Duties

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The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria, Virginia. Presence at the Alexandria, VA campus is required for this role, as it includes on site functions that must be performed in person. Position may be eligible for situational telework in accordance with agency policy/business unit discretion. The agency currently allows for 52 hours of telework per leave year. This position is for you if:

• You have strong management and interpersonal skills to include exercising the full range of supervisory responsibilities for a subordinate staff of HR Specialists to include assigning work to subordinates based on policies, consideration of the difficulty and requirements of the assignment, and capabilities of employees to include evaluating subordinates' work performance; advising, counseling, and instructing employees on work and administrative matters.
• You'd enjoy interviewing candidates for positions in the unit and recommending appointments, promotions, or reassignments to such positions.
• You can serve as a subject matter expert implementing employee development programs which achieve the Enterprise Training Division/Office of Human Resources/Chief Administrative Officer and agency's strategic goals.
• You have in-depth knowledge of and can conduct overall evaluations of employee development and training programs and integrate these programs with the agency's overall strategic direction.
• You have great oral and written communication skills sufficient to develop policies, instructions, and manuals for the effective and consistent accomplishment of human resources development activities/programs for the USPTO.
• You're a collaborative business partner who can develop effective relationships with top agency managers and acts as an advocate for Enterprise Training Division (ETD) programs.
• You have strong leadership skills to assist with overseeing agency employee development and human capital initiatives.
• You can provide highly skilled analytical assistance to the training centers for Corporate, Patents and Trademarks organizations in developing strategies for meeting long term goals and objectives in a changing technological environment.
• You can work closely with vendors to customize existing products to meet agency needs. Recommends purchases of training technologies and follows through to implement these technologies successfully.
• You would enjoy representing the USPTO at meetings and conferences involving high-level human capital managers from industry and government, and making presentations on agency human capital development.

If selected for an interview, applicants are encouraged to discuss telework options and eligibility specific to the position in which they applied with the hiring manager.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Applications will only be accepted from United States Citizens and Nationals.
• Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related competencies.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
• Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
• Time-in-grade/band requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
• Suitable for Federal Employment.

Qualifications

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. OPM Qualifications Standards for this position are available at OPM Qualification Standards.

Specialized Experienceis experience that has equipped applicants with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be qualified, you must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-13) in the Federal service.

Specialized experience for this position includes:

• Experience serving as a manager in an organization providing interpretative guidance to lower graded specialists, managers, supervisors, and executives;
• Experience developing, implementing, and evaluating training and employee development programs to achieve goals and objectives (e.g. identifying training needs, designing program components, researching/recommending potential providers, managing program logistics, applying adult learning principles and incorporating a variety of technologies and techniques);
• Experience managing the process for procuring training and development program vendors, (e.g. developing statements of work, coordinating with a resource management or procurement office to ensure training proposals meet the needs of the agency, and ensuring procurement processes comply with Federal regulations or company policies, working with vendors and/or task order managers to ensure proper delivery of services); and/or
• Experience interpreting and developing policies for accomplishment of human resources development activities/programs for an agency.

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.

Education

Education may not be substituted for specialized experience at this grade level.

If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to General Schedule Qualifications Policies for more information. You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - US Department of Education. Another listing of services that can perform this evaluation is available at the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course-by-course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.

NOTE: Only education and experience acquired before the filing deadline will be considered. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Additional information

Time-in-grade/band requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement unless eligible for special hiring authority, reinstatement eligible, non-current Federal employee applying as a VEOA eligible which do not require time-in-grade/band.

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position.

This is a Public Trust position and has a risk level designation of "moderate".

Background Investigation - If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.

Supervisory Probationary Period-If selected, you may be required to complete an initial one-year supervisory probationary period.

All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.

Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid.

CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a "well qualified" rating of 85 out of 100. Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: OPM CTAP/ICTAP.

CTAP/ICTAP documentation requirements are listed in the 'Required Documents' section of this announcement.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued.

All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

USPTO Job Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should request accommodation(s) from the USPTO at USPTO Reasonable Accommodations.

Benefits

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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.

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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.