Duties

The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria, Virginia. This position is telework eligible. The incumbent will be expected to report to the physical work site in accordance with the updated status requirements of their supervisor. The nature and scope of future telework opportunities will be subject to the unit's telework policy, any applicable bargaining unit agreements, and supervisory approval.

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to E.O. 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. The USPTO will request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

As an HR Specialist in the Workforce Employment Division at the full performance level you will perform the following duties:

• Provide consultative advice in the areas of recruitment, placement, position classification, and position management in line with the Strategic Human Capital Plan (SHCP) of the USPTO, OHR, and Business Units.
• Establish and maintain a collaborative partnership with hiring managers in assigned business units.
• Participate in and contribute to management decisions regarding recruitment, placement, position classification and position management.
• Consult with business unit managers regarding recruitment options.
• Prepare recruitment materials, including position descriptions (PDs), job analyses, job questions, job opportunity announcements (JOAs), and certificates.
• Determine eligibility and qualifications, and facilitate rating processes.
• Code and process SF-52s, personnel action requests and all documentation relative to entrance-on-duty (EOD) using the appropriate Human Resources Information Systems.
• Provide advice and guidance to managers and supervisors regarding reorganizations, functional changes, and personnel changes.
• Participate in special assignments in the classification and staffing areas such as delegated examining audits and/or data cleanup efforts.
• Prepare and present reports and briefings on assigned organization/unit status and/or recommended actions to appropriate individuals.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Applicants will only be accepted from United States Citizens and Nationals.
• Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related competencies.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
• Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
• Time-in-grade/band requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
• Suitable for Federal Employment

Qualifications

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM Website at General Schedule for Qualification Standard, Human Resources Series, 0201.

Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped applicants with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, 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 in the federal service.

GS-11: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-09 grade level in the federal service. Examples of specialized experience includes:

• Experience assisting with applying human resources staffing and recruitment principles, practices, laws, and regulations;
• Experience coding and processing personnel actions;
• Experience using human resources systems, assisting with providing advice on position classification and pay/compensation integration;
• Experience participating on a project team involving human resources operational process change and improvements.

OR
Education: Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as Human Resources Management, Business Administration.

GS-12: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-11 grade level in the federal service. Examples of specialized experience includes:

• Experience interpreting and applying human resources staffing and recruitment principles, practices, laws, and regulations in order to provide advisory services in recruitment and placement strategies;
• Experience reviewing, coding and processing personnel actions;
• Experience in organizational design, position management, restructuring, and pay/compensation integration; and
• Experience participating on a project team involving human resources operational process change and improvements.

GS-13: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-12 grade level in the federal service. Examples of specialized experience includes:

• Experience interpreting and applying human resources staffing and recruitment and classification principles, practices, laws, and regulations;
• Experience serving as a subject matter expert providing advisory services in recruitment and placement and classification strategies;
• Experience serving as a quality reviewer in coding and processing personnel actions;
• Experience in organizational design, position management, restructuring, and pay/compensation integration within an organization, and
• Experience leading a project team involving HR operational process change and improvements.

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.

Education

Education may be substituted for specialized experience at the GS-11 grade level.

Education may not be substituted for specialized experience at the GS-12 and GS-13 grade level.

If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information. You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - US Department of Education . Another listing of services that can perform this evaluation is available at the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.

NOTE: Only education and experience acquired before the filing deadline will be considered. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Additional information

Time-in-grade/band requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement unless eligible for special hiring authority, reinstatement eligible, non-current Federal employee applying as a VEOA eligible which do not require time-in-grade/band.

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

This is a Non Bargaining Unit position.

This is a Public Trust position and has a risk level designation of "moderate".

Background Investigation - If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.

The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit the Department of Homeland Security Website .

All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.

Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid.

CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a "well qualified" rating of 85 out of 100. Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: OPM CTAP/ICTAP .

CTAP/ICTAP documentation requirements are listed in the 'Required Documents' section of this announcement.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued.

All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

USPTO Job Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should request accommodation(s) from the USPTO at http://www.uspto.gov/accommodation .

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. If you believe that you have been discriminated against and would like to file an EEO complaint, you must do so within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Claims of employment discrimination must be submitted to the attention of the USPTO's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity via email ( oeeod@uspto.gov ) or phone (571-272-8292).