Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits)

Summary

The Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits) Judges Educational Programs and Retirements position is in the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), Department of Administrative Services, Human Resources Office (HRO), Judges Compensation and Retirement Division. HRO provides human resource program leadership, services, and solutions to enable the U.S. courts and the AO to define, recruit, manage, compensate, reward, develop, and retain a highly skilled workforce.

Duties

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), Department of Administrative Services, Human Resources Office (HRO), Judges Compensation and Retirement Division (JCRD) is seeking a self-motivated and experienced Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits) to support judges' educational programs and retirements. This position reports to the JCRD Chief and JCRD Assistant Chief. JCRD is responsible for managing multiple unique retirement systems for retired Supreme Court justices and federal judges and the survivor annuity system for their spouses. In addition, the division coordinates with other AO divisions on personnel actions, monthly payroll processing, benefits, and other requests for retired justices, judges, and their surviving spouses. The Human Resources Specialist (Employee Benefits) must have excellent communication, strong interpersonal, organizational, and analytical skills. The ideal candidate must have experience in a team environment, and the ability to work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders. The duties of this position include, but are not limited to: Assisting with judges' educational, benefits and retirement programs, including coordinating with circuit executive offices, the Federal Judicial Center, judges, venues, speakers, and security. Assisting with hotel and travel arrangements for division staff attending the programs and financial accounting and payment of bill related to the programs. Coordinating one-on-one counseling sessions, including the preparation of individual benefits profiles for judges attending the programs. Assisting with the preparation and shipment of program materials, including presentations, handouts, and forms. Assisting with the ID program for justices, judges, clerks of court, and circuit executives, including preparing and issuing IDs, answering questions, and tracking requests. Preparing letters sent by the AO Director and the JCRD Chief for items, including appointments, retirements, and condolence letters. Managing retirement cases for U.S. justices and judges. Managing death cases for justices, judges, and spouses. Calculating pay and annuities for judges and survivors, in accordance with statutes, regulations, and standard operating procedures. Providing counseling and advisory services to justices, judges, and their spouses on pay, benefits, and retirement programs, including the Judicial Retirement Systems, Federal Employees Retirement System, Judicial Survivors' Annuities System, Thrift Savings Plan, Federal Employees Health Benefits, Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance, judiciary-specific retirement programs, Social Security, and Medicare. Representing the AO in national outreach efforts and delivering presentations on pay, benefits, and retirement planning at circuit judicial conferences, Federal Judicial Center orientations and workshops, and other judiciary-wide meetings and events. Preparing written communications to judges and their spouses regarding benefits, retirement, and related programs.

Requirements

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT All information is subject to verification. Applicants are advised that false answers or omissions of information on application materials or inability to meet the following conditions may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed. Selection for this position is contingent upon completion of OF-306, Declaration of Federal Employment during the pre-employment process and proof of U.S. citizenship for competitive status positions or conversion to a competitive status position with the AO. If non-citizens are considered for hire into a temporary or any other position with non-competitive status or when it is confirmed by the AO Human Resources Office there are no qualified U.S. citizens for a competitive status position (unless prohibited by a law or statue), non-citizens must provide proof of authorization to work in the U.S. and proof of entitlement to receive compensation. Additional information on the employment of non-citizens can be found at USAJOBS Help Center | Employment of non-citizens/. For a list of documents that may be used to provide proof of citizenship or authorization to work in the United States, please refer to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. All new AO employees will be required to complete an FBI fingerprint-based national criminal database and records check and pass a public trust suitability check. New employees to the AO will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights/responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. All new AO employees are required to identify a financial institution for direct deposit of pay before appointment. You will be required to serve a trial period if selected for a first-time appointment to the Federal government, transferring from another Federal agency, or serving as a first-time supervisor. Failure to successfully complete the trial period may result in termination of employment. If appointed to a temporary position, management may have the discretion of converting the position to permanent depending upon funding and staffing allocation.

Qualifications and evaluation

We will review your resume and supporting documentation and compare this information to your responses on the occupational questionnaire to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for this job. If you meet the minimum qualifications for this job, we will evaluate your application package, to assess the quality, depth, and complexity of your accomplishments, experience, and education as they relate to the requirements listed in this vacancy announcement. You should be aware that your ratings are subject to evaluation and verification. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume and/or narrative responses, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Failure to submit the mandatory narrative responses will result in not receiving full consideration and/or rating credit. Deliberate attempts to falsify information may be grounds for not selecting you, withdrawing an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.

Education

This position does not require education to qualify.

How to apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 08/27/2026 to receive consideration. To begin, click Apply Online to access an online application. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account or you may need to create a new account. You will be taken to an online application. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application. You will receive an email notification when your application has been received for the announcement. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. Click the following link to view and print the occupational questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13026828

Required documents

For this job announcement the following documents and/or information are required: Resume - Any written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications. Citizenship - Include country of citizenship on resume. Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) - All applicants outside of the AO must submit a copy of your latest SF-50 to verify current or former Federal employment status. Veterans Preference documentation - Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD Form 214), if applicable Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) and an official statement, dated 1991 or later, from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from a branch of the Armed Forces, certifying to the veteran's present receipt of compensation.

Additional information

The AO is an Equal Opportunity Employer.