HR Specialist (Classification)

Summary

You will serve as a HR Specialist (Classification) with Office of the Secretary of Interior. Duty location will be based on selectee's current DOI duty location.

Duties

• This is a Merit Promotion announcement for current Department of Interior (DOI) Office of the Secretary (OS) employees in the Office of Policy, Management, and Budget (PMB), or a current employee of the Interior Business Center (IBC), or CTAP eligible. At the full performance level GS-12 the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following: Interpret and apply complex federal legal, regulatory, and policy guidance to develop recommendations for HR classification and position management strategies. Conduct thorough position reviews and desk audits to make accurate determinations and prepares detailed evaluation statements supporting final classification decisions. Develop and implement innovative HR classification and position management solutions for highly complex, agency-wide issues, ensuring compliance with established policies and minimizing risks. Prepare clear, concise, and well-reasoned written reports, policy interpretations, and guidance documents for management and stakeholders on significant HR classification matters. Proactively manage workload, prioritize tasks, and ensure timely completion of HR classification actions, adhering strictly to federal rules and departmental procedures. Analyze controversial classification situations, gather pertinent data, evaluate alternative courses of action, and provide authoritative advice to management on final decisions, considering organizational impact. Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level. OS has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 09/09/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following: GS-9: To qualify for the GS-9 level you must meet A, B, or C defined below. A. Specialized Experience: one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equips the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as experience: 1) Performs classification analysis of General Schedule and Wage Grade positions across organizational components by reviewing duties, responsibilities, supervisory relationships, and organizational context; 2) Conducts fact-finding through review of position descriptions, organizational charts, and discussions with supervisors and employees to clarify assigned duties and responsibilities; 3) Identifies discrepancies between assigned duties and documented position descriptions and recommends corrective actions to ensure alignment and accuracy. If qualifying in whole on specialized experience applicants must meet all specialized experience statements described above. OR B. Education: Have a master's or equivalent graduate degree from an accredited college or university or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or a .LL.B. or J.D., if related. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR C. Combination of education and experience: Have a combination of specialized experience and education that equals 100% of the requirement for the GS-9 level. Note: If qualifying based fully or partially on education, transcripts are required and must be submitted with your application. GS-11: To qualify for the GS-11 level you must meet A, B, or C defined below. A. Specialized Experience: one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1) Performs a full range of classification assignments and applies OPM classification standards, job family standards, and functional guides to evaluate positions involving mixed duties or overlapping functional responsibilities, positions with evolving or partially defined duties, career ladder positions and full performance level determinations; 2) Conducts desk audits and structured interviews with supervisors and employees to obtain and clarify information regarding assigned duties and responsibilities; 3) Advises on appropriate classification approaches and implications of classification decisions on organizational design and workforce structure. If qualifying in whole on specialized experience applicants must meet all specialized experience statements described above. OR B. Education: Completed Ph.D. or equivalent degree or three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a doctoral degree. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) OR C. Combination of education and experience: Have a combination of specialized experience and education that equals 100% of the requirement for the GS-11 level. Note: If qualifying based fully or partially on education, transcripts are required and must be submitted with your application. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp GS-12: To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level you must meet: A. Specialized Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1) Classifying a variety of positions across different occupational series and grades to ensure strict alignment with legal and regulatory position-grading standards. 2) Administering policy to standardize personnel evaluation techniques, supporting the organization's consistent execution of merit system principles. 3) Advising management on position design and classification impact to clarify civil service rules and grading frameworks, supporting hiring managers in designing efficient, legally compliant workforce structures. You must include hours per week worked. Volunteer 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; 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.

Requirements

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority. *Additional Requirements located under qualifications*

Education

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the 09/09/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement to receive consideration. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13048420 Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status, visit https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.