Department of Defense

Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits)

Whitehall, Ohio Full time

Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits)

Department: Department of Defense

Location(s): Whitehall, Ohio

Salary Range: $52654 - $68452 Per Year

Job Summary: See below for important information regarding this job. Selected applicants will serve as entry-level trainees in the DLA Pathways to Career Excellence (PaCE) Program performing a series of progressively responsible Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits) functions, along with formal and on-the-job training (OJT).

Major Duties:

  • As a Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits), your duties will be performed in a developmental capacity under the guidance of a higher graded specialist or supervisor and will include, but may not be limited to:
  • Performs duties which provides full range of employee benefits services to serviced customers.
  • Responsible for administering the full range of principles and methods pertaining to Federal Benefits Programs (retirement plans, survivors’ benefits, health benefits, life insurance, long term care insurance, and Thrift Savings Plan.)
  • Administers and advises employees and family members on the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), CSRS Offset, and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).
  • Provides guidance for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Program, Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program, Federal Employees Dental/Vision Program, and Federal Flexible Spending Account program.
  • Processes applications for all Employee Benefits Programs. Ensures all appropriate documentation is included and requests any additional information.
  • Resolves problems by explaining laws, regulations or policies and/or calling, writing or otherwise coordinating resolutions with customers, private sector or other federal or nonfederal personnel.

Qualifications: To qualify for a Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits) PaCE position, your resume and supporting documentation must support: A. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position and is directly in or related to this position. To qualify at the GS-07 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector. Applicants must meet eligibility requirements including time-in-grade (General Schedule (GS) positions only), time-after-competitive appointment, minimum qualifications, and any other regulatory requirements by the cut-off/closing date of the announcement. Creditable specialized experience includes: Reviewing and processing human resources documentation Applying specific rules, regulations or procedures to complete human resource related assignments Providing support to customers and other specialists on various benefits programs. Completing routine personnel actions relating to the benefits programs Providing information to employees regarding benefits programs B. Education Substitution: Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Education must be from a college or university accredited by an organization approved by the U.S. Department of Education. See http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.aspx. If using education to meet basic qualifications, YOU MUST SUBMIT A TRANSCRIPT as supplemental documentation. To qualify based on education in lieu of specialized experience, you must possess: Bachelor's degree from an accredited educational institution AND meet Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) based on ONE of the following: (1) class standing (upper third standing in graduating class); -OR- (2) grade-point average (2.95 or higher overall or over the last two years of bachelor's degree -or- 3.45 in the major field or over the last two years in the major); -OR-(3) election to membership in a national scholastic honor society C. Possess at least one full year of graduate level study, or possess a Master's or higher degree in a field that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work of the position. Such fields include Human Resources, Business Administration, or other business-related fields. One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. If the graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study cannot be obtained, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement. D. Combination: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for grade level GS-07 and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade GS-07. 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.

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 below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. NOTE: Resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/13/2026. After submitting your online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take any additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder. If you do not receive the email invitation to the assessment and you meet the minimum qualifications for the position, you should contact https://apply.usastaffing.gov/HelpTicket to request the email be re-sent. Requests to re-send invitations to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments must be received by https://apply.usastaffing.gov/HelpTicket BEFORE the close of the JOA. 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 re-use 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 documents and some questions related to your personal information at any time during the announcement open period. However, you will not be able to make changes to questions related to assessing the minimum qualifications and competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics) mentioned in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section above. To make an allowed update to your application, return to your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account at https://www.usajobs.gov. On the Home page, scroll down and locate your job application. Once the job has been located, click the "Track this application" link on the right under the application date. The page will refresh to display the Agency's Application Information page where you can scroll down and review any notifications the agency has sent you. 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. 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. 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 here: https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/articles/29113644431764-Requesting-an-accommodation. To preview the questionnaire, please go to https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12899034.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-13