Local Hire (Human Services Specialist - Bilingual)

Summary

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has an immediate need to employ temporary local hires to assist with disaster response and recovery efforts in Guaynabo, PR. Local hire employees are typically local residents who aid in the recovery of their community and help their fellow citizens in the recovery process. A local hire's term of employment is 120 days. Local Hire appointments may be extended, in 120-day increments, based on the needs of the disaster.

Learn more about this agency

This job is open to

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency
The Local Hire Program is an appointment type granted under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Section 306 (b), which authorizes FEMA to appoint such temporary employees as necessary to accomplish work authorized under the Act. A local hire's term of employment is 120 days. Local Hire appointments may be extended, in 120-day increments, based on the needs of the disaster.

Duties

What will I do in this position if hired?
In this Local Hire (Human Services Specialist - Bilingual) position, you will register and assist disaster survivors by providing guidance and resources regarding available disaster assistance programs and services for individual or household assistance and support casework functions.
Typical assignments include:

Assisting with delivery of recovery policies, plans, and procedures with the Registration Intake Help Line.
Collecting, compiling, verifying, and reconciling data information provided by disaster survivors.
Delivering a range of casework management and processing.

What else do I need to know?
This announcement is for a position as a FEMA Local Hire. Local Hire employees help FEMA respond to, recover from and mitigate hazards by performing a variety of emergency management functions which are not limited to disaster survivor assistance, conducting and verifying damage assessments, and providing administrative, financial and logistical support.
Local Hires are Temporary Positions. The Local Hire Program is an appointment type granted under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Section 306 (b), which authorizes FEMA to appoint such temporary employees as necessary to accomplish work authorized under the Act. Appointments under this authority within FEMA are made to the excepted service and are nonpermanent in nature. A local hire's term of employment is 120 days. Local Hire appointments may be extended, in 120-day increments, based on the needs of the disaster.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Public Trust as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations.
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.
Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below. Key Requirements:

You must be a U.S. citizen to be considered for this position.
You must successfully pass a background investigation.
Selective service registration is required for males born after 12/31/59.
All candidates must be a high school graduate or possess a GED.
Minimum age of eighteen years of age is required.
Please review the Additional Information section for additional key requirements.

Qualifications

To qualify for this Local Hire (Human Services Specialist - Bilingual) position, you must possess experience:

Prior experience in a customer service-related role.
Ability to communicate both orally and in writing in English and one or more foreign languages.
Operate various software applications to process and manage customer information.

Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application:

Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position
Your resume serves as the basis for experience related qualification determinations, and you must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity. Please use your own words, be clear, and specific when describing your work history. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience.

Are you qualifying based on your work experience?

Qualifications are based on your ability to demonstrate in your resume that you possess one year of the specialized experience for this announcement at a comparable scope and responsibility. To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS online Resume Builder. If you choose to use your own resume, it must contain the following information organized by experience/position: (1) job title, (2) name of employer, (3) start and end dates of each period of employment (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY), (4) detailed description of duties performed, accomplishments, and related skills, and (5) hours worked per week (part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience). Federal experience/positions must also include the occupational series, grade level, and dates in which you held each grade level.

Are you a current or former FEMA Reservist/Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE)? To accurately credit your experience from intermittent positions and Reservist Deployments, you must list the dates (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) of deployments that are relevant to your qualifying experience, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.

Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information. Failure to provide the above information in your resume may result in your application being found "not qualified."

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 provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

For additional information on crediting experience and/or education, please reference the OPM General Schedule Qualification Standards

Education

No Educational Substitution: There is no educational substitution for this position, and you must meet the qualifications listed in the "requirements" section of this announcement.

Additional information

Local hire positions are temporary, intermittent (as-needed) positions. Generally, local hires will work a full-time schedule.
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.
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 § ****(c) and 5 C.F.R § ******* 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, may submit a written complaint to ******.
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.
Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.
During the application process you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
Travel may be required, based upon agency needs. Travel expectations can vary and will be discussed with candidates during the selection process.
Lodging and travel from your residence of record to your duty station in Guaynabo, PR will not be reimbursed.

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 windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Local Hire employees are eligible for the following benefits:

Health insurance for individual or family coverage. Employer contribution is 75% of premium. NOTE: Local Hire employees are eligible for enrollment for health insurance coverage as of the official hire date/employment date with FEMA.
Dental and Vision Insurance
Flexible Spending Accounts
Ability to earn 4 hours of paid Sick Leave per pay period
Holiday pay
Worker's Compensation

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.

We will review your resume, supporting documentation, and your responses to the occupational questionnaire to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements listed in the announcement. If you are qualified, you may be referred to a hiring manager for consideration.
We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process. To preview, please review: .

Required Documents

Do not include photos, personally identifying information (PII) (including birthday and social security numbers), or personal information such as age, sex, medical history, etc. Resumes that include any of this information will be ineligible for further review.

Your resume. 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. For resume writing guidance, please review the requirements section of this announcement or visit the USAJOBS Resume Builder

Your responses to the job questionnaire. You will be directed to the online job questionnaire once you begin the application process for this position.

Are you a current or former federal employee? This position does not have any competitive eligibility requirements. However, you will need to submit a Standard Form (SF)-50, Notification of Personnel Action, which demonstrates your current/highest grade level. Examples of appropriate SF-50s include promotions, within-grade increases and accessions. Award SF-50's will not be accepted.

It is your responsibility to verify that any information entered or uploaded is received and is accurate. Determining your eligibility and qualifications is dependent on the supporting documentation and information provided, which may impact your referral for further consideration. If a document is not legible, Human Resources will not be able to view it in your application. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above by 11:59pm (EST) on 08/31/2026

To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
Follow the directions to register or login if you have an existing account.
Submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
Upon completion of your application, you will receive an acknowledgement email.

Only resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. Applicants with resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
If you have questions about this announcement or the application process, please contact the Human Resources Specialist listed in the Agency Contact Information prior to the close of the announcement.
An employee, job applicant, or an individual acting on behalf of the employee, may request a Reasonable Accommodation by emailing ****** with "time sensitive" in the subject line.
To review the common definitions of terms found in this announcement, please visit the DHS Common Definitions page.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: Review your job status on your Application Dashboard. Your application dashboard 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.

Agency contact information

Jada Teachout

Phone

************

Email

******

Next steps

If you are found qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration. The hiring manager will review the list of qualified candidates and may conduct interviews of some candidates. Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from consideration.
If you are selected, you will be notified by phone or email with a tentative job offer. If you fail to respond, fail to meet the conditions of employment, or fail any other pre-employment requirements (such as the background investigation), we may rescind a tentative job offer.
For information on the Federal employment application process, please visit the USA Jobs Help Center. Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance and U.S. Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Overview

Accepting applications

This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more

Location

Many vacancies in the following location:

Guaynabo, PR

No matching locations found.

Work site options

Telework eligible

No

Remote job

No

Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

Salary

$***** - $***** per hour

Pay scale & grade

IH 00

Promotion potential

00

Learn more about pay scale and grade

Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.

Work schedule

Full-time

Travel Required

Not required

Appointment type

Temporary - Intermittent - 120-day increments, based on the needs of the disaster

Occupations and job series

**** Emergency Management Specialist

Supervisory status

No

Federal service type

This job is in the Excepted Service

Represented by a union

No

Drug test

No

Security clearance

Not Required

Position sensitivity and risk

Moderate Risk (MR)

Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.

Background check type

Suitability/Fitness

Financial disclosure required

No

Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.

Announcement number

FEMA-26-MB-*****-LH

Control number

*********