Human Resources Specialist (Performance Management)

Human Resources Specialist (Performance Management)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia

Salary Range: $102415 - $158322 Per Year

Job Summary: The position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Human Resources and Administration (HRA), CSEMO, Policy and Programs Division. The mission of CSEMO is to recruit, develop, and retain a cadre of transformational, people­centric, results-oriented, and forward-looking senior executives who are committed to serving Veterans.

Major Duties:

• Duties include but not limited to: Manages the VA's SES performance management process and serves as an expert in the area of SES performance management, SES standards, performance review board process, procedures, and polices; pay issues, SES mid-year reviews, performance awards (including annual bonuses, presidential rank awards and incentive awards), and all associated with SES pay. Incumbent is responsible for the Presidential Rank Award Ceremony. Participates in the VA Performance Review Board (PRB) processes and functions including the activities associated with the senior executive performance management system. Manage senior executives' performance through approved automated performance system and maintaining the automated performance system annually. Manage Senior Level and Scientific and Professional (SL/ST) performance appraisal system and management of performance plans. The incumbent provides direct advice and guidance on all aspects of these programs. Given the significant, complex, and sensitive nature of these programs, the incumbent must function with wide independence of operation within framework of general policy and guidance from supervisory management. Train and provide customer support to senior executives, managers and HR liaisons on senior executive's performance management key points to be successful and accomplish all expectations. Provides guidance and advice to senior VA officials on issues concerning the VA Executive Resource Board (ERB) and VA Performance Review Board (PRB) - programs. In addition, the incumbent performs program, policy, and organizational analysis to support top VA management decision making and strategic planning relating to VA executive and human resources programs and implementing new directions in the VA organizations. Incumbent manages CSEMO award programs for the senior executive cadre. Provides expert advice and guidance on all aspects of Secretary's Honor awards, Presidential Rank Award Program and other awards that pertain to VA's senior executives. Maintain automated systems for awards (this includes VA tracking system and HR Smart). Provides a high level of customer service to support HRA and CSEMO strategic goals and objectives. Maintains a strong commitment to meeting customer needs by providing the required services in a timely manner through individual effort or cooperatively through facilitating team resolution/action. Engages in benchmarking activities. Evaluates internal processes of Executive Resources for possible reengineering or revision. Maintains current knowledge of Executive Resources programs, regulatory changes, and other issues effecting Executive Resources. Other duties may be assigned. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: May be available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: PD41043A and PD41042A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/13/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. Also, Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade. Specialized Experience for the GS-13 level of this position: Applicants must have one year of full-time specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: 1) Managing performance management process for SES, Senior Leaders (SL), Political Appointees and/or Senior Executive Service Equivalent; 2) Providing a high level of customer service to senior leaders concerning the performance management process; AND 3) Interpreting policy statements and guidelines to senior leaders concerning performance review board process, pay issues, mid-year reviews and/or performance awards. OR Education: Graduate level degree or higher and three years of progressive specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level OR One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-12. Specialized Experience for the GS-12 level of this position: Applicants must have one year of full-time specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: 1) Assisting with the management of performance management process for SES, Senior Leaders (SL), Political Appointees and/or Senior Executive Service Equivalent; 2) Provides a high level of customer service to senior leaders; AND 3) Interpreting policy statements and guidelines to senior leaders. OR Education: Graduate level degree or higher and three years of progressive specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level OR One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-11. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Oral Communication Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Technical Competence Writing 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; religions; 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. Note: Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list series and grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Work is usually performed in an office environment. However, inspections; investigations of work requests; evaluations of space and utilities for equipment and other field work require frequent walking, standing, bending, climbing, etc. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications: One year developing and analyzing new methods and databases for implementation and evaluation of executive program and performance management systems. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Washington, DC. This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from 810 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC 20420 .

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 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 of1973 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. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at: https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ 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: Click on this: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status (if applicable), and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.

Application Deadline: 2026-05-13