Civilian Pay Technician

Summary

The incumbent serves as a Civilian Pay Technicians

• CPT performing work in direct support of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), under the Finance Service. CPTs report directly to the Payroll Supervisor and work closely with: Human Resources (HR); VAMC union partner(s); accounting; budget; timekeepers; approving officials and employees on all matters relating to payroll.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

03/20/2024 to 04/02/2024

This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more

• Salary

$45,178 - $58,734 per year

• Pay scale & grade

GS 6

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Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

• Saint Louis, MO 1 vacancy

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

Yes-as determined by the agency policy.

• Travel Required

Not required

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent -

• Work schedule

Full-time -

• Service

Competitive

• Promotion potential

None

• Job family (Series)

0544 Civilian Pay

• Supervisory status

No

• Security clearance

Other

• Drug test

No

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

Suitability/Fitness

• Announcement number

CBSS-12342988-24-MO

• Control number

782672700

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This job is open to

• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

• Federal employees

• Competitive service

Current or former competitive service federal employees.

• Federal employees

• Excepted service

Current excepted service federal employees.

• Individuals with disabilities

• Military spouses

• Veterans

• Land & base management

Certain current or former term or temporary federal employees of a land or base management agency.

• Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista

• Special authorities

Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed above, but defined in the federal hiring regulations.

Clarification from the agency

Area of Consideration: First area of consideration will be given to current, permanent employees of the St. Louis VA Medical Center. Second area of consideration will be given to all other status candidates. This job announcement will close after 50 applicants have applied to the job.

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Duties

VA St. Louis Health Care System is committed to Diversity and Inclusion. Together, we strive to create and maintain a working and learning environment that promotes professional growth and teamwork. We offer an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming environment where we celebrate our individual differences and unite as a team toward a common goal of providing outstanding service to our Nation's Veterans.

The position serves as a Civilian Payroll Technician for the St. Louis VA Health Care System and works in the Financial Management Service Line.

Duties include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Serving as facility technical payroll expert to VAMC staff and provide data, reports, guidance, and resolution to payroll issues across the VAMC.

• Independently researching, resolving, and responding to routine and occasional non-routine verbal and written pay and leave inquiries from employees, supervisors, Financial Service Center (FSC), HR, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) and VA Central Office (VACO) staff.

• Determining proper application of pay and leave regulations, laws, rules and agency policies, guidelines, coding, etc. for each separate pay plan involved and appropriate leave system impacted.

• Interpreting and apply regulations and policies regarding appointment entitlements, leave earnings, charges of leave, leave w/o pay, advance sick leave and compensatory time.

• Using knowledge of varying premium pay and benefit entitlements for employee specific pay plans when implementing tours of duty regulations and/or policies to include 24-hour coverage, irregular, compressed and/or flex tours, etc.

• Performing full range of payroll actions under multiple automated systems for employees appointed under different personnel systems with each having unique pay accounts and governing regulations/policies relating to the Federal Wage System, (FWS) General Schedule (GS) title 5 including special salary rates, title 38, title 38 hybrids, law enforcement and firefighter pay, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), title 38 overtime, irregular tours of duty, etc.

• Resolving system discrepancies which may result in initiating the employee debt process or back pay.

• Updating employees' master payroll records to reflect all changes authorized by personnel documents.

• Reviewing and work unique payroll actions, questions, or situations which impact: pay; leave; entitlements; taxes; benefits; other deductions and master pay record information for all employees in the group during the pay cycle.

• Managing annual refresher training for all timekeepers and supervisors.

• Answering routine and occasional non-routine procedural questions relative to time and leave laws, regulations, procedures and resolve problems to ensure accurate and timely pay.

• Assisting in resolving issues with court orders, grievances, and/or public laws.

• Reviewing authorized documents and code appropriate data for input into integrated personnel and fiscal automated systems to properly update employee master records.

• Reviewing all personnel actions in HR Smart related to; hiring appointments; separations; reassignments; promotions; pay adjustments; awards and other authorizing documents that affect pay and benefits of employees.

• Running daily reports to ensure all facility employees' pay is correct.

• Auditing all employee type of pay and leave accounts to identify and correct delinquent and/or erroneous personnel actions or time-keeping errors.

• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7am-3:30pm

Telework: Available: Reg Teleworks 3+ Days/PP

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Civilian Pay Technician/PD99375S

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job

• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959

• You may be required to serve a probationary period

• Subject to background/security investigation

• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs

• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/02/2024.

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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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.

To qualify for this position at the GS-6 level, you must meet the following:

Specialized Experience: You must have one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in Federal Service that equipped you 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. Specialized experience includes, but is not limited to: Maintenance of confidentiality of patient/employee information; Experience working with automated systems including payroll systems; Knowledge of pay cycles to maintain employee pay and leave records; Knowledge of payroll codes, forms, and coding procedures; Knowledge of pay rules and regulations relating to time and leave and/or special pay; and Communication and interpersonal skills to courteously relate to internal and external customers.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Database Management Systems

• Problem Solving

• Requirements Analysis

• Research

Physical Requirements: The Civilian Payroll Technician performs sedentary work. There may be some walking, standing, bending, and lifting up to 25 pounds.

Work Environment: The Civilian Payroll Technician work is normally performed in an office setting. The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts, which require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, meeting and training rooms.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

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 well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. 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/.This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

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• 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 window

Learn more about federal 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.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment. The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.