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Congressional Relations Officer

Employer
USAJobs
Location
District of Columbia, D.C
Closing date
Oct 1, 2022
Duties

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Please read this public notice in its entirety prior to submitting your application.

Vacancies may not presently exist but may become available at any point during the opening period of this vacancy announcement.

Human Resources will not review applicant resumes until the Hiring Manager submits a request to fill a vacancy.


You are applying to a public notice to fill current and future vacancies.

Please note, there may or may not be actual/projected vacancies when you submit your application. Your resume and any supporting documentation will be retained with other applicants and reviewed as vacancies occur.

You will not receive a notice regarding your application's status other than the initial acknowledgment until a request is received to fill a position.

Once a request to fill a vacancy is received, we will review applicants in increments of 50 in application date order. We will refer qualified applicants to the selecting official for consideration.

The organization's hiring need will determine the referral of additional applicants. Applicants will be notified about their application's status if referred or if we fill all vacancies.

This announcement will remain open until September 30, 2022. The cut-off date is April 11, 2022 or at the point at which the first 100 applications are received, whichever comes first. Applications submitted after April 11, 2022 may not receive consideration.

In addition, due to the potential of a high volume of applicants, not all applicants may receive consideration. After the initial cut-off period, once a request to fill a vacancy is received, applications will be reviewed in increments of 100 applications in date order.

Note: Submitting multiple applications will change the order in which your application is reviewed. We will refer qualified applicants to the selecting official for consideration. The organization's hiring need will determine the referral of additional applicants.

Applicants will be notified of their application's status if referred or if we fill all vacancies.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not available
Telework: Available
Duty Location Status: Will work from a VA owned or leased space
Position Description Title/PD#: Congressional Relations Officer/ PD81309A, PD81308A, PD81307A, and PD81309A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required.

This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-14. At the GS-12 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-14. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds. Promotion is not guaranteed and no promise of promotion is implied.

Major Duties:
  • Handles the most complex and sensitive congressional issues and provides technical supervision to lower-graded Congressional Relations staff.
  • Oversees Department's preparation for and follow-up to congressional hearings.
  • Assists with department and/or staff offices concerning matters within the Congressional Relations Officer's area of program and legislative responsibility.
  • Provides substantive information relative to assigned responsibilities for response to Members of Congress, their staff, or others having interest in the mission and functions of the Veterans Affairs.
  • Assists Members of Congress and their staff concerning program and policy matters and pending legislation.


Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
  • Selectees are subject to a background/suitability investigation.
  • Selectees may be required to serve a probationary period.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
  • A complete application package, i.e., Resume, Transcripts, etc., as required by job announcement.
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
  • Participation in the Seasonal Influenza Prevention Program for VHA Health Care Personnel (HCP) is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs HCP.
  • All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
  • Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
  • Pre-employment physical examination/evaluation may be required.


Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2022.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For this vacancy at the GS-12 level, applicants must have held the grade of GS-11 or higher for at least one year to be eligible for the GS-12. For this vacancy at the GS-13 level, applicants must have held the grade of GS-12 or higher for at least one year to be eligible for the GS-13. For this vacancy at the GS-14 level, applicants must have held the grade of GS-13 or higher for at least one year to be eligible for the GS-14.

The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

Provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" to indicate your current federal status. You must also submit additional SF-50(s) to clearly demonstrate one year time-in-grade as required in the announcement. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one year time-in-grade. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade.

Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

AND

You may qualify based on your experience as described below.

GS-12 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience:
  • Analyzing and interpreting politically sensitive information;
  • Promoting an agency or Department's policies, initiatives, and programs;
  • Utilizing verbal and writing skills to organize and disseminate information.
GS-13 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience:
  • Analyzing and interpreting legislative and congressional activities to support Department related policies, programs, and initiatives;
  • Monitoring congressional activities and reporting/disseminating program and/or policy informing matters;
  • Interfacing with senior leaders and preparing them for large scale meetings;
  • Recommending communication strategies on legislation, policies, or directives that impact an agency.
GS-14 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-13 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience:
  • Interfacing with and advising national leaders/policymakers on matters relating to an agency's mission and strategic plan;
  • Managing preparations for and follow-ups to congressional hearings and/or briefings;
  • Leading efforts on congressional inquiries that may impact one or multiple departments across an agency;
  • Advising on the management of congressional issues.
Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies , federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties.

To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above.

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; religions; 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp .

Education

There is no education substitute for the GS-12, GS-13, and GS-14 level.

Additional information

COVID-19 Pandemic Expanded Telework Program - Due to COVID-19, VA is currently in an expanded telework posture. If selected, you may be expected to temporarily telework, even if your home is located outside the local commuting area. Once employees are permitted to return to the office, you will be expected to report to the duty station listed on this announcement. Management officials will provide information about returning to the official, pre-pandemic worksite, when applicable. At that time, you may be eligible to request to continue to telework depending upon the terms of your organization's telework policy and the duties of the position.VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/ .

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

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