Duties

Summary

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) Domestic Social Policy (DSP) Division seeks a Coordinator of Research Planning to support the development and implementation of the division's research agenda.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) seeks a Coordinator of Research Planning to join its Domestic Social Policy Division (DSP). As a member of the division's management team, the Coordinator will serve as a principal CRS representative to Members, committees and officers of the United States Congress and will be instrumental in implementing the Service-wide outreach and vision strategy at the division level.

Coordinator duties include consulting extensively with the division's assistant director and the deputy assistant director to develop and execute division-level outreach to the Congress; collaborating extensively with the division's research managers and team leaders and representatives of other division to ensure coverage of intra-and interdivisional congressional requests; leading division efforts to ensure gap areas do not occur and/or to propose strategies for their mitigation; ensuring products and services meet CRS's standards of objectivity, responsiveness, nonpartisanship, balance, timeliness, legislative relevance, accessibility, authoritativeness, and analytical rigor; and leading projects, conducting analysis, and performing special assignments as directed by the division's senior management.

CRS works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for more than a century.

CRS is well known for analysis that is authoritative, confidential, objective and nonpartisan. Its highest priority is to ensure that Congress has immediate access to the nation's best thinking on public policy issues of interest to its Members and Committees.

General duties:

• Contributes to the development and implementation of the division's research agenda by monitoring, updating, and recommending agenda modifications to meet the evolving needs of Congress.

• Systematically assesses and anticipates congressional priorities to ensure currency, quality, and relevance of the division's products and services.

• Provides primary and/or secondary review of policy research and analysis assigned by division management to ensure research and analytical products are of the highest quality and meet CRS's standards of objectivity, responsiveness, nonpartisanship, balance, timeliness, legislative relevance, accessibility, authoritativeness, and analytical rigor.

• Prepares authoritative, responsive, insightful, probing, innovative, and integrative written and electronic analytical products.

• Provides personal consultation, expert advice, analysis, and other assistance for congressional committees, Members of Congress, and their staff considering highly complex and sensitive public policy issues of national or international significance at various stages of the legislative process, including hearings, markup sessions, reports, floor debates, and conferences.

This is a non-supervisory, non-bargaining unit position.

The tour of duty for this position is full-time.

The position description number for this position is 381599.

The salary range indicated reflects the locality pay adjustments for the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area.

The incumbent of this position may elect to work a flextime or compflex work schedule.

RELOCATION EXPENSES ARE NOT AUTHORIZED FOR THE PERSON(S) SELECTED UNDER THIS VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
15

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

No additional requirements to those listed above.

Qualifications

Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision.

Knowledge of U.S. Domestic Social Policy.**

Ability to facilitate development, management, and execution of a division research agenda.**

Ability to develop and implement a division strategy of outreach to meet changing congressional needs.**

Ability to assess the quality and adherence to CRS core values of products and services.**

Ability to plan, manage, organize, and prepare public policy analysis.**

Ability to interact collaboratively with others.

Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing.


Education

Additional information

Although it is the Library's policy to afford the maximum pay benefit to employees when setting rates of pay, a new appointee who has had no previous Federal service will generally be paid the minimum step of the grade.

The Library of Congress is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities who meet eligibility requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applicants must submit a complete application package that is received by the closing date of this announcement.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please email ADA@loc.gov. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The proof or disability/certification may be issued by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Disability Services or Career Services office of the applicant's college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The letter must verify that the applicant has a severe disability and must be dated within three years of the date of the application. Certification from health care providers are not accepted. For more information contact the Library's Office of EEO/Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.

The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and is part of the Legislative Branch of the Federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service.

Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of an appropriate personnel security/suitability investigation.

The Library reserves the right to fill a lesser or greater number of vacancies indicated during the life of this vacancy announcement.

Initial appointments, permanent or indefinite, to the Library of Congress require completion of a one-year probationary period.

The Library of Congress may offer repayment for all or part of federally insured student loans. However, not all service units within the Library of Congress participates in the repayment of federally insured student loans. Therefore, determination to repay a federally insured student loan is subject to approval by the appropriate service unit.

A "Not to Exceed" (NTE) status is used to identify an appointment with a specific ending date. However, the Library has the right to separate a NTE employee at any time due to either performance issues or budget constraints.

Are you a veteran? Please indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming in your application materials and/or applicant profile and provide the appropriate supporting documentation to validate your claim. Those applying for 5-point preference must submit Member Copy 4 of your DD 214. Those applying for 10-point preference must fill out an SF-15 (click here for the form) and provide the required documentation listed on the back of the form. If required supporting documentation is not attached, Veterans' Preference will not be considered in the application process.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

The Library of Congress evaluates applicants through an applicant questionnaire and a structured interview. Applicants may also be screened for some jobs through licensing, certification, and/or education requirements, a narrative/application review, and/or a preliminary telephone interview. The knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are marked with a double asterisk (**) in the vacancy announcement and the applicant questionnaire are considered the most critical for a position. To be considered for final selection, applicants must demonstrate fully acceptable experience in these designated KSAs in the narrative/application review, preliminary telephone and/or full structured interview. The various assessment tools listed above are designed to verify or explore applicants' experience, knowledge, and training directly related to the job in order to identify the best qualified applicants for selection.

For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please see the Library of Congress Merit Selection Plan, Section X.D, at: http://www.loc.gov/hr/employment/msp010909.pdf .

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

Current or former federal employees must submit their most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50 or equivalent).

Applicants with disabilities may be considered under special hiring procedures and must submit an appropriate certificate of eligibility when applying for this position. The proof or disability/certification may be issued by the State Vocational Rehabilitation Office, Disability Services or Career Services office of the applicant's college or university, or the Department of Veterans Affairs. The letter must verify that the applicant has a severe disability and must be dated within three years of the date of the application. The program does not accept certification from health care providers. For more information contact the Library's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Programs at 202-707-6024 or email spp@loc.gov. FAILURE TO SUBMIT YOUR CERTIFICATION WILL CAUSE YOUR APPLICATION TO NOT BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SELECTIVE PLACEMENT PROGRAM.

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.