Duties

Summary

You are encouraged to read the entire announcement before you submit your application package. Your application may not receive full consideration if you do not follow the instructions as outlined.

This position is in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center , 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC, in the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs (LPA), at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

As a Congressional Liaison Specialist, your responsibilities will include:

• Monitoring Congressional schedule of legislative hearings and consults with Bureau and Office colleagues regarding participation based on program strategy.
• Keeping senior staff, General Counsel and Bureau/Mission counterparts apprised of any relevant or significant legislative changes or increased activity in particular areas of interest.
• Maintaining continuous personal contact with selected Members of Congress and their staffs for the purpose of gaining acceptance of legislative proposals and assessing their interest in and attitudes toward legislative and programmatic issues relevant to USAID.
• Researching, evaluating, and responding quickly to congressional inquiries. As appropriate, you will refer inquiries and follow through on work to be handled by appropriate divisions and offices or advises that the request would be more appropriately handled by another Federal agency.
• Assisting in Division input to develop annual budget documents, including materials for the Administrator's or other senior official's testimony on the President's budget request and the annual Congressional Budget Justification (CBJ).
• Preparing reports on congressional hearings, briefings, markups, and floor action as necessary and make recommendations to the Assistant Administrator for LPA on appropriate strategy and action.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13 - Full performance level of this position is the GS-13 grade level.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• United States Citizenship is required.
• Relevant experience (see Qualifications below).
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
• Time in grade must be met by the closing date of the vacancy announcement.
• Males born after 12/31/1959, must be registered with the Selective Service.
• Most recent SF-50 showing tenure code "1" or "2" (see Required Documents).

Time in grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. This means you must have served at least 52 weeks at the next grade level (or equivalent) below the grade advertised on this vacancy announcement.

Qualifications

GS-12: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Examples of qualifying specialized experience at the next lower level for this position includes: (a) identifying and tracking proposed legislative actions having a direct impact on an agency's program activities; (b) responding to congressional inquiries on issues of a general or policy nature; and (c) coordinating activities for an organization to ensure that congressional relations are properly understood and represented.

GS-13: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Examples of qualifying specialized experience at the next lower level for this position includes: (a) coordinating the preparation of testimony for Congressional hearings; (b) responding to Congressional inquiries on issues of a general or policy nature that require familiarity with the head of an organization's position with respect to these issues; and (c) preparing reports on congressional hearings, briefings, markups, and floor action as necessary.

In addition to meeting the minimum qualification requirements described above, all candidates must meet the following selective placement factor (SPF). Candidates who do not show that they meet the SPF will be marked not qualified and no longer receive consideration for this position.

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: Experience developing and implementing legislative strategy to advocate to members of Congress and their staffs to help protect and advance an organization's policies and programs.

One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. Examples of qualifying specialized experience at the next lower level for this position includes: providing counsel on the status and history of pending legislation, the concerns and views of Members of Congress and devising and implementing strategies to support the Agency's goals in Congress; directing the Agency's communications strategy and policies; positioning, messaging and branding; developing outreach and educational programs; leading the Agency's online marketing strategy and managing the external website; and producing events and promotional products (such as publications and videos) to generate support for USAID's mission.

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 can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, relevant to the duties of the position to be filled, including volunteer experience.

CTAP candidates will be referred to the selecting official if they are found well qualified. Well-qualified means an eligible employee who possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities which clearly exceed the minimum requirements of the position. A well-qualified employee must meet the qualification and eligibility requirements of the position, including any medical qualifications, suitability, and minimum education and experience requirements, meet all selective factors (where applicable); meet quality ranking factors and are assigned a score of 85 or higher; be physically qualified with reasonable accommodation to perform the essential duties of the position; meet any special qualifying U.S. OPM-approved conditions; AND be able to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry without additional training.

A well-qualified candidate will not necessarily meet the definition of highly or best qualified when evaluated against other candidates who apply for a particular position. In the absence of selective and quality ranking factors, selecting officials will document the job-related reason(s) for qualification determinations.

Education

This position does not have a positive education requirement. Therefore,​ no transcripts are required.

Additional information

USAID is an independent Federal Government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., USAID fosters transformational development around the world. Our work supports economic growth and trade; agriculture and the environment; education and training; democracy and governance; global health; global partnerships and humanitarian assistance. We operate in the following regions of the world: Afghanistan and Pakistan, Africa (all of Africa), Asia, Europe and Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East. USAID employees in the Civil Service and Foreign Service, as well as individuals employed through Personal Service Contracts, must adhere to our Counter Trafficking in Persons Code of Conduct. For information on the effort to counter all forms of human trafficking, including the procurement of commercial sex acts and the use of forced labor, visit http://www.state.gov/g/tip . For more information about USAID, visit http://www.usaid.gov .

This announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

These are Testing Designated Positions (TDP's) under the Agency's approved Drug Free Work Place Program. All applicants selected for this position will be subject to random drug testing once they begin working for the Agency.

Moving and relocation expenses are not authorized.

Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies:

https://hru.gov/Studio_Recruitment/tools/Mythbuster_on_Federal_Hiring_Policies.pdf .

EEO Policy: EEO Policy Statement .

Reasonable Accommodation Policy: Reasonable Accommodation Policy Statement .

Veterans' Information: Veterans Information .

Telework: https://www.telework.gov/ .

Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/ .

It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. Information about an individual's employment experience will be used only to determine the person's qualifications and to assess his or her relative level of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Although an individual's personal conduct may be relevant in any employment decision, including conduct during periods of unemployment or evidence of dishonesty in handling financial matters, financial difficulty that has arisen through no fault of the individual will generally not itself be the basis of an unfavorable suitability or fitness determination.

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 application package to ensure you meet the job and eligibility requirements, including the education and/or experience required for this position. If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the vacancy announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/ No, Multiple Choice questions) to determine if your answers to the assessment questionnaire are supported in your resume. If your answers to the online assessment questionnaire are not supported in the resume it will affect your eligibility for further consideration. You may be found "not qualified" if you do not possess the minimum competencies required for the position. If your application is incomplete, we will rate you as ineligible. Candidates that are rated as Highly Qualified will be referred to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

The scored occupational questionnaire will evaluate you on the following competencies:

• Congressional and Legislative Process
• International Development Policy
• Customer Service
• Oral Communication
• Written Communication

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

• Resume showing relevant experience.
• CTAP Eligibles: Must submit a copy of the appropriate documentation such as a reduction-in-force (RIF) separation notice, a SF-50 reflecting your RIF separation, or a notice of proposed removal for declining a direct reassign or transfer of function to another commuting area. You MUST also submit documentation to reflect your current (or last) performance rating of record of at least "fully successful" (Level III) or equivalent, along with your application/resume package.
• If this position requires proof of higher education, you must submit a copy of your transcript (unofficial or official) or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information. Please be advised that an official transcript will be required if you are selected for the position.
• Most recent copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action); your document must reflect grade, step, tenure code "1" (Career) or "2" (Career-Conditional), and type of position occupied.

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.