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Staff Assistant

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Washington, D.C
Closing date
Oct 29, 2019
Duties

Summary

The position is located in the immediate Office of Press Relations, Bureau of Global Public Affairs. The incumbent serves as the Staff Assistant and will be performing a variety of administrative duties and responsibilities essential to the operation of the office. Incumbent deals effectively with high-ranking officials, officials of private organizations, other governments, members of the media, and the general public.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

  • Carries out duties requiring a high degree of tact & diplomacy; gathers information & material, analyzes it & prepares recommendations for the supervisor's signature and action.
  • Reviews and analyzes material referred to the office and determines which requires the principal's personal attention and makes appropriate recommendations for actions.
  • Draft replies or refers material to other officials within the bureau or other Department officials with recommendations as to the supervisor's views. Screens callers, i.e. government officials and media, and takes appropriate follow-up actions.
  • Maintains schedule of appointments, arranging, or rescheduling as necessary. Handles requests for meetings and appointments; prepares or requests preparation of briefs by appropriate officers.
  • Serves in a liaison capacity between the press office and various offices both within and outside the Department; assures that the principal is well informed of the activities in which he has responsibility or exhibits a particular interest.


Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
09

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Verification of employment eligibility in the United States is required.
  • Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
  • One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.


Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements, including education and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement.

If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript with your application.

Applicants applying for the GS-09 grade level must meet one of the following requirements:

A. Have at least 1 full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service which provided you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

- Experience working in a press office making arrangements for meetings and conferences with media organizations to include preparation of agendas and electronic notification of participants, and support for media events.

- Experience in a press office receiving and directing incoming telephone calls and written requests from national, regional, and international media organizations on a range of policy, process, and logistical issues.

- Experience providing a wide range of administrative support to an office (i.e. performing and recording time and attendance, data entry tasks, and making travel arrangements for office leadership and staff).

OR

B. Have a master's or equivalent graduate degree, OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, OR LL.B or J.D. from an accredited college or university. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work of the position to be filled;

OR

C. Have a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience (as described above), which is equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal Service. This experience and education together meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

Combination of Experience and Education: When an applicant has less than one year of specialized experience as described in the announcement, he or she may combine successfully completed graduate-level education with experience to meet the total qualification requirements. Generally, 18 graduate semester hours is equivalent to 1 full-time year of graduate study (your school and department determine what constitutes 1 full time year of graduate study). The percentage of specialized work experience and the percentage of graduate study must total at least 100%.

Note: All applicants WILL BE required to submit transcripts as verification of educational requirement. If you fail to provide requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you may lose consideration for this position.

Must be able to type a minimum of 40 wpm with no more than 3 errors. Note: Individuals may be required to take a typing exam.

Education

See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements, if applicable.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click on the link for a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials.

Additional information

For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or ReasonableAccommodations@state.gov.

EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROGRAM (E-Verify) - U.S. law requires organizations to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States - either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization. This agency utilizes E-Verify to compare information from the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm employment eligibility. If the employee's information does not match DHS and/or SSA records, the employee is given an opportunity to resolve the problem. If eligibility cannot be verified, employment will be terminated.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated and rated under the Category Rating and Selection procedures. Based on your responses to the job-specific self-assessment questions, eligible candidates are placed for selection consideration into one of three pre-defined quality categories as described below:

Highly-qualified Category - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications for the position, candidates must fully demonstrate proficiency in all major aspects of the position.

Well Qualified Category - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications, candidates must demonstrate proficiency in some, but not all of the major aspects of the position.

Qualified Category - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications, applicants must demonstrate a basic level of knowledge, skill and ability of the position.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

  • Knowledge of administrative concepts, principles, and practices.
  • Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.
  • Ability to communicate with individuals of diverse backgrounds and at all levels.
  • Ability to provide office management support.
  • Ability to prioritize, plan, and organize your work.


  • Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. 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). Your resume should include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week. For assistance with creating a resume, please click
    here .

    Application of Veterans Preference: The Category Rating Method does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three," but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each pre-defined quality category. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent (i.e., CPS and CP) must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher.

    Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) candidates must be rated "Well Qualified" for the position to receive consideration for selection priority.

    Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any required supporting documentation by the closing date of this announcement. Your application package must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. Applicants found to be among the top qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview.

    To preview questions please click here .

    Background checks and security clearance

    Security clearance
    Secret

    Drug test required
    Yes

    Required Documents

    All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to our automated system "Gateway to State" by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

    1. Resume - your resume or any other written format you choose should contain the required information as specified in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section. Insufficient information will result in an ineligible rating.

    2. A completed online job specific self-assessment questionnaire through the Department's automated system "Gateway to State".

    3. Transcripts - if applicable, see the Qualifications section of the announcement. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.

    4. If you are qualifying based on other criteria listed under the Qualification Section of this announcement, you MUST submit the required supporting documentation (certificates, certifications, etc.) with your application.

    5. Veterans Preference - If claiming veteran's preference, you must indicate the type of veteran's preference you are claiming on your resume.

    For 5-point veteran's preference, you must provide a copy of your DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member Copy 4 is preferable) which must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty. If you are currently on active duty, you must provide a certification on letterhead from your military branch which contains your military service dates, expected date of discharge or release, and the character of service to show that your military service was performed under honorable conditions. The expected date of discharge or release must be no later than 120 days after the certification is submitted for consideration for this vacancy announcement. If the appropriate information is not submitted to confirm your current or expected discharge status, dates of service, etc., you will not receive credit for the claimed active duty military service.

    For 10-point veteran's preference, in addition to the DD-214 or certification, you must also submit a current version of the SF-15 (Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference), dated October 2013, and any documentation required by this form to support your claim. Previous editions of the SF-15 will not be accepted. If we cannot verify your 10-point preference status, you will receive 5-point preference if veterans' preference requirements have been met. For further information regarding Veterans, click here .

    For Sole Survivorship preference, you must provide a copy of your DD-214 (Member Copy 4 is preferable) or another form of official documentation which shows your discharge or release from active duty occurred on or after August 29, 2008 and was based on a sole survivorship discharge.

    To gain access to your DD214 online, please visit: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/get-service-records.html

    6. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must submit a copy of the appropriate documentation with their application. See links below:

    ICTAP Considerations

    CTAP Considerations

    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.

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