Employee Benefits Specialist

Summary

EBSA plays a vital role in protecting the retirement, health, and other job-based benefits of America's workers, retirees, and their families. We issue effective regulations, offer comprehensive education and assistance to workers, plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and service providers, and rigorously enforce the law. We serve workers, families, and the broader employee benefits community by protecting the security and integrity of the nation's benefit systems.

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Duties

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The advertised salary reflects the minimum and maximum pay for the locations listed. Upon selection, the salary will be set in accordance with the selectee's assigned duty location.

The following are the duties of this position at the GS-09 level. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

Major duties for this position include but are not limited to:

• Manage or support mission-related projects, including planning work, identifying issues, and recommending solutions.
• Research employee benefit plan issues, gather facts from multiple sources, and prepare findings and recommendations.
• Analyze program data, policies, procedures, and operations to find problems, gaps, or ways to improve efficiency.
• Communicate with internal and external stakeholders to share information, resolve issues, and support cooperation.
• Provide policy and procedural support to managers and program officials.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Must be at least 16 years old.
• Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.
• Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.

Qualifications

For GS-07: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-05 in the Federal Service. Applicants must meet 3 out of the 5 examples of specialized experience below .

For GS-09: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-07 in the Federal Service. Applicants must meet 3 out of the 5 examples of specialized experience below .

Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the duties of the position successfully, 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.

Qualifying specialized experience for GS-07 includes: 1) Experience supporting projects by identifying issues, gathering information, and recommending improvements. 2) Experience researching and analyzing policies, procedures, regulations, reports, or other information. 3) Experience preparing clear written products such as summaries, reports, correspondence, or recommendations. 4) Experience communicating with stakeholders to gather, explain, or clarify information and resolve issues. 5) Experience reviewing processes to identify gaps, inefficiencies, or needed improvements.

OR

1 full year of graduate level education; if related;

OR

Superior academic achievement (S.A.A); information regarding S.A.A can be found in OPM's General Schedule Qualification Policies . S.A.A. is based on a qualifying Bachelor's Degree and (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership.

1. Class standing Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.
2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.
3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed below. These honor societies are listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (external link).

OR

Combination of education and specialized experience to meet the requirements of this position.

Qualifying specialized experience for GS-09 includes: 1) Experience managing or supporting projects by identifying issues, analyzing information, and recommending improvements. 2) Experience researching and interpreting policies, procedures, regulations, reports, or program data to support decisions. 3) Experience preparing clear written products, such as reports, briefings, correspondence, or recommendations for management review. 4) Experience communicating with internal or external stakeholders to explain information, resolve issues, and support program objectives. 5) Experience evaluating program or administrative processes to identify gaps, inefficiencies, or needed corrective actions.

OR

master's degree

OR

2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree;

OR

LL.B. or J.D., if related.

OR

Combination of education and specialized experience to meet the requirements of this position. To combine education and experience, your total qualifying experience is calculated as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level. Then, your education is calculated as a percentage of the education required for the grade level. The two percentages are added together. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level.

Education

Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.

If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

Unofficial Transcript(s) (in English) - If you are using education as a basis for qualifying for this position, you must submit all applicable academic transcripts demonstrating that you meet the qualifying educational requirements (ex. BA/BS, MA, JD, PhD, etc.). If specific coursework is required to qualify, you must supply an unofficial transcript from each academic institution in which the required courses were taken in order to receive credit. You may upload your unofficial transcript(s) as one document with a maximum size limit of 5 MB.

NOTE: The OFFICIAL Transcript(s) MUST BE RECEIVED if you are selected, and prior to receiving the firm offer with a start date.

Reference the Education Section for College Transcript and Evaluation of Foreign Education.

Additional information

Applicants must meet all legal and regulatory requirements. Reference the Required Documents section for additional requirements.

The mission of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to protect the welfare of workers and job seekers, improve working conditions, expand high-quality employment opportunities, and assure work-related benefits and rights for all workers.

Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION, REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION, FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

As a condition of employment, all personnel must undergo a background investigation for access to DOL facilities, systems, information and/or classified materials before they can enter on duty: BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION

This position is inside the bargaining unit. If the duty location is within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the Local 12, AFGE bargaining unit. If the duty location is outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the NCFLL bargaining unit.

For more information, click Career Ladder Promotion Information

For more information, click Telework Position Information. This is not a remote work position. The selectee will report to an assigned DOL office location on a regular basis and is eligible for participation in telework as determined by management in accordance with DOL policy.

Based on agency needs, additional positions may be filled using this vacancy.

The Department of Labor may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government to attract highly qualified candidates. Click for more information on Pay, Leave, and Workforce Flexibilities.

The Fair Chance Act (FCA) prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOL employee has violated your rights under the FCA, you may file a complaint of the alleged violation following our agency's complaint process Guidelines for Reporting Violations of the Fair Chance Act.

Note: The FCA does not apply to some positions specified under the Act, such as law enforcement or national security positions.

All Department of Labor employees are subject to the provisions of the Drug-Free Workplace Program under Executive Order 12564 and Public Law 100-71.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.