formulate agency-wide employee relations strategies, and drafting legally defensible, highly technical written documents (such as disciplinary proposals, adverse action decisions, and formal agency responses); Analyzing recurring or complex employee relations problem areas to formulate, draft, and implement new or significantly enhanced local agency program policies, component-level directives, and standard operating procedures; and Planning, organizing, and conducting complex research to resolve high-risk employee relations challenges, facilitate the resolution of formal and informal grievances, and advise on highly sensitive or unprecedented leave administration issues. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. All qualifications and education requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume. Your resume may not exceed two (2) pages. For qualifications determinations, it is recommended that applicants include their months and hours worked per week for each employment listed on their resume. If a determination is not able to be made about the duration of your creditable experience for qualification requirements, you will be removed from consideration. Read more about what should I include in my federal resume at https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS: Federal agencies treat active duty service member as veterans, disabled veterans, and preference eligible, when they submit, as part of their application package, a "certification" of active service in lieu of a DD-214, indicating the service member is otherwise eligible and will be discharged or released within 120 days from the date of submission.. A "certification" letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the character of service. This "certification" must include your rank, dates of active duty service, type of discharge and character of service (i.e. honorable), and date any terminal leave will begin. It must be signed by, or by direction of, the adjutant, personnel officer, or commander of your unit or higher headquarters. Active duty members that fail to provide a valid "certification" of service with their initial application will be found "not eligible". Members may be appointed before the effective date of their military retirement/separation if they are on terminal leave. Current or Former Political Appointees: Agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level. 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 that to the Human Resources Office. Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume. For entry at the GS-13 level, status applicants must have served 52 weeks as a GS-12 or higher grade in the Federal Service.
Before you apply
Federal applications are different: your resume should be 3–5 pages and mirror the language of this announcement. Read our federal resume guide first — it's the #1 reason qualified people get screened out.
Don't miss the next one.
Get an email the moment a similar federal job opens — postings can close in as little as 5 days.