Employee Benefits Specialist

The advertised salary reflects the minimum and maximum pay for the locations listed. Upon selection the salary will be set in accordance with the selectees assigned duty location.

The following are the duties of this position at the GS-09 level. If you are selected at a lower grade level you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

Major duties for this position include but are not limited to:

• Manage or support mission-related projects including planning work identifying issues and recommending solutions.
• Research employee benefit plan issues gather facts from multiple sources and prepare findings and recommendations.
• Analyze program data policies procedures and operations to find problems gaps or ways to improve efficiency.
• Communicate with internal and external stakeholders to share information resolve issues and support cooperation.
• Provide policy and procedural support to managers and program officials.

• Must be at least 16 years old.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.
• Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.

For GS-07: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-05 in the Federal Service. Applicants must meet 3 out of the 5 examples of specialized experience below.

For GS-09: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-07 in the Federal Service. Applicants must meet 3 out of the 5 examples of specialized experience below.

Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge skills and abilities (KSAs) to perform the duties of the position successfully and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level.

Qualifying specialized experience for GS-07 includes: 1) Experience supporting projects by identifying issues gathering information and recommending improvements. 2) Experience researching and analyzing policies procedures regulations reports or other information. 3) Experience preparing clear written products such as summaries reports correspondence or recommendations. 4) Experience communicating with stakeholders to gather explain or clarify information and resolve issues. 5) Experience reviewing processes to identify gaps inefficiencies or needed improvements.

OR

1 full year of graduate level education; if related;

OR

Superior academic achievement (S.A.A); information regarding S.A.A can be found in OPMs General Schedule Qualification Policies. S.A.A. is based on a qualifying Bachelors Degree and (1) class standing (2) grade-point average or (3) honor society membership.

1. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college university or major subdivision such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration based on completed courses.
2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.)-- Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.
3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed below. These honor societies are listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (external link).

OR

Combination of education and specialized experience to meet the requirements of this position.

Qualifying specialized experience for GS-09 includes: 1) Experience managing or supporting projects by identifying issues analyzing information and recommending improvements. 2) Experience researching and interpreting policies procedures regulations reports or program data to support decisions. 3) Experience preparing clear written products such as reports briefings correspondence or recommendations for management review. 4) Experience communicating with internal or external stakeholders to explain information resolve issues and support program objectives. 5) Experience evaluating program or administrative processes to identify gaps inefficiencies or needed corrective actions.

OR

masters degree

OR

2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree;

OR

LL.B. or J.D. if related.

OR

Combination of education and specialized experience to meet the requirements of this position. To combine education and experience your total qualifying experience is calculated as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level. Then your education is calculated as a percentage of the education required for the grade level. The two percentages are added together. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level.