Federal

Human Resources Specialist

National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Agency Wide ยท National Aeronautics and Space Administration
๐Ÿ“ Huntsville, Alabama GS-14 $125,776 - $197,200/yr
Posted: Mar 18, 2026 Deadline: Mar 24, 2026 (Closed days left)

About This Position

The Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) is seeking high-performing Human Resources (HR) professionals to serve as senior technical experts and strategic advisors, providing authoritative guidance to Center Directors, senior executives, and Agency leadership. Selections may be made in the following areas: Executive Services (focus on political appointee support); Classification & Position Management; Employee Relations; or Human Resources Business Partner lead.

Qualifications

Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work. To qualify for GS-14, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level: Providing senior-level advisory services to executives or organizational leadership on complex human capital matters with multi-organizational or enterprise impact. Interpreting and applying Federal HR laws, regulations, and policies (e.g., Title 5, OPM guidance, merit system principles) and making recommendations for complex and controversial issues based on sound interpretation of guidelines and practices.

Leading or advising on high-visibility personnel actions in areas such as executive resources, classification and position management, employee relations, workforce planning, or organizational design.

Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job. NASA prohibits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted tool in drafting application and assessment responses.

Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of AI tools during the application process.

Major Duties

Serves as a senior technical expert and advisor, providing authoritative guidance to Center and Agency leadership involving one or more HR functional areas.

Analyzes complex workforce issues and recommends human capital strategies and solutions aligned with merit system principles and Agency policy.

Serves as a senior advisor providing Agency-wide guidance and expert consultation on pay and compensation, position management principles, and classification standards and policy.

Reviews and evaluates position structures and workforce strategies to ensure sound organizational design.

Provides authoritative interpretation of OPM regulations and NASA policy to advise leadership on complex human capital matters.

Leads or participates in Agency-level projects related to workforce policy, compensation, or position management.

Collaborates with Center HR offices to promote consistent application of human capital policies and practices.

Develops tools, guidance, and training to support implementation of workforce policies and programs.

Supports OCHCO leadership in addressing emerging workforce management issues and strategic human capital priorities.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this position based on how well you meet the qualifications and eligibility requirements outlined in this vacancy announcement.

Your resume and supporting documentation will be reviewed in conjunction with your responses to the assessment questionnaire. As part of the assessment, your responses to the Written Interview prompts will be scored and used to place you into one of three quality groups. These scores, along with your qualifications and supporting materials, will determine your referral status.

Please ensure your application materials and responses accurately reflect your experience and competencies, as misrepresentation may result in removal from consideration. Assessment preview link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12912571 These competencies will be assessed using technical assessments. They may also be evaluated during a structured interview: Human Capital Management Oral Communication Personnel and Human Resoures Policy Management Technical Competence NASA considers 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. Under NASA's quality grouping process, applicants will be assessed on the position competencies and placed in one of three groups identified and defined below: Best Qualified Group - Applicants who demonstrate a superior level of all evaluation criteria. Highly Qualified Group - Applicants who demonstrate a satisfactory level of the evaluation criteria.

Qualified Group - Applicants who demonstrate the basic qualifications, with general knowledge, skills, and abilities. Candidates eligible for ICTAP/CTAP, reemployment priority or priority consideration will be referred before other candidates, as necessary. If no such candidates apply or are eligible to be referred, the following candidates will be sent to the hiring official for employment consideration: Best Qualified merit promotion candidates.

Highly Qualified merit promotion candidates may also be referred, if additional candidates are needed. Qualified candidates eligible for consideration under Schedule A or VRA in accordance with veterans' preference rules, as applicable. Qualified candidates that are eligible for special hiring authorities or non-competitive hiring authorities.

NASA will not ask you to disclose criminal history record information during the application process or before we make a conditional/tentative offer of employment. If you apply for this position and are selected, NASA will conduct a suitability/security background investigation after you accept a tentative job offer. If you feel you are asked to disclose your criminal history before you accept a tentative offer and wish to file a complaint within 30 days, please contact: [email protected].

Additional Information

Additional selections may be made for similar positions across NASA. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) within NASA. CTAP/ICTAP will be cleared for any additional selection from this announcement.

You must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible for this position. To be eligible, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks in a position no more than 1 grade lower than the advertised position. (Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. If your eligibility for both merit promotion and/or time-in-grade cannot be determined, your application will be rated ineligible.)

Note: Time-in-grade requirements also apply to applicants who have held a non-temporary, competitive service GS position in the past year. If you have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), you must: - Indicate your eligibility when applying for a position. The questionnaire asks you to identify your ICTAP/CTAP eligibility. - Be well qualified for this position to receive consideration.

Candidates rated in the 'Best Qualified' category are considered well-qualified. Please see 'How You Will Be Evaluated' for more information. - Submit proof that you meet the requirements for CTAP/ICTAP as indicated in 'Required Documents' For additional information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, click here - https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/#ictap. Qualified NASA term employees who have term conversion eligibility (Term Appointments | NASA) under the NASA Flexibility Act of 2004 will be referred and considered equally with other NASA permanent employees under internal competitive placement procedures.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application and have all required information available. We encourage you to provide a complete description of your educational achievements and include both paid and non-paid work in the experience portion of your resume. If you submit a resume that does not contain the required information, you may lose consideration.

To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: To begin the application process, you will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application process. Once logged in to your account, click on the "Apply" link.

Follow the prompts to select your resume (2 pages or fewer) and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. Resumes longer than 2 pages will be rejected by the system. Resumes submitted via other document types will not be forwarded to the hiring manager, nor will they be used in the review of your qualifications.

We strongly encourage you to utilize the USAJOBS resume builder when creating your resume. Using the resume builder will help you ensure your resume includes important information related to your qualifications and eligibility for this position. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.

During the application process you can review, edit, delete and update your information. We'll automatically save your progress as you go, so you won't lose any changes.

Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the 'Include Personal Information' section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.

You will be taken to the vacancy questionnaire which you must complete in order to apply for the position.

Complete the online application, verify all required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.

Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. NASA's online application process provides step by step guidance to ensure you provide all needed information. If you are unable to apply online, please contact [email protected] for assistance.

Be advised - application materials faxed, emailed, and/or mailed to NASA will not be accepted for this announcement. NASA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you are an applicant with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency contact center listed on the job vacancy announcement.

The decision on granting reasonable accommodations will be on a case-by-case basis.

Required Documents

All submitted resumes must not exceed two (2) pages in length. Resumes longer than two pages will be rejected by USAJOBS. Applicants are strongly encouraged to prioritize including experience and relevant qualifications that directly align with the position advertised. All work experience and accomplishments must be associated with dates (month/year) to allow for accurate qualification assessment. A complete application package includes a resume, required documents and completion of the vacancy announcement questionnaire. Please see this guidance: What to include in your resume.

Your resume should describe your specialized experience and support your answers to the vacancy announcement questionnaire. Please

note: if any of the following types of information are included on your resume, your application package will be disqualified: Classified or government sensitive information. Social Security Number (SSN) Photos of yourself Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc. Encrypted and digitally signed documents.

If your resume contains any of the above information, you must redact that information prior to the submission of your application. The following documents are required: Resume SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action There may be other supporting documents (Notification of Personnel Action SF-50, licenses, certification, veterans preference, etc.), depending on your answers to the questionnaire and job announcement description, that you may have to submit, please verify your application. Do not submit an OF-306 with your application.

If you are a surplus or displaced employee (CTAP and ICTAP), submit proof that you meet the requirements for CTAP/ICTAP. This includes copies of your agency notice, most recent Performance Rating and most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting current position, grade level, and duty location. If you are a veteran and you are claiming veterans' preference, you must submit a DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions.

For more information on veterans' preference and possible other supporting documents that you may have to submit, please visit FedshireVets. Official documents are required at the time of appointment for verification of eligibility and qualifications.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary for the Human Resources Specialist position at National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Agency Wide?
The salary range for this position is $125,776 - $197,200/yr. This is a GS-14 position on the General Schedule pay scale. Actual pay may vary based on locality adjustments.
Where is the Human Resources Specialist job located?
This position is located in Huntsville, Alabama. This is an on-site position.
What qualifications do I need?
Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work. To qualify for GS-14, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level: Providing seni...
How do I apply for this position?
Apply through USAJobs.gov by clicking the 'Apply on USAJobs' button. You'll need a USAJobs account, a federal-style resume, and supporting documents. The deadline is Mar 24, 2026.
Is a security clearance required?
No security clearance is required for this position.
What does GS-14 mean?
GS-14 refers to the General Schedule grade level. Higher grades require more experience and offer higher pay. Visit our GS Pay Scale page for full salary tables by grade and locality.
What benefits do federal employees receive?
Federal employees receive comprehensive benefits including health insurance (FEHB), retirement through FERS, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) with government matching, paid annual and sick leave, paid parental leave, life insurance, and student loan repayment programs.