Health Benefits Specialist

Duties

This position is located in the Office of Health Services (OHS), Peace Corps headquarters, Washington DC. Office of Health Services provides and operates a comprehensive, international health system designed to maintain and improve the health of Trainees, Volunteers and, as authorized, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers; and determines medical eligibility/clearance for Volunteer services. OHS assesses the medical needs and qualifications of applicants, provides clinical and preventive health services to Volunteers and Trainees (collectively the Volunteers), clinical supervision and support, technical advice, training and education, and administrative support services through multidisciplinary professionals.

The Health Benefits Specialist performs the following major duties:

• Coordinates a variety of post-service health benefits activities; organizes and manages office systems; serves as a troubleshooter on various issues; conducts research and analysis and presents findings; prepares routine and special summary reports and findings on issues; and performs assigned administrative functions for the Post-Service.
• Serves as assistant to the Post-Service Manager in the discharge of varied responsibilities associated with the management of the unit.
• Maintains integrity of Volunteer Health Records and Workers' compensation program files.
• Enters data into computer files. Prints, maintains and coordinates distribution of reports. Utilizes computer applications to prepare data in chart and graph format for presentations.
• Collaborates with Medical Records Department and overseas medical officers to optimize health record delivery to the Post-Service Unit.
• Participates fully as a team member; actively participating in the Post-Service Process Review Team, identifying problems; and offering suggestions for improvement.
• Prepares and distributes claim packets to returned Volunteers. Assists claimants with form completion. Collects information necessary to file claims
• Works independently to prepare uncomplicated claims, such as dental, pregnancy, TB skin tests conversions, etc. Processes bills.
• Other duties as assigned within the PD.

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Please read this announcement in its entirety prior to submitting your application.

• You must be a U.S. Citizen.
• You must be at least 18 years of age.
• All Federal employees are required to have federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so. For additional information, see www.sss.gov.
• You must complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
• You must go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. These documents must be unexpired originalor certified copies.
• You must successfully complete a background security investigation with favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet this requirement will be grounds for employment termination.
• Prior to employment, and in compliance with statutes 5 USC 3322 and 22 USC 2507b, Peace Corps will conduct a check of Peace Corps records for both Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and former Peace Corps employees.
• All new employees are required to certify and submit a state of understanding acknowledging adherence to the Peace Corps condition of employment prior to day 1 of employment with the Peace Corps.
• This position requires a public trust background investigation.
• This is a bargaining unit position.
• A one-year probationary period is required.

Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met by 04/22/2024 (the closing date of the announcement). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. To ensure full credit for your experience, please indicate the start and end dates (month, day, and year) of employment, the number of hours worked per week, and the location of employment in your resume. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.

Specialized Experience:

This vacancy is being announced at two grade levels:

Specialized Experience at the FP-05:

To be minimally qualified for this position at the FP-05 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression, FP-06 or GS-07 level which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes: Experience applying analytical and evaluative techniques to the identification, consideration, and resolution of issues or problems of a procedural or factual nature; Experience applying theory and principles of management and organization; Experience using qualitative and quantitative analytical techniques; and Experience conducting interviews with supervisors and employees to obtain information about organizational missions, functions, and work procedures.

~OR~

master's or equivalent graduate degree

~OR~

2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree

~OR~

LL.B. or J.D., if related

~OR~

Specialized Experience at the FP-07:

To be minimally qualified for this position at the FP-07 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression, FP-08 or GS-05 level which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes: Experience applying analytical and evaluative techniques to the identification, consideration, and resolution of issues or problems of a procedural or factual nature; Experience applying theory and principles of management and organization; Experience using qualitative and quantitative analytical techniques; and Experience conducting interviews with supervisors and employees to obtain information about organizational missions, functions, and work procedures.

~AND~

Time-in-Grade (TIG) Requirements:

Current or Formal Federal employees, including current Peace Corps employees, must meet applicable TIG requirements to be considered eligible. To meet TIG for positions above the FP-09 (GS-05) grade level, you must have served at least one year (52 weeks) at the next lower grade (or equivalent) in the normal line of progression for the position to which you are applying.

All current or former Federal employees (including internal employees) must provide a copy of their SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one), "Notice of Personnel Action" that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position, title, series, grade, step, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).

Please note:

• If qualifying based on education or a combination of education and experience, please review the "Education" section of this announcement.
• Past experience that satisfies the Specialized Experience MUST be well documented within your resume. Failure to provide this information in your resume with corresponding start and end dates (month, day, and year) of employment, the number of hours worked per week, and location of employment may result in disqualification from further consideration.
• Specialized Experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector, or through volunteer work done with National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) or other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social).
• One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis.
• Additional information on qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site.
• Peace Corps employees are employed using the Foreign Personnel (FP) pay scale. The FP pay plan does not follow the same structure as the GS pay plan. In the FP pay plan, as the grade-level numbers decrease the level/pay for the position increases. The FP-09 is the lowest entry-level grade and the FP-01 is the highest senior-level grade.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Transcripts can be official or unofficial.

1. Class standing--Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.
2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.)--Applicants must have a grade-point average of: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.
3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society--Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed below. These honor societies are listed in the Association of College Honor Societies: Booklet of Information (1992-95) and/or Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities (1991). Agencies considering eligibility based on any society not included in the following list must ensure that the honor society meets the minimum requirements of the Association of College Honor Societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision.

A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.

Education must be accredited by an institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be used towards qualifications. Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by recognized institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at this website.

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html