Duties

Summary

Come work for the USPTO, we have been ranked as one of the best places to work in the federal government! The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been serving the economic interests of America for more than 200 years. We are responsible for granting US intellectual property rights for patents and trademarks. The USPTO is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, and has over 12,000 employees. For more information about the USPTO, please visit the USPTO Jobs Website .

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This position is located in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Office of Policy and International Affairs (OPIA).

The individual selected for this position:

Drafts informational and persuasive documents to further agency goals and objectives.

Monitors, tracks and reports on congressional proposals that impact agency policy, operations, or intellectual property matters. Prepares briefing materials and talking points for agency executives; and assists in development of agency responses.

Monitors, in particular, congressional proposals affecting the USPTO. Assembles information, in support of agency policies and as appropriate, information to Congress, DOC, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on agency operations, goals, and objectives.

Compiles, organizes and maintains up-to-date contact information for Congressional staff, stakeholders, and government agencies; and helps to maintain contacts with these entities.

Serves as a Governmental Affairs team member to implement work plans supporting USPTO's strategic goals, including conducting outreach to Capitol Hill staff, organizing briefings on USPTO programs and services and engaging with other parts of the Administration on IP policy issues.

Assists in facilitating regular briefings with Congressional staff.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
• Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
• Suitable for Federal employment.

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Qualifications

You must meet the following United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements for the advertised position. OPM's prescribed Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Administrative and Management positions can be found here. You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of the job announcement.

Specialized Experience: is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the federal service.

GS12

Candidates for the GS-12 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as:

Skill Set 1 -Experience drafting informational and persuasive documents on policy and/or operational issues for congressional staff audiences;

Skill Set 2 - Experience monitoring, tracking, and reporting on Congressional proposals;

Skill Set 3 -Experience compiling, organizing and maintaining up-to-date contact information for Congressional staff, stakeholders and government agencies.

GS-13

Candidates for the GS-13 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as:

Skill Set 1 -Experience drafting informational and persuasive documents on policy and/or operational issues for congressional staff audiences;

Skill Set 2 - Experience monitoring, tracking, and reporting on Congressional proposals;

Skill Set 3 -Experience compiling, organizing and maintaining up-to-date contact information for Congressional staff, stakeholders and government agencies.

Skill Set 4 Experience applying knowledge of the legislative process to achieve policy and operational goals.

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, including volunteer experience.

Education

Education can not be substituted for experience for this position at the GS-12 and GS-13 grade levels.

Additional information

Applicants applying for this position must be a United States Citizen.

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

This is a Bargaining Unit position.

This is a Public Trust position and has a risk level designation of "moderate".

Background Investigation - If selected for this position, you may be required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306), which includes a fingerprint and credit check, to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.

The USPTO participates in E-Verify. For more information on E-Verify, please visit the Department of Homeland Security Website .

Probationary Period- If selected, you may be required to complete an initial one-year probationary period.

All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choice.

Relocation Expenses are not authorized and will not be paid.

CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a "well qualified" rating of 85 out of 100. Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: https://www.opm.gov/ctap . CTAP/ICTAP documentation requirements are listed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued.

All application materials become the property of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors. If you believe that you have been discriminated against and would like to file an EEO complaint, you must do so within 45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act. Claims of employment discrimination must be submitted to the attention of the USPTO's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity & Diversity via email ( oeeod@uspto.gov ) or phone (571-272-8292).

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation will be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the job opportunity announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to your responses on the self-assessment questions (True/False, Yes/ No, Multiple Choice questions) and place you in one of three pre-defined categories. These categories are "gold," "silver," and "bronze." Your resume and/or optional cover letter must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. Candidates placed in the "gold" category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

If you are invited for an interview, you may be asked to provide a writing sample.

How you will be evaluated for preference eligibility: Within each category, those entitled to veterans' preference will be listed at the top of the pre-defined category for which they are placed.

Preference eligibles with a service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest quality category (gold).

The scored self assessment questions in the job announcement will evaluate you on the following competencies; please do not provide a separate written response:

KSA 1 - Knowledge of the decision-making process of the Federal legislative and executive branches to gather information, identify the sequence and timing of key events, and assess the status of legislative developments on issues of interest to the agency. (Background or experience with the activities of the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary and/or U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary and/or other Congressional committees.)

KSA 2 - Skill in drafting informational and persuasive documents on policy and/or operational issues for congressional staff audiences.

KSA 3 - Skill in monitoring, tracking, and reporting on congressional proposals (i.e. compiling, organizing and maintaining up-to-date contact information for Congressional staff, stakeholders and government agencies.)

KSA 4 - Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with high level legislative and executive branch staff to effectively represent agency interests.

For more information on category rating, please go to: http://hr.commerce.gov/s/groups/public/@doc/@cfoasa/@ohrm/documents/content/prod01_009474.pdf

Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the "Required Documents" section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

A complete application consists of:
1. A resume or any other written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications; optional cover letter: Your resume should indicate your citizenship and should list your educational and work experience including job titles, salary, employment dates, duties and accomplishments, experience and how it relates to the KSAs in the job announcement. Please Note: Responses to job questions that are not fully supported by the information in your resume may result in adjustments to your rating. Any experience claimed in a cover letter should be substantiated by information contained in your resume.

Supporting Documents:
PLEASE NOTE: Applicants who meet the minimum eligibility and qualification requirements for this position may be contacted within 7 business days of the closing date of this announcement to submit follow-up supporting documentation if applicable. Applicants claiming veterans' preference entitlement or CTAP/ICTAP eligibility who fail to submit supplemental documentation within 5 business days of receiving the request will not lose consideration for this position, however they will not be entitled to special or priority consideration.

Supporting documents that may be requested of applicants after the closing date of this announcement are

1. Veterans' Preference Documentation: If you are a veteran with preference eligibility, you will be asked to submit a copy of your DD-214 containing your discharge disposition, dates of service, and rank. If you are a preference eligible claiming a service connected disability of 10 percent or more, you will be asked to submit documentation (i.e. a letter dated 1991 or later from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from a branch of the Armed Forces) certifying to the veteran's present receipt of compensation. Veterans must include dates of military service within the automated application process, and submit a copy of each Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD-214. For more information, please visit Special Appointing Authorities for Veterans .

2. Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) documentation: Applicants will be asked to submit:
(1) A copy of your specific RIF notice, written notice of your expected separation or other documentation of priority consideration status;
(2) A copy of your latest SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location;
(3) A copy of your last performance appraisal including your rating; and
(4) Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

You can choose ONE of the following methods to submit Supporting Documents:
1) You can upload your documents when you register or update your information on the Department of Commerce application site which you access through the USAJobs site.
OR
2) You can fax your documents to 571-258-4254 using the system generated fax cover sheet.

Your application and all required documentation must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date of this job announcement.

NOTE: The preceding documentation requirements are based on job requirements and individual applicant eligibility. Not all documents are applicable to all applicants--if you are unsure which documents apply to you, contact the HR Specialist listed on this announcement.

Review your resume and responses carefully. Responses to job questions that are not fully supported by the information in your application package may result in adjustments to your rating. A Human Resources Representative will validate the qualifications of those candidates eligible to be referred to the hiring official.

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.