Assistant HRO (Senior HR Strategic Business Partner) (Temp Prom / Detail - NTE 1 yr)
About This Position
The role of the Assistant Human Resources Officer / Senior Human Resources Strategic Business Partner contributes to overall VISN performance by providing tactical and strategic consulting on people and organization development strategies in support of business objectives.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/19/2026. 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 a GS-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13.
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. The BASIC REQUIREMENT for the HR Specialist GS-0201 series is presumed met if found qualified at the GS-0201-7 level and above. To qualify for this position at the GS-14 level, you must meet one of the following listed Criteria: Criteria 1- Graduate Degree and Specialized Experience: Successful completion of a graduate level degree or higher and three years of progressive specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level.
Such experience may be gained in administrative, professional, technical or other responsible work positions in the public (i.e., Government or military) or private sector. Qualifying specialized experience includes: Providing expert level human resources advice and guidance to the Medical Center's management and staff; Providing continuing advice and guidance in areas which include, but are not limited to, basic employment policy, appointment authorities, recruitment and staffing, employee and labor relations, benefits, etc; Collaboratively evaluating trends in missions, technology, manpower, fiscal resources, and other factors influencing future needs; Coordinating with advisory staff to obtain management information; Advising staff on difficult and unusual recruitment, placement and pay issues or problems; and Troubleshooting and resolving difficult and controversial internal and external staffing and placement problems. ~OR~ Criteria 2- Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in federal service that demonstrates HR management knowledge, concepts and principles and the performance of work in one or more of the HR specialty areas. Such experience may be gained in administrative, professional, technical or other responsible work positions in the public (i.e., Government or military) or private sector.
Qualifying specialized experience includes: Progressively responsible managerial/administrative experience planning, directing, coordinating, and providing internal evaluation of a health care system's Human Resources Management Program; serving as advisor and consultant to executive leadership; formulating and implementing human resources polices involving recruitment, staffing and placement, position management and classification, pay administration, employee and labor relations, employee training and development, employee recognition programs, employee health programs; and providing advice/guidance to management/supervisors on human resource management principles, techniques and acceptable practices, as well as technical advice on propriety of statutory, regulatory and procedural requirements.
Major Duties
This is a Temporary Promotion/Detail Not to Exceed One Year- May be extended to additional periods with the possibility of permanent placement as determined by agency policy or may end prior to one year. This is not a remote position; the candidate selected will be required to report onsite, and the pay will be determined/adjusted based on the employee's location. VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: HR Specialist Total Rewards The Assistant Human Resources Officer / Senior Human Resources Strategic Business Partner (SSBP), reports directly to the VISN 6 Human Resources Officer.
Major duties include, but are not limited to: Serve as a key member in various VISN committees and activities working directly with leadership to develop HR strategies. Produce comprehensive workforce analyses and strategies that drive a cohesive and focused HR organization. Set a strategic direction and coordinate the delivery of Human Capital Management (HCM) services in the areas of talent sustainment, talent development, and performance enhancement to specific needs.
Performs talent acquisition for assigned client base. Actively participates in recruitment campaigns; job fairs; college relations programs; general networking; etc. to ensure robust candidate pipeline. Leads the succession planning process and coordinates expert services in performing analyses of the workforce to identify succession plan priorities.
Lead and manage the HR Employee Relations section of the HR Strategic Business unit. Establishes trust and credibility with leaders and acts as a valuable sounding board on organizational and talent issues. Act as a key driver in the organization's high-performance culture, ensures managers and employees understand and participate in the performance management and development programs.
Collaboratively drives complex employee relations issues for field-based employees such as employee complaints, harassment allegations, and work performance issues while ensuring legal compliance, leveraging employee abilities and managing risks. Addresses and resolves difficult and complex problems that have a direct impact on the Department mission. Works with leadership, staff and operational officials, employee groups, etc., to develop and explore labor relations alternatives to improve policies, techniques, and procedures.
Serves as a consultant, technical advisor, and negotiating team member on issues not previously negotiated and where particularly controversial matters are at stake. Advises leadership in the resolution of administrative grievances, post separation reviews, Congressional, Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Equal Opportunity Employment (EEO), Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) or department level complaints. Represents executive leadership as the authoritative spokesperson in dealing with individuals, groups, unions, and supervisors for the purpose of explaining and securing acceptance of leadership's reviews on matters that may range from individual case decisions to those of a precedent setting nature.
Works collaboratively with the all levels of leadership and the Compensation Center of Excellence (CCoE), by establishing strategy for the utilization of Special Salary Rates, Nurse Pay Schedules, Physician, Dentist, and Podiatrist Pay, Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP), Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), Recruitment, Relocation, and Retention (3Rs) incentives, and any associated facility-wide advisory boards. Serve as the VISN advisor to the facility executive leadership team for the Human Capital Program. Provide expert management consultative service involving the full spectrum of HR functions (e.g., recruitment and placement, employee performance, and conduct issues) on highly complex VISN-wide or equivalent issues.
Review completed work of the staff and provides feedback. Plan training and development with subordinate employees to assure they acquire and maintain both technical competencies in their fields and cross training in related fields. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm.
Compressed/Flexible: May be available at the discretion of the Service Chief. Telework: ADHOC-May be authorized (Employees who Telework on an occasional, episodic, or short-term, and have completed required telework training and telework agreement). Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Assistant HRO (Senior HR Strategic Business Partner) (Temp Prom / Detail - NTE 1 yr)/PD99991S. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
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 Subject to background/security investigation 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary or 2-year trial 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 or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Education
Qualifying education for the GS-0201 series includes courses and programs in HR, HR development, HR management, business, business management/administration, industrial relations, labor relations, industrial psychology, organizational psychology, organizational development, management, organizational behavior, pre-law/law, legal studies, health care management/administration, public administration, public policy, human services, leadership and/or humanities. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications Personnel and Human Resources Planning and Evaluating Strategic Thinking Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order: Current, Permanent federal employees of the VA Mid-Atlantic Healthcare Network - VISN 6. Current, Permanent federal employees of the Department of Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.
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. The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.
Additional Information
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
How to Apply
All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/19/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12911278. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account.
Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan.
Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job.
Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.
Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.
Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX).
We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans.
Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job.
Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ " target="_blank">"http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: Resume SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).
You will not be contacted for additional information. Cover Letter Other (1) Performance Appraisal Separation Notice (RIF) Transcript SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility): Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee An SF-50 showing 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 Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade. Examples of appropriate SF-50's include: Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old. Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire.
You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form.
Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx.