USAJOBS consolidates coronavirus response job openings

The Office of Personnel Management has updated USAJOBS.gov so agencies can flag positions tied to coronavirus response and track their hiring progress.

USAJOBS’s mission-critical code allows agencies to tag COVID-19-related job announcements so potential applicants can easily sort through all related opportunities.

Agencies will continue to publicly post response positions across a wide range of careers, according to OPM.

“Visitors to USAJOBS can quickly find opportunities that will have a direct impact on the American people and the federal government’s response to COVID-19,” said Michael Rigas, acting director of OPM, in the announcement.

OPM is also working with agencies to allow current federal employees to join the coronavirus response effort for up to six months through short-term, developmental assignments. In particular, licensed health care providers currently serving in non-clinical positions and employees with healthcare backgrounds are being encouraged to apply to Open Opportunities.

The Office of Management and Budget told agencies to minimize face-to-face interactions and focus on “mission-critical” work in a March memo.

OPM subsequently issued another memo asking agencies to temporarily expand their use of videoconferencing and e-signature tools to hire and onboard new employees. Onboarding and training should be done remotely as well, with chief information officers tasked with choosing the best tool for their agencies in each circumstance, wrote Rigas in the memo.

The USAJOBS program has been working on improving applicants’ visibility into the federal hiring process with job status updates, irrespective of the coronavirus, since the start of the fiscal year.