Human Resources Specialist (Payroll & Processing)

Summary

With nearly 1,700 attorneys, IRS Chief Counsel is the largest tax law firm nationwide. Our attorneys are among top tax law practitioners and some of the very best legal minds found anywhere. Together with the IRS, we serve the public by applying the tax code with fairness and integrity. After pausing hiring in 2025, we are seeking administrative professionals to support our legal work. Click to learn more: IRS Office of Chief Counsel Careers Site Meet Our People Learn about our Legal Divisions

Duties

• Are you looking for a rewarding career where your expertise directly impacts the federal workforce? The Payroll, Processing, and Benefits Branch is seeking professionals who are committed to excellence in customer service and operational accuracy. Our team ensures Chief Counsel employees receive timely pay and benefits while resolving complex payroll issues, administering employee benefits programs, maintaining official personnel records, and serving as the agency's liaison with the National Finance Center. As a Human Resources Specialist, you will build expertise in federal payroll, personnel processing, and human resources systems while providing mission-critical support to the Office of Chief Counsel. Through training, mentoring, and progressively responsible assignments, you will have the opportunity to: Provide authoritative policy and technical advice, consultation, and assistance to all levels of Chief Counsel management on the full range of personnel/payroll systems, products, and services. The work involves matters that are contentious and/or susceptible to widely varying interpretations; Utilize payroll and personnel systems, to include coding personnel actions, review documentations and justifications, and inputting all personnel and payroll actions using the appropriate Federal Guide to Processing Personnel Actions (GPPA); Develop, interpret, and analyze data extracts and reports from various HR databases and develops the most efficient and effective automated systems approaches for presenting HR reports and graphics for management; and Provide expert technical assistance on the HR automated information system's procedures and applications and/or extraction and development of management information reports. Use various data sources and understands the quality of the data available. Develop, interpret, and analyze multiple sources of complex data and/or reports from automated HR databases. The duties listed are not all-inclusive. Other related duties may be assigned as required to meet organizational needs.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See "Required Documents" for a list of document requirements for all employment authorities. Career Transition Assistance Program Current Chief Counsel Employee Current IRS Employee In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. To qualify for this position of Human Resources Specialist you must meet the qualification requirements listed below by the closing of this announcement: For GS-12: Your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-11 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience is defined as: Applying federal personnel and payroll laws, regulations, policies, and procedures to process personnel and payroll actions; Utilizing federal human resources and payroll systems, such as HRConnect, National Finance Center (NFC) payroll system, and the Treasury Integrated Management Information System (TIMIS); Administering federal human resources programs, such as the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), or federal leave programs; Analyzing and resolving complex personnel and payroll issues using qualitative and/or quantitative methods and Providing technical guidance, policy interpretation, or consultative services to management, employees, or other human resources personnel. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11). Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume. Time in Grade Requirement for GS-12: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-11).

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply 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 closing date (09/16/2026) of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. 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 about two (2) 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. 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://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.