Summary LOCATION: This position is located in the SSA, Birmingham Office of Hearing Operations (OHO); 1200 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr., Blvd., 1st Floor, Birmingham, AL 35285. TOUR OF DUTY: Full-Time, Monday through Friday 8-hours per day. Flextime and alternative work schedules may be available. NOTE: Part-Time employees are eligible to apply but may not be converted to full-time by way of this announcement. TYPE OF POSITION: Permanent. Responsibilities The position description number for this position is 9F0040. A summary of the major duties are listed below. You may also view the full position description on the Agency intranet at the following link: PD Search The incumbent provides assistance to staff members engaged in processing requests for hearing filed pursuant to titles II, VIII, and XVI of the Social Security Act, as amended, at the administrative appeals level. The incumbent may assist supervisors, as needed, in the planning, development, and implementation of work plans. Additionally, the incumbent analyzes trends to improve business processes; performs workload management functions, ensuring that cases are processed in accordance with established timeframes; dispenses information to the public concerning benefits and services available; drafts fully favorable decisions; and examines legal instruments and supporting documentation to determine whether requested action compliances with regulatory requirements. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-7 level, or equivalent, which is in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is experience in: examining and analyzing pre-hearing, hearing, and post-hearing documents for compliance with the regulatory provisions of titles II, VIII, and XVI of the Social Security Act, as amended (Act), and other relevant sources of authority; identifying and presenting discrepancies or deficiencies in case development and recommend appropriate corrective actions; handling requests or inquires related to SSA policies and procedures; communicating with claimants, representatives, or supervisors to provide status of claimants' applications, and other related areas of case processing. Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Applicants for promotion must have 52 weeks at GS-7. Time in grade requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Education GS-9: Master's or equivalent graduate degree, or successful completion of two academic years of progressively higher graduate education, or LL.B. or J.D. Combining Education and Experience: GS-9: Experience and graduate level education beyond the first year may be combined to meet the minimum qualification requirement. Note: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school you attended has determined to represent one year of study. If this information is not provided, we will consider 18 semester/27 quarter hours to be equal to one year of full-time graduate study.If selected, you may be required to provide your official college transcripts prior to the effective date of the personnel action placing you into the new position. Experience and education will be computed as percentages of the overall requirements and must equal to 100 percent when combined. Additional Information Position to be filled under the provisions of the SSA/AFGE Merit Promotion Plan. Additional selections may be made within 6 months of the date of the initial selection. Applications for noncompetitive consideration will be accepted from SSA employees in the area of consideration who are currently serving under the following types of appointments: Schedule A, Reg. 213.3102 (U) appointments for individuals with disabilities; Veterans Recruitment Appointments; and time limited appointments for veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Applicants serving under these provisions do not need to submit copies of your disability or Veteran's documentation. However, you must submit a current SF-50 that provides information on the appointment authority under which you were hired. Otherwise, you will not receive non-competitive consideration. NOTE: Excepted service employees serving under Schedule A appointments for Attorney positions or Pathways Programs appointments (Presidential Management Fellows, Recent Graduates, and Interns) are not eligible for consideration. LOCALITY PAY: Salary will be set in accordance with locality pay provisions. Candidates currently receiving a higher locality pay than the office applied for are advised that should they be selected, they will lose entitlement to the higher locality pay. OTHER NOTES: This is not a career ladder position, GS-9 is the full performance level. This position is eligible for telework as determined by agency policy. Relocation expenses will not be paid. This is not a virtual position. Selected employee will be required to report to the office. This is a bargaining unit position, represented by the AFGE.