Human Resources Specialist (Employee Relations)

Human Resources Specialist This position is located in the SSA Office of the Inspector General, Office of Resource Management located in Woodlawn, MD. Serves as an Human Resources (HR) Specialist in the Human Resources Division (HRD), Office of Resource Management (ORM), Office of the Inspector General (OI). Serves as a technical expert and advisor for the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in the HR area of employee relations (ER). Responsibilities: Initiates and develops ER operating procedures, guidelines, quick reference checklists, desk guides, visual aids, and presentations in the HR area of employee relations. Conducts analysis, research and fact finding into requested management direct inquires of employee relations matters in order to discover facts and develop action plans to assist and guide managers and supervisors to sound conclusions. Prepares briefing materials as directed, researching applicable subject matter to ensure complete and accurate information is provided. Reviews ER policy and procedures to ensure consistency in their application and recommends modifications. Develops agency methods of measurement that provide a valid measurement of the success of the employee relations program and provides accurate assessments of the program. Represents SSA OIG on various agency-wide groups, meetings, etc., to resolve problems, plan activities of agency-wide concern, or present SSA OIG's position. Requirements: Resumes exceeding two pages in length will not be considered. Read all sections of this announcement in its entirety. This information is crucial to submitting a successful application. Who May Apply: Applications will only be accepted from applicants eligible for one of the following categories: Federal employees currently serving under career or career conditional appointments. Federal employees currently serving under the following types of appointments: Schedule A, Reg. 213.3102 (U) appointments for individuals with disabilities. Former Federal employees eligible for reinstatement (i.e., those who have career status or separated from a career-conditional appointment less than 3 years ago). Current or former Federal employees eligible under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) Eligibles (i.e., Preference-eligible veterans OR veterans who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after 3 years or more of continuous service). Federal employees serving under excepted service appointments with competitive service compatibility (e.g., Postal Service, Foreign Service, an agency with an interchange agreement, etc.) may be eligible to apply. Spouse of a member of the armed forces serving on active duty, a spouse of a 100 percent disabled service member injured while on active duty, or the un-remarried widow or widower of a service member who was killed while performing active duty. How To Qualify: Eligible applicants must meet the following qualification requirements: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-12 level, or equivalent, which is in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such experience must include all of the following: Develop Human Resource Employee Relations policies and procedure Conduct research and fact finding of employee relations matters and inquires Provide strategic, consultative advice, guidance and support to management regarding employee relations issues. Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Applicants for promotion must have 52 weeks at GS-12. Time in grade requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Note: If you are a current Federal employee eligible under VEOA, you are subject to the time-in-grade requirement and must submit an SF-50 as required in required document section. Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: Noncompetitive Consideration: Applications for noncompetitive consideration will be accepted from SSA employees in the area of consideration who are currently serving under the following types of appointments: Schedule A, Reg. 213.3102 (U) appointments for individuals with disabilities; Veterans Recruitment Appointments and time limited appointments for veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Applicants serving under these provisions do not need to submit copies of your disability or Veteran's documentation. However, you must submit a current SF-50 that provides information on the appointment authority under which you were hired. Otherwise, you will not receive non-competitive consideration. Position to be filled under the provisions of the Management Officials Promotion Plan. The best-qualified list for this vacancy may be used to fill the same or similar positions in a component(s) within the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General and the Inspector General community. Additional selections may be made within 6 months of the date the best qualified list is issued. Locality Pay: Salary will be set in accordance with locality pay provisions. Candidates currently receiving a higher locality pay than the office applied for are advised that should they be selected, they will lose entitlement to the higher locality pay. Other Notes: This is a non-bargaining unit position. Telework: in accordance with the Agency's Telework Policy. Relocation expenses will not be paid. This is a moderate risk public trust position. The selected employee will be required to complete a Standard Form 85P, Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions, in order to have the appropriate investigation conducted, unless the employee has been previously certified eligible to occupy a position at this level. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exception from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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 period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Created: 2026-03-15