Job Information
Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration Civilian Pay Technician in Bronx, New York
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. Responsibilities 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. 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 Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Civilian Pay Technician/PD99374S and PD99375S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements 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 Health Care Personnel (HCP) 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, 01/22/2025. 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-05 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-04. For a GS-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. Qualifications: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Minimum Qualification Requirements GS-05 (Entry Level): Specialized Experience GS-5: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-04) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Civilian Payroll Technician. Qualifying specialized experience includes responsibility for processing and verifying payroll transactions; knowledge of timekeeping procedures; ensuring accurate and timely pay for employees; applying an organizations' pay and leave policies to ensure accurate transactions; and using a computer to process payroll transactions and perform associated administrative duties. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. OR EDUCATION SUBSTITUTION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) Successfully completed 4 years above high school in any field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. Transcripts must be submitted at time of application. OR COMBINATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED) Equivalent combination of successfully completed post-high school education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (beyond the second year) and specialized experience as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. Transcripts must be submitted at time of application. Minimum Qualification Requirements GS-06 (Full Performance Level): Specialized Experience GS-6: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-05) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Civilian Payroll Technician. Qualifying specialized experience includes responsibility for processing and verifying payroll transactions; performing payroll and/or timekeeping duties such as extracting and entering data; reviewing payroll records/ documents and making computations; reviewing and researching pay and leave issues; and answering pay questions and explaining payroll requirements. NOTE: One (1) full year of work is considered to be 35-40 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Compensation Customer Service Problem Solving Technical Competence 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: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 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: The CPT performs sedentary work. There may be some walking, standing, bending, and lifting up to 25 pounds. The CPT's 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 There is no educational substitution at this grade level. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education for consideration at the GS-05 level. There is no educational substitution at the GS-06 grade level. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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. 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. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.