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Benefits Specialist

Oregon Staffing, Portland, Oregon, United States, 97204

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Advance Your Career At BPA!

This developmental Human Resources Specialist opportunity is within the Benefits & HR Processing (HB) team, under the Human Resources Service Center (H). In this role, you will help your BPA colleagues navigate crucial benefits like retirement, insurance, and the Thrift Savings Plan. It is an excellent chance to provide direct support to fellow employees while growing your HR expertise. Responsibilities: Serve as a Trusted Advisor to Your Colleagues: Become the go-to expert for your fellow BPA employees, managers, and their families. You will provide clear, empathetic guidance on their comprehensive benefits, including health insurance, FEGLI, the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), and more. Provide Personalized Retirement Counseling: Guide your colleagues as they plan for a secure future after their career with BPA. You will provide essential one-on-one retirement counseling, helping them understand their FERS annuity options and make confident decisions. Deepen Your Expertise in Federal Benefits: While you already understand the BPA mission, this role will allow you to master the complex regulations governing the federal benefits that support us all. You will become a subject matter expert, interpreting rules and providing reliable advice. Empower the BPA Team Through Education: Develop and lead workshops to help your colleagues navigate their benefits. You will empower them with the knowledge to make the most of their compensation package throughout their careers. Ensure the Integrity of Colleague Data: Apply your attention to detail to ensure the accuracy of your colleagues' official personnel records. You will audit service histories and calculate Service Computation Dates (SCDs), which are vital for retirement and leave benefits. Support Colleagues Through Major Life Events: Be a crucial source of support for your teammates as they navigate significant life and career changes. You will assist with benefits enrollment, coverage adjustments, and survivor benefits with professionalism and compassion. Help Shape BPA's Benefits Programs: Use your unique perspective as a BPA employee to improve the programs that serve us all. You will participate in evaluating our benefits offerings and recommend improvements to enhance service delivery. Collaborate with Your HR Partners: Work within a dedicated HR team to ensure a seamless, efficient, and positive benefits experience for every member of the Bonneville Power Administration. Requirements: Conditions of Employment: In accordance with Executive Order 14170, applicants are encouraged to respond to four short, free-response, essay questions in the questionnaire. Answer to these questions is not scored or rated. Your answers will be reviewed by the hiring manager and agency leadership if you are referred for selection consideration. When you apply you will be asked a series of questions to determine your eligibility for employment and your qualification for this position specifically. You must answer all of these questions completely and truthfully. Key Requirements: You must be a United States Citizen. This employer participates in the e-Verify program. Males must abide by Selective Service registration requirements. You will be required to report in person to the official duty location. Qualifications: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS GS-07: A qualified candidate's resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: (1) Assisting with the input of routine personnel actions into a human resources information system under direct supervision; (2) locating and retrieving information from established guidance, policies, or regulations to answer basic inquiries; and (3) providing general information to employees on common human resources programs such as health, life, retirement, and long term care. You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: One year of graduate-level education, or superior academic achievement (S.A.A.) gained in a bachelor degree curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled (based on class standing, grade-point average, or honor society membership). See the following link for more information: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=app -OR- Combination of education and experience as described above. Less than one year of specialized experience may be combined with completed graduate education. GS-09: A qualified candidate's resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-07) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: (1) accepting and inputting personnel actions related to human resource programs into a human resources information system, (2) researching and following guidance, policy, regulation, and human resource plan information, and (3) providing counseling and options to internal employees on human resources programs such as health, life, retirement, and long term care programs. You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: Master's or equivalent graduate degree; or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or a LL.B. or J.D. if related; your education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. -OR- Combination of education and experience as described above. Less than one year of specialized experience may be combined with graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level (i.e., credit hours beyond the first year of full-time study may be credited). One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours 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 is not available, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) is used. When crediting education that requires specific course work the number of hours of related courses required, as a proportion of the total education, is prorated. Time-in-Grade: Current Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement to receive consideration. CTAP candidates: To be considered "well qualified" you must meet all of the requirements as described in this section. You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Education: If substituting education for specialized experience you must submit proof of your qualifying education. Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Department of Education Accreditation Search to verify school accreditation. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website. DO NOT email or mail in any of your application documents. Documents will not be accepted outside of the online application system. Failure to provide college transcripts may result in a rating of 'Ineligible'. Additional Information: This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across DOE EEO Policy: USAJOBS Help Center | Equal employment opportunity policy Reasonable Accommodation Policy: Employees or applicants may request Reasonable Accommodation (RA) for assistance, when applying or competing for a job or performing a job due to their medical condition or to exercise their religious beliefs. If you need reasonable accommodation in the application or selection process, please contact the Staffing Specialist listed on this vacancy announcement. USAJOBS Help Center | Reasonable accommodation policy Reasonable Accommodation for USAHire: 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 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 here. Veterans Information: USAJOBS Help Center - Veterans Veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Telework: https://www.opm.gov/telework/ Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/ - Who must register: https://www.sss.gov/faq/#who-needs-to-register Hiring incentives may be authorized for a highly qualified candidate based on budget availability and in accordance with federal regulations. BPA strives to ensure a safe and positive work environment. We also understand the importance of work/life balance and offer a variety of programs and policies designed to create more flexible, responsive work environments supportive of commitments to community, home and family members. BPA also supports employees' overall wellness through its Be Well program, which helps employees adopt healthier lifestyles and feel better about their work/life balance. The program supports