Department: Department of Homeland Security
Location(s): Camp Springs, Maryland, Bloomington, Minnesota, South Burlington, Vermont
Salary Range: $43106 - $99404 Per Year
Job Summary: Protect your homeland and defend your culture. Join USCIS, America's frontline defense against illegal foreign infiltration and fraud. As a Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits), you will evaluate employee benefit plans, manage varying eligibility requirements, conduct retirement counseling, process retirement applications, lead presentations, and inform employees regarding available benefits.
Major Duties:
Qualifications: The qualifications for this position must be met by 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on 03/09/2026. Time in Grade does not apply to Delegated Examining Announcements, any reference to Time in Grade in the questionnaire will not apply to the rating and ranking of applicants. GS-07: You qualify at the GS-07 level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience, which is equivalent to at least the GS-05 level in the federal government, that equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. You must have experience performing the following duties: Reviewing transfer employees files to ensure they are coded into the correct retirement system; Counseling management, employees, and beneficiaries on program coverage, options, variances in coverage, and advantages and disadvantages of available benefits; Reviewing official personnel records to resolve any discrepancies in service computation dates for retirement. OR You may substitute successful completion of one year of fulltime graduate education for the experience required at the GS-07 level. This education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university and demonstrate the skills necessary to do the work of the position. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise a year of graduate education. If that information is not available, use 18 semester or 27 quarter hours. OR You may also substitute superior academic achievement for the experience required at the GS-07 level. You must have completed the requirements for a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with either: (1) class standing in the upper third of a graduating class or major subdivision; or, (2) a grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale based on four (4) years of education or the final two (2) years; or, (3) a grade point average of 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final two (2) years of the curriculum; or, (4) membership in a national scholastic honor society. GS-09: You qualify at the GS-09 level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience, which is equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the federal government, that equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. You must have experience performing the following duties: Counseling management, employees, and beneficiaries on program coverage options, variances in coverage, and advantages and disadvantages of available benefits; Completing annuity estimates and reviewing service history completions for deposits, redeposits, and military service deposits; Researching policy, regulations, and laws relating to employee benefits programs. OR You may substitute a Master's degree or two (2) full years of graduate education leading to such a degree in any field, or a J.D. or L.L.B. degree for experience required at the GS-09 grade level. Such education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise two years of graduate education. If that information is not available, use 36 semester or 54 quarter hours. GS-11: You qualify at the GS-11 level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience, which is equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the federal government, that equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. You must have experience performing the following duties: Counseling employees, managers, supervisors, and field personnel representatives on regulations, procedures, and technical provisions of retirement systems; Processing retirement applications within established time-frames; Researching policy, regulations, and laws relating to employee benefits programs. OR You may substitute a doctoral degree (PhD or equivalent degree) or three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in any field, or L.L.M. if related for experience at the GS-11 grade level or such education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise three years of graduate study. If that information is not available, use 54 semester or 81 quarter hours. GS-12: You qualify at the GS-12 level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience, which is equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the federal government, that equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. You must have experience performing the following duties: Processing retirement applications within established time-frames; Coordinating with payroll, external officials, and other offices as necessary to process complex and sensitive cases; Identifying, evaluating and advising various levels of management on appropriate HR interventions to resolve issues. Please read the following important information to ensure you submit everything we need to consider your application: It is your responsibility to ensure that you submit your responses and appropriate documentation prior to 03/09/2026. Your resume will be used to determine your qualifications for the position advertised in this announcement. Therefore, your resume must highlight your most relevant, significant experience related to the requirements found in the qualification section of this announcement, as well as any applicable education. Limit your resume to no more than two pages. The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an application that includes a resume over two pages. To help ensure your resume remains clear and easy to read, we recommend using margins of at least 0.8 inches and a font size of at least 11 point. Be clear and specific when describing your work history since human resources cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Your application will be rated and ranked based on your responses to the online questions. Please ensure EACH work history includes ALL of the following information: Job Title (include series and grade if Federal Job) Duties (be specific in describing your duties) Employer's name and address Supervisor name and phone number Start and end dates including month, day and year (e.g. June 18 2007 to April 05 2008) Start and end dates for each grade/pay level if you've held a federal position. Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week) Salary Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information and failure to provide the above information may result in a finding of ineligible. Note: Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Federal Experience: If you are using current or prior federal experience as a basis for qualifying for this position, the grade levels and length of employment (mm/dd/year) at each grade level must be listed in your work history. This information will be further validated if selected for this position.
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 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 03/09/2026. 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. 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. The vacancy questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions. This provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question. Please provide a response of 200 words or less to each question. You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot. To preview the questionnaire please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12902069. Announcement is open to multiple locations. Applicants are limited to selecting ONE location only. The actual salary will be set based on the grade, step, and location of the selectee(s) and/or position. You may be expected to report for work at a local USCIS facility based on the needs of the hiring office. View the 2026 Locality Pay Charts for more information. We strongly encourage you to apply online. If you cannot apply online, you must contact the Human Resource Office listed below at least one business day prior to 03/09/2026 for instructions. Applications will not be accepted by mail.
Application Deadline: 2026-03-09