Job Description
Human Resources Assistant
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Indianapolis, IN
50,930 to 66,210 a year to Full-time
Summary: Organizational Location: This position is with the Department
of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
Office of Human Resources Management, Talent Management Directorate,
CBP Processing and Servicing Center, located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Duties: As a Human Resources Assistant, you will play a vital role
working on a team of Human Resources and Records Management
professionals within United States Customs and Border Protection
(CBP).
This position starts at a salary of 50,930.00 (GS-7, Step 1) to
66,210.00 (GS-7, Step 10)
GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by
geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select
the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a
special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of
the position. Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts.
Major Duties: Serving as an assistant trainee, developing the
fundamental knowledge, skills, and abilities to sort information from
files, records, and databases.
Retrieving data from information sources, both manual and electronic,
to respond to customer calls, e-mails, letters and any other customer
service issues. Providing support to higher-graded specialists and
leads.
Assisting with analyzing, evaluating, and the development of
administrative human resources activities for effective operation of
the agency.
Utilizing various systems for personnel processing.
Requirements
Conditions of employment
You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years
(additional details below)
All pre-employment processes will be conducted in English
You may be required to pass a background investigation
CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing
procedures
As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce that is
dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of
our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards.
Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all
Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well
as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty,
these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or
business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is
not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of
your official duties. Please review further details via the following
link.
DHS uses E-Verify, an internet-based system, to confirm the
eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States.
Learn more about E-Verify including your rights and responsibilities.
Financial Disclosure is required.
Bargaining Unit: This position is not covered under the bargaining
unit.
Qualifications
Experience GS-07: You qualify for the GS-07 grade level if you possess
1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower
grade level, performing duties such as: Assisting HR Specialists and
others by performing structured segments of their work or
participating on projects and studies.
Assisting employees in preparing and submitting a variety of personnel
forms.
Responding to inquiries concerning HR entitlements, services, and
processing procedures.
NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this
requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the
"Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.
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; religious; 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.
You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if
applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of
the application process by 09/10/2026.
In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all
required steps in the process. In addition to the application and
application questionnaire, this position requires an online
assessment. The online assessment measures critical general
competencies required to perform the job. The USA Hire Assessments
includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required
proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or
exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for
the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the
assessment.
Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application
materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from
consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in
your removal from consideration.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment
offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are
currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule
A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in
the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human
Resources Office.
Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is
a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to
undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in
order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to
country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background
investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any
felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of
illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD,
methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled
substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt,
manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking,
or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information
on the pre-employment process, review the following link: Applicant
Resources | CBP Careers
Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not
currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically
resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under
international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you
do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically
located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five
years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible
for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following
conditions:
Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member
of the military
A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or
member of the military who was working for the U.S. government
Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated
college or university
Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting
the U.S. government
Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must
serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her
initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for
continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be
required to serve or complete a probationary period.
Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency
Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have
never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP
eligible. View information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility on OPM's
Career Transition Resources website. To be considered eligible under
CTAP/ICTAP, you must be placed in the Well-Qualified category for this
position, as described within this announcement. In addition, you must
submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents
section of this job announcement.
CBP employees demonstrate the highest level of commitment to protect
and serve the United States of America and to exemplify the CBP Core
Values of Vigilance, Service to Country and Integrity. Learn more
about CBP's mission, core values and careers at
Additional selections may be made beyond the total number of vacancies
specified using this vacancy announcement. Further selections may also
be made for additional organizational divisions and/or units within
the duty location(s) listed above.
Education: Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents
sections for more information if education is applicable to this
position.
Additional information: The vacancy questionnaire includes four short,
free-response essay questions. This provides an opportunity for you to
highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and
agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not
required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully
address each question. Please provide a response of 200 words or less
to each question. You will be asked to certify that you are using your
own words and did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI)
such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot.
Term Appointments: To meet agency needs, this position will be filled
under a time-limited appointment, not-to-exceed (NTE) two year(s),
with possible extension(s) for an additional two year(s). This is not
a permanent appointment, and does not allow for conversion to a
permanent competitive service. You will be separated when the NTE date
of this appointment is reached.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a
disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA
Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity
to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the
USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting
documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire
Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on
a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the
position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you
will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency
Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must
complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to
access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the
link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a
RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable
Accommodation for Online Assessments here.
The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with
disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe
physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR §
213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable
service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR
§ 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with
disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and
competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a
member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the
public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for
non-competitive appointment and to understand the required
documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human
Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.
Please upload your resume under the "Resume" document type. Any other
relevant supporting documents should be uploaded under their
appropriate document types as mentioned above. Only resumes up to a
total of two pages will be accepted. Applicants with resumes exceeding
two pages will be removed from consideration. Do not submit documents
as a PDF Portfolios.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the
Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American
republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United
States Constitution.
Benefits
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 based on how well you meet the qualifications
listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be
evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume,
supporting documents), your responses on the application
questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this
position. You will be assessed on the following competencies
(knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics).
To be considered for this position, you must complete all required
steps in the process. In addition to the application and application
questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online
assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform
the job.
The USA Hire Assessment will be used to assess the following general
competencies:
Attention to Detail
Customer Service
Flexibility
Integrity/Honesty
Interpersonal Skills
Learning
Self-Management
Stress Tolerance
Teamwork
Decision Making
Reading Comprehension
Reasoning
If you meet the minimum qualifications, we will use responses you
provide on the application questionnaire and the result of the online
assessments required for this position to place you in one of three
categories based on your experience, education, and training:
Highly Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially
exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate
high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all
Selective Placement Factors (SPF), and appropriate Quality Ranking
Factors (QRF) as determined by the job analysis.
Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the
minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable
proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPF's
and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum
qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in
most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate
QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected
disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category,
except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at
the GS-09 grade level, or higher. This position is not considered
scientific/professional. Other 10 point preference eligibles and
veterans with 5 point preference who meet the eligibility and
qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles
within the category in which they qualify. View information on
veterans' preference.
If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager
for consideration and may be contacted for an interview.
Required Documents
Your resume: A resume describing your job-related qualifications is
required and will be used for the purpose of reviewing your
qualifications and determining what training, if any, would be
required when placed. A resume in English is required. It must contain
your full legal name, phone number, relevant work history including a
detailed description of your duties, the dates you performed those
duties (MM/DD/YY), your hours worked per week, job title, as well as
series, grade, and salary (if applicable). For additional required
items, see the link. It is recommended that you upload your resume as
a PDF instead of a Word document to ensure document quality. Ensure
that your uploaded resume is not a password protected document, to
include Office 365 passwords. Limit your resume to no more than two
pages. The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an
application that includes a resume over two pages.
Your responses to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment.
Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Agency
Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP), Interagency Career
Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), or the Reemployment Priority
List (RPL)? You must submit a separation notice; your most recent
SF-50 (noting your current position, grade level and duty location); a
copy of your most recent performance rating of record; an agency
certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has
been terminated; an OPM notification that your disability annuity has
been terminated; or a Military Department of National Guard Bureau
notification that you are retired under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456; or
RPL registration documentation.
Are you a veteran? To apply veterans' preference you must submit proof
of eligibility as appropriate for your preference type:
Five Point Preference: DD 214 listing the character of service and
either qualifying medal(s) or service period
Ten Point Preference: DD 214 showing character of service and
supporting documentation as listed on the Standard Form 15
(application for 10 Point Veterans' Preference). Submitting an SF-15
with your application is encouraged. Veterans with a service-connected
disability must also submit a VA Disability Award letter dated 1991 or
later, OR supporting documentation as listed in the SF-15
If you are currently serving on active duty, you must submit a written
statement from the armed forces certifying your dates of service,
rank, expected character of service, and anticipated date of
separation. If you apply with a written statement at this stage, your
preference will be verified by a DD 214 upon separation from the
military.
Are you a current or former federal employee? If yes, it is
recommended that you submit a copy of your SF-50(s) (Notification of
Personnel Action) to support your experience. Examples of appropriate
SF-50s include promotions, within-grade increases and accessions.
Retired former federal employees are required to submit your
retirement SF-50 and encouraged to submit your most recent annuity
statement.
Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C,
Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee? Submit a copy of
your initial and termination SF-50s.
If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire
Competency Based Assessments, submit documentation to support your
request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found
here.
If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position,
you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for
Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all
information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False
statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of
offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or
imprisonment.
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before
you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this
position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments
and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply
and Required Documents section. All application materials, including
transcripts, must be in English. The complete application package must
be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/10/2026 to receive consideration.
The application process is as follows:
Click the Apply Online button.
Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all
necessary supporting documentation.
Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the
announcement 09/10/2026.
If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be
notified after submitting your application. The notification will be
provided in your application submission screen via email. The
notification will include your unique assessment access link to the
USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS
you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment
completion notice.
Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted
through your USAJOBS login credentials.
Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will
have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before
beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under
the Rehabilitation Action of 1973 as amended.
Set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most
applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop
the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use your
unique assessment link.
Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year
(in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future
application you submit require completion of the same assessments,
your responses will be automatically reused.
For more general information, system requirements, reasonable
accommodation information, and to request assistance regarding the USA
Hire Assessments, review the following resources: USA Hire
Assessments.
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During
the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find
your application record and click Edit my application. This option
will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on
How to see your Application and Job Status. Your application status
page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire
assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by
the hiring agency regarding your application.
Applications and supporting documentation will not be accepted by mail
or email. The address below is for inquiries only. You may apply more
than once, but the most recent application is the only one that will
be used. You must submit your resume, your online questionnaire, and
any supporting documents by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on 09/10/2026.
It is your responsibility to verify that any information entered or
uploaded is received and is accurate. Human Resources will not modify
or change any part of your application. Determining your eligibility
and qualifications is dependent on the supporting documentation and
information provided, which may impact your referral for further
consideration.
DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package,
including: health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance;
retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible
Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days;
and paid federal holidays. Other benefits may include: flexible work
schedules; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform
allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is
committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee
training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to
the DHS Careers website and select "Benefits." Disabled veteran leave
will be available to any Federal employee hired on or after November
5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating
of 30 percent or more.
The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of
Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's
criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional
offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5
C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of
the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been
subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act,
View common definitions of terms in this announcement.
Job Tags
Permanent employment, Full time, Part time, For contractors, Traineeship, Internship, Work at office, Flexible hours