Human Resources Assistant

Human Resources Assistant

Department: Department of Energy

Location(s): Portland, Oregon

Salary Range: $43892 - $63605 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is within either the Recruitment & Placement or Benefits & HR Processing team of the Department of Energy's BPA Human Resources Service Center. Depending on the team you join, you'll either serve as a guide for applicants, ensuring all hiring actions are accurate and compliant with federal regulations, or you will manage key employee data-such as pay actions, promotions, and benefits-to support our dedicated workforce.

Major Duties:

• Power the Future: Be the Human Connection Behind Public Service! Bonneville Power Administration is at the forefront of the Pacific Northwest's energy landscape, and our mission is powered by our people. As a Human Resources Assistant, you will be a critical part of the team that builds and supports our dedicated workforce. You will provide essential services that directly impact the careers and well-being of every employee, ensuring BPA can continue to deliver clean, reliable energy to the region. In this role, you will specialize in one of two key areas: If you join our Benefits & HR Processing team, you will: Ensure the integrity of our workforce data by processing and finalizing official personnel actions, such as promotions and new appointments, serving as the final quality check. Act as an HR detective, investigating complex employee histories to resolve retroactive pay or benefits issues in collaboration with legal and employee relations experts. Serve as a pay and compensation specialist, analyzing and applying complex regulations to solve payroll discrepancies and guarantee every employee is paid accurately and on time. Welcome new employees by managing their onboarding process, helping them navigate and enroll in critical benefits like retirement, health insurance, and other valuable programs. If you join our Recruitment & Placement team, you will: Act as the central support hub for our staffing program, providing clear and timely information to applicants and managers about hiring processes, application status, and diverse job opportunities. Become the team's specialist on our automated HR systems, providing expert advice and guidance to ensure hiring actions are processed smoothly and efficiently. Serve as a guardian of compliance by interpreting and applying federal regulations and internal policies to prepare official hiring actions for final approval. Meticulously craft and review recruitment communications, ensuring every detail is accurate and professional to provide a best-in-class experience for candidates and hiring teams.

Qualifications: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: GS-05: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-04) in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as: Experience in completing recurring assignments using established procedures and standard methods of operation to set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, record information, update paperwork, or maintain documents (e.g., attendance records, employee benefits forms, correspondence); and create, maintain, enter, and/or verify information into databases. You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: - Four years above high school, obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school. -OR - - Combination of education and experience as described above, equivalent to one year of experience. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. GS-06: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05) in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as: Experience in applying standard human resource management guidelines to: utilize personal computers and software programs to extract, revise, or sort information from files, records, or databases; and research and resolve errors or discrepancies in personnel records; review work for completeness and accuracy. There is no substitution of education at the GS-06 level "Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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. You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the announcement closing date to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: You must have a login.gov account to sign into USAJOBS: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/account. To begin the application process in USAJOBS, click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all required and supporting documentation. You must click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 pm (ET) on the announcement closing date. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can reuse the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under the "Track my application" link for the corresponding application. You may update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period by returning to your USAJOBS account, select Update Application: https://login.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application, during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account; applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each application status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status. If you need help with login.gov or USAJOBS (e.g., account access, Resume Builder) visit the USAJOBS Help Center: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to If you experience difficulty applying on USAJOBS, after clicking the Apply Online button, or you are experiencing a significant hardship hindering your ability to apply online, the Agency Contact listed in the announcement can assist you during normal business hours. If you receive any system error messages, take screenshots if possible, to aid technical support.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-26