Summary

This position is located in the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Office of Inspector General (OIG), Washington, DC. The incumbent serves as a Human Resources Specialist providing HR advisory services in recruitment and placement. The position supports staffing operations by advising managers on merit hiring principles, recruitment strategies, and talent acquisition to ensure the selection of highly qualified candidates.

Duties

Help

As a Human Resource Specialist (Recruitment and Placement) some of your typical work assignments may include:

• Advising management on recruitment strategies and hiring authorities including Delegated Examining (DE), Merit Promotion (MP), and government-wide special hiring authorities for excepted service and competitive service positions.
• Identifying competencies and conducting job analyses, creating job opportunity announcements using automated systems, reviewing application materials for eligibility and qualifications determinations, adjudication of veterans' preference, determining appointment eligibilities, creating ranking and certificate of eligible applicant lists.
• Preparing, reviewing, and updating/processing a wide variety of personnel actions for Federal civil service employees and ensuring accuracy of information and compliance with applicable regulations and guidelines.
• Engaging in strategic conversations and providing advisory services to customers on a variety of staffing, recruitment and placement issues.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen
• You must successfully complete a background investigation.
• You may be required to serve a one-year probationary period.

Qualifications

GS-13: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service, obtained in either the private or public sector:

• Advising and providing authoritative guidance to management officials on recruitment strategies, workforce planning, and the use of hiring authorities including Delegated Examining (DE), Merit Promotion (MP), and government-wide special hiring authorities for competitive and excepted service positions.
• Leading complex staffing and recruitment activities, including conducting job analyses, identifying competencies, developing assessment questionnaires, and creating job opportunity announcements using automated HR staffing systems (e.g., USA Staffing).
• Reviewing and adjudicating applicant eligibility and qualifications, applying federal laws, regulations, and policies to determine minimum qualifications, veterans' preference, and appointment eligibility for competitive and excepted service positions.
• Developing and issuing certificates of eligible candidates, ensuring proper ranking, category rating, and referral procedures in accordance with merit system principles and federal hiring regulations.
• Overseeing and processing a wide range of personnel actions while ensuring accuracy and compliance with federal HR regulations and agency policies.

These qualifications must be clearly referenced in your resume.

TIME-IN-GRADE: If you are a current career or career-conditional federal employee applying for promotion under Merit Promotion you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks in positions at the next level lower than the position being filled.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's Qualifications web site:

Human Resources Management Series 0201

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.

Generally, time in non-pay status as a federal employee is not creditable towards the specialized experience requirement listed above.

All qualification requirements must be met by 11:59 pm (Eastern Time) on 08/14/2026.

Education

For this position you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Additional information

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations 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 Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments

Career and InterAgency Career Transition Assistance Programs: Are programs that applies to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job in their current agency (intra-agency, i.e. SBA employees only).

Inter-Agency Career Transition Assistance (ICTAP) is a program that helps "surplus" or "displaced" federal employees improve their chances of finding a new job at another agency (inter-agency; i.e. not applying to their current or former agency).

You are eligible for CTAP/ICTAP if:

1. You are a current federal employee who meets the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee meaning you have received official notice that your job is no longer needed or that you will lose your job by Reduction-in-Force (RIF).

2. Your agency, or the agency to which you are applying, is accepting applications from within or outside of the permanent workforce.

3. The position to which you are applying MUST BE in the Local Commuting Area of the position of record from which you are being displaced.

4. You meet the qualifications and other requirements of the job for which you are applying. This includes being rated as well-qualified for the position (score of 85 or better based on your responses to the competencies and associated questions listed within the assessment)..

Expand Hide additional information

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.

Benefits

Help

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.