Summary Lead the development and execution of strategy, policy, processes, technology systems, data science, and employee and customer experience to enable OIT to attract, recruit, develop, and retain a highly qualified, world class workforce. Deliver on VA's commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access by creating a foundation that enables everyone to build and pursue purpose-driven careers. Responsibilities Major Duties: Serves as an Employee Relations (ER) Specialist on ER programs including policy guidance and advice to senior leadership, program managers, other management officials and supervisors. Provides assistance, interpretation, information, and guidance on employee relations problems and issues which affect organizational goal performance, individual performance, performance appraisal systems, and employee relations training programs. Serves as a technical advisor for disciplinary and adverse action procedures. Provides advice and assistance to supervisors, employees and HR in a wide variety of employee relations matters such as performance issues, conduct actions (disciplinary and adverse actions), grievances, appeals, etc. Trains supervisors and management officials on ER problems, performance and conduct issues, merit systems principles, and investigative techniques. Act as management's representative for labor contract negotiations and administration that include multiple contracts and multiple bargaining units. Serves as management's representative on negotiating team(s) providing advice on developing management proposals, negotiating strategies, and when union's proposals may be nonnegotiable under federal law and regulations. Position Description/PD#: Human Resources Specialist (Employee & Labor Relations)/PD70049A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Travel Required: Occasional travel may be required as needed for this position. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00 am -4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: As determined by the Agency Policy Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Physical Demands: No special physical exertion is required. The work is primarily performed while sitting, though some work may require periods of standing. The regular and recurring work of the position involves sitting at a desk, conferences, meeting and training rooms, or commercial vehicles. Working Conditions: The work environment includes everyday risks and discomforts which require normal safety precautions typical of an office environment. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Selectee is subject to background/suitability investigation. Selected applicant will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment. To be considered for this position, applicants must complete all required steps in the process. 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. 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. Qualifications To qualify for this position, all qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement-05/25/2026. 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 the 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. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience is defined as: experience advising management officials and human resources personnel on the full range of employee and labor relations matters, including developing and adjudicating disciplinary and adverse actions under Title 5 and/or agency-specific statutory authorities; interpreting and applying collective bargaining agreements, negotiated grievance procedures, and Federal labor relations statutes; reviewing and analyzing fact-finding inquiries and management investigations; and providing authoritative technical advice and guidance on complex employment matters such as performance management, leave administration, prohibited personnel practices, misconduct, and EEO-related issues. Qualifying experience must demonstrate the ability to independently research applicable law, regulation, and precedent, including Merit Systems Protection Board and Federal Labor Relations Authority decisions, and to translate that analysis into legally defensible written recommendations, formal correspondence, and decision documents. 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 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. Education There is no substitution of education for experience at the grade level(s) of this announcement. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This is not a remote position. OIT has multiple worksites at various duty locations, and the individual(s) selected may be assigned to any federal government work site. This announcement will NOT be used for changing duty locations. If selected, and you are a current VA employee, and not on an approved exemption, you will continue to report to your current duty location. Current OIT or VA employees with competitive status and CTAP/RPL eligible. This announcement will NOT be used for changing duty locations. If selected, and not on an approved exemption, you will continue to report to your current duty location. If selected you will be required to report to one of the following locations: Albany, NY; Arlington, TX; Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Bedford, MA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Detroit, MI; Eatontown, NJ; Hines, IL; Houston, TX; Little Rock, AR; Long Beach, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Martinsburg, WV; Miami, FL; Minneapolis, MN; Nashville, TN; Oakland, CA; Orlando, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Salt Lake City, UT; San Antonio, TX; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Shepherdstown, WV; St. Louis, MO; St. Petersburg, FL; Tampa, FL; Washington, DC. If space is not immediately available a temporary exception to telework may be granted. If/when workspace is identified, the employee is expected to report to their assigned duty location. A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay. VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/.
