Human Resources Specialist - DIRECT HIRE-SME
About This Position
This position is established to provide the full range of human resources management services in the areas of recruitment, placement, merit promotion, employee development, and a variety of employee services functions for all Academy divisions, departments, and offices.
Qualifications
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience requirements. To qualify for the Grade 12, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11 it must include: Experience conducting a full-cycle recruitment and placement for competitive and excepted service positions including performing job analyses, developing assessment criteria, preparing job opportunity announcements, applying qualification standards, issuing certificates, adjudicating veterans' preference, setting pay, and extending job offers in compliance with merit system principles and federal regulations. Experience providing advisory services to selecting officials and management on recruitment strategies, hiring authorities, and complex staffing issues; interpreted and applied federal civilian personnel laws, OPM regulations, and agency policies to ensure legally sufficient and procedurally sound hiring actions.
Experience reviewing and processing a wide range of personnel actions (e.g., promotions, reassignments, within-grade increases, pay adjustments, and data element changes), ensuring proper legal authority coding and regulatory compliance; researched and resolved complex staffing and pay issues to support mission requirements. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: Technical Competence – Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues. Program Knowledge – Knowledge of the organization's mission, function, workforce structure, and internal policies sufficient to support program goals.
Oral and Written Communication – Makes clear and convincing oral presentations listening effectively and clarifies information as needed. Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience. For all types of consideration, 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).
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. For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4 All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Major Duties
The Human Resources Specialist: Performs full-cycle recruitment and placement for competitive and excepted service positions (GS, WG, and Administratively Determined), including conducting job analyses, developing assessment tools, preparing job opportunity announcements, applying qualification standards, issuing certificates, setting pay, and extending job offers in accordance with federal regulations. - Provides expert advisory services to management officials on recruitment strategies, hiring authorities, merit promotion procedures, veterans' preference, and complex staffing issues to ensure legally sound and mission-aligned hiring decisions. Interprets and applies federal civilian personnel laws, OPM regulations, and agency policies to review and process personnel actions such as promotions, reassignments, within-grade increases, pay adjustments, and data element changes, ensuring proper coding and compliance. Researches and resolves complex staffing and compensation issues, collaborating with HR leadership and stakeholders to develop recommendations and ensure consistency in policy interpretation and application.
Monitors recruitment metrics and workforce trends, identifies staffing gaps, and recommends process improvements and strategic recruitment solutions to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and overall program performance. The ideal candidate is a knowledgeable Human Resources professional with experience independently managing fullcycle federal recruitment and placement actions for competitive and excepted service positions, including GS, WG, and Administratively Determined positions. They possess demonstrated expertise in conducting job analyses, developing assessments, applying qualification standards, adjudicating veterans' preference, setting pay, and ensuring compliance with merit system principles, OPM regulations, and agency policy.
The candidate provides sound advisory services to managers on recruitment strategies and complex staffing issues, exercises strong analytical judgment in reviewing personnel actions for legal sufficiency and proper coding, and delivers timely, customer-focused HR support aligned with organizational mission needs.
Conditions of Employment
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will 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 the 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.
SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service. PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
How You Will Be Evaluated
DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).
Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. All applicants: For this announcement, applicants may be reviewed to determine if they meet the basic qualifications for this position, specifically the educational requirements.
Applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications may be referred to the selecting official.
Applicants will not be rated or ranked. Veteran's Preference does NOT apply. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers.
You may preview questions for this vacancy.
Additional Information
The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act.
Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, [email protected]. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will be referred to the hiring manager.
How to Apply
You must submit a complete application package (including resume, vacancy questions and supporting documents) no later than 11:59 pm (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
Follow the directions to register, submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
You may review your saved application(s) at https://help.usajobs.gov/ If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at: [email protected]
Required Documents
RESUME: In accordance with the OPM memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, resumes with a maximum of two (2) pages in length will be accepted as part of your application. These should be legible and in a readable font size. A determination of your eligibility and/or qualifications will be based only on those two (2) pages.
Your resume MUST contain specific information that can be used to make a qualification determination, including employment beginning and ending dates for each position, whether employment is Full-time or Part-time, or average number of hours worked per week, and position titles. If the position is/was in the Federal government, you will need to provide the position series and grade level. The resume should show relevant experience and education, as well as support the required specialized experience.
For assistance with the resume builder, please visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the standards for this vacancy and provide all of the following documents: your most recent performance appraisal, the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade. Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition.
Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USA Jobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system.
You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.