Office of Human Resources Functions

FUNCTIONS:

• Provides Agency-wide direction and leadership in carrying out all aspects of EPA’s human resources program
• Provides support to the Agency’s Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) and Agency-wide leadership in implementing EPA’s Strategic Human Capital Plan and ensuring that human capital priorities are met.
• Provides leadership and direction to the Agency in implementing Presidential priorities and new human resources legislation.

FUNCTIONS:

• Internal OHR budget formulation and execution:
• The full range of administrative support services including:
  • Travel
  • Personnel
  • FTE and PCB utilization
  • Procurement
  • Financial management
  • Space planning and management
  • Telecommunications
  • GPRA implementation
  • COOP/Security planning
  • Contracting oversight and support
  • Records Management Coordination
  • Privacy Act oversight
  • Product review

FUNCTIONS:

• Facilitates, administers, and/or negotiates national labor agreements and provides advice and assistance to regional and local level negotiations.
• Coordinates labor relations activities across the Agency
• Creates and supports national labor-management partnerships
• Represents the Agency as lead representative or technical advisor in arbitrations and hearings before the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP) and Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)
• Serves as liaison to the Human Resources Officers (HRO) community
• Provides LER support to Headquarters AA-ships

FUNCTIONS:

The Director, Human Capital Management Division, serves as the principal advisor to the Director, Office of Human Resources, and provides Agency-wide leadership and direction to the Agency’s national Human Capital Plan and Strategy and for the accountability for these programs. The Division plays a major role in Agency reorganizations and internal management studies. The Division is subdivided into two Branches, with the Branch Chiefs reporting to the Division Director. The Division’s responsibilities are broken out between the two Branches.

The Human Capital Planning Branch:

• Provides leadership and direction for the Agency’s long-term human capital strategic planning process
• Works with senior agency officials to assure that the skills, competencies and capabilities needed by the workforce are planned and integrated to achieve the long-term environmental goals and directions of the Agency.
• Ensures that the Agency’s budget includes the necessary requirements to address mission-critical workforce needs. Serves as primary liaison to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) to address these issues.
• Develops the institutional infrastructure needed to analyze the Agency’s workforce needs
• Develops and oversees Agency-wide succession planning
• Develops and institutionalizes an Agency-wide strategic recruitment and outreach strategy, which include, but is not limited to:
• Branding and marketing
• Developing strategic partnerships with a variety of colleges, universities, professional
  associations and other relevant parties
• Promoting talent diversity through White House and other initiatives
• Performs qualitative analyses on the agency’s workforce (including statistical and demographic analyses and workforce trends.)
• Performs short- and long-term management studies and historical studies.
• Provides analytical support and advice on a variety of organization and management initiatives.
• Serves as a liaison with the Agency’s Human Resources Council
• Manages and maintains the Agency’s Directives System
• Manages the Agency-wide directives clearance process
• Manages the delegations of authority process

• Develops and publishes the Agency’s Human Capital Strategic Plan.
• Develops and administers the EPA Human Capital Accountability Plan.
• Develops accountability methodology for: tracking the progress in implementing the HC Strategy; assessing the effectiveness and impact of the HC Strategy at EPA; tracking the progress of Headquarters and Regional offices’ human capital strategies and action plans
• Evaluates HR programs to ensure merit principle accountability.

FUNCTIONS:

The Director, Human Resources Policy Division, serves as the principal advisor to the Director, Office of Human Resources, on the direction of human resources policy and takes a leadership role in responding to Federal human capital directions from the Office of Personnel Management. The Director, OHR, has discretion and flexibility to create up to four teams, depending on the needs of the organization. The Human Resources Policy Division is responsible for performing the following functions:

• Provides Agency-wide leadership, advice, and guidance in the development, issuance, and communication of all human resources policies, including, but not limited to:
  • Staffing, recruitment and hiring
  • Classification and pay
  • Position management
  • Labor and Employee Relations
  • Employee benefits (including retirement, health benefits, worker’s compensation, etc.)
  • Work life programs, e.g., telework, tuition assistance, etc.
  • Work place issues
  • Awards and recognition
  • Retention
  • Performance management
  • Training
• Researches best practices
• Performs bench marking of other Federal agencies and selected private sector
  organizations
• Researches and/or develops new ideas in the human resources arena, and recommends products and services which may prove beneficial to EPA’s HR community
• Continually explores new service delivery alternatives which may benefit the EPA HR community, and makes recommendations for possible implementation within the Agency
• Initiates and recommends demonstration and/or pilot projects
• “Scans the horizon” within the public and private sectors to identify and anticipate major events, shifts in management approaches, workforce and societal trends which will impact human resources. Based on the analysis of these factors, makes recommendations to the EPA HR community, and senior EPA officials.
• Serves as liaison to the Human Resources Officers (HRO) community

FUNCTIONS:

The Director, Employee Development and Services Division, serves as principal advisor to the Director, Office of Human Resources, and leads the Agency’s national training and development program. The Division also is responsible for employee benefits and services. The Employee Development and Services Division may be organized into as many as four teams and is responsible for the following:

• Develops, manages and delivers the Agency’s national workforce development programs
• Supports Agency workforce planning by recommending and implementing training strategies and solutions for workforce and succession planning
• Serves as the procurement agent for Agency high dollar training requests
• Maintains liaison with Agency training officers
• Devises and administers the Agency’s knowledge management program
• Develops and administers national training strategies to support major programs such as implementation of a new performance management program, etc.
• Provides substantive input to Agency training policy.
• Serves as liaison to the Agency’s Awards Board and manages the Agency’s annual Honor Awards process
• Provides employee support services to Headquarters AAships, including
• Conducting new employee orientations and exit interviews
• Ensuring that sign language and interpreting services are available for hearing-
  impaired employees and clients.
• Providing oversight for the Employee Counseling and Assistance Program (ECAP)
• Employee Benefits and Services including:
  • Providing advice and consultation to employees on the full range of benefits and workplace issues.
  • Ensuring that customers can access benefits information
  • Conducting briefing and information sessions on various benefits and services.
  • Processing all pertinent employee benefits.

FUNCTIONS:

The Director, Information Technology Division, is the principal advisor to the Director, Office of Human Resources, on all major human resources technology systems and internal IT support and operations. The Director maintains close coordination with other pertinent EPA offices involved in IT development and provides input to Agency human resources information systems technology. The Division can be organized into as many as four teams. The major functions are listed below:

• Provides national leadership in conceptualizing and developing strategic systems to automate human resources at EPA. This includes conducting systems research to determine applicability of automating a full range of HR information and processes, including but not limited to:
• Direct access to HR information by line managers and HR professionals
• Employee self-service systems and/or electronic applications
• Modeling capabilities to support strategic decision-making
• Workforce analysis support
• Serves as the liaison with the Office of Environmental Information and Office of the Chief Financial Officer on IT issues and concerns.
• Provides national leadership in the deployment, implementation, management and maintenance of human resources management systems.
• Provides for systems budget formulation and contract oversight
• Provides for desk top support for all of OHR

FUNCTIONS:

The Director, Headquarters Operations Division, serves as the principal advisor to the Director, Office of Human Resources and provides leadership and direction to the transactional support for EPA Headquarters. The Division is subdivided into three Branches, with the following sets of responsibilities:

• Provides the full range of consulting and advisory services to accomplish the following:
  • Classification/Pay setting for all Headquarters positions
  • Staffing all Headquarters positions
• Recommends strategies to clients for recruiting and filling all types of positions
• Works with OCFO to resolve employees’ pay problems
• Manages the Headquarters file room and contract
• Manages and oversees the Agency’s Senior Environmental Employee (SEE) Program.

FUNCTIONS:

The Director, Executive Resources Division serves as the principal advisor to the Director, Office of Human Resources, and the Assistant Administrator, OARM, and provides support to Agency-wide leadership and direction to the Executive Resources Program. The Executive Resources Division is primarily responsible for following functions:

• SES Staffing/Pay/Compensation
• SES Mobility Program
• ERB and PRB Processes
• Executive Resources Policy
• Performance Management for SES Corps
• Succession Planning for SES
• SES Candidate Development Program
• SES professional development/training
• Political Appointments (Schedule C, AD, PAS and Non-career SES Appointments)
• ALJs, SLs and STs
• SES Forums and Communications