Duties

Summary

Securing Travel, Protecting People - At the Transportation Security Administration, you will serve in a high-stakes environment to safeguard the American way of life. In cities across the country, you would secure airports, seaports, railroads, highways, and/or public transit systems, thus protecting America's transportation infrastructure and ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce. For additional information about our agency please:
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Responsibilities

This Program Assistant position is located in the Washington Field Office, Field Operations Division, Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service (LE/FAMS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If selected for this position, you will serve as a Program Assistant and be the Point of Contact (POC) responsible for providing overall operational support on general administrative and program issues regarding policies, procedures, and requirements governing the office operations. Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Providing general support to the Administrative Unit.
• Performing data entry where appropriate with a high level of accuracy, and little or no supervision. Initiating personnel actions for employee awards, promotions, reassignments, demotions, etc.
• Maintaining a purchase card for supplies, materials, professional development classes, etc. Assisting with the budget by running reports from CitiManager and updating a record keeping workbook.
• Processing time and attendance for the field office by entering leave and payroll data into the WebTA database.
• Serving as a custodian for the field office government vehicles; tracking information, log-in books, vehicle maintenance; tracking/managing government fleet credit card. Serving as records liaison and Office of Workers Compensation Program (OWCP) administrator.
• Serving as the travel regulations and policies POC; verifying and certifying all travel authorizations and vouchers in Concur, ensuring that all travelers get reimbursed; and handling all travel arrangements for the Supervisory Air Marshal in Charge (SAC).
• Maintaining files, records, schedules and calendars for assigned squads within the field office such as Employee Performance Files (EPFs), administrative files, and physical/stress exams; recording TSA Online Learning Center training courses, etc.
• Updating specific squad rosters, and other Federal Air Marshal contact information.

The major duties described above reflect the full performance level of this position. Typically, at the lower Pay Bands (SV-D and SV-E), you will perform the same duties but will receive more guidance and training; and projects or work assignments may be less complex.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
F

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National.
• You must complete a favorable Background Investigation (BI).
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret Clearance.
• Selective Service registration is required.

You must meet the qualification requirements for this position no later than the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

Qualifications

To qualify at the SV-D Pay Band (equivalent to GS-3-6), you must meet one of the qualification requirements (A, B, OR C) outlined below: A. Experience: If you are qualifying based on experience, your application must clearly outline at least six months of progressively responsible general experience. General Experience is defined as clerical, office, or other work that indicates the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as:

• Experience filing and maintaining simple office records, compiling and tracking data, providing basic computer assistance, scheduling meetings, typing correspondences and providing standard information on administrative policies.

OR B. Education: At least one full year of full-time academic study in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. OR C. Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for this position, and may be computed by first determining your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the band level; then determining your education as a percentage of the education required for the band level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent. Applicants who meet the qualifications listed above based on education or a combination of education and experience MUST provide proof of education such as a list of completed college courses or the date and school of degree including the number of semester or quarter hours or a transcript from an accredited college or university. The information must be provided as an attachment to the application by the closing date of the announcement. If selected, the applicant must supply a transcript or certification of degree. To qualify at the SV-E Pay Band (equivalent to GS-7/8), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-D Pay Band or GS-6 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as:

• Experience compiling, tracking and analyzing data, providing advanced computer assistance, scheduling meetings, preparing agendas and supplemental information, preparing written correspondence, providing standard information on administrative policies, maintaining records, monitoring metrics and obtaining and supplying readily available information to staff and superiors.

To qualify at the SV-F Pay Band (equivalent to GS-9/10), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-E Pay Band or GS-8 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as:

• Experience performing a wide range of diverse administrative support assignments by assisting managers in compiling, tracking and analyzing data, providing advanced computer assistance, serving as a point of contact for travel and custodial issues, preparing correspondence and documents, maintaining records, monitoring metrics, researching files and records and assembling technical information.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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. NOTE: Credit for experience is given based on a 40-hour work week. Part-time experience is credited on a part-time ratio, i.e., working 20 hours per week for two months equals one month of experience. No additional credit is given for overtime.

Education

Additional information

Eligibility to apply for other Federal positions: TSA is an Excepted Service agency exempt from most of Title 5 United States Code, including regulations which apply to displaced Federal employees (CTAP/ICTAP) of other agencies, and employment with TSA does not confer "Competitive Status" that generally results from selection and service in Competitive Service agencies. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established an Interchange Agreement, which allows most permanent TSA employees to apply and be considered for vacancies in Competitive Service agencies. Information from OPM on this or other Interchange Agreements is available at: http://www.opm.gov . To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation as a condition of placement into this position. DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify including your rights and responsibilities. TSA employees who are absent for the purpose of performing military duty may apply for any vacancies announced in their absence. 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. For more information, click here . Payment of relocation expenses (Permanent Change of Station) is not authorized. Qualified non-competitive eligible candidates may be referred for consideration on a separate, unranked list. More than one position may be filled from this announcement. If you are entering TSA employment on an appointment without time limitations, you must serve a basic trial period unless you have already met the requirement. TSA policy requires verification of Selective Service registration for male applicants born after 12/31/59. For more information click here . View common definitions of terms found in this announcement. Veterans and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the documentation that is required, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of the experience and/or related education as reflected in your resume and supporting documentation. You are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show possession of the competencies required for this position. We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If, after reviewing your resume and any supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your category placement may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

When completing the assessment questionnaire for this position, you will be prompted to elect if you wish for your application to be considered as External (where Veterans' Preference applies), as Status (current or former Federal Employees), and/or Internal to TSA as a current permanent or competitive temporary employee. At that time, please select the answer(s) that apply to you and your application to this position.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Grouping procedures. Under Category Grouping, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF) and appropriate Desirable (Quality Ranking) Factors as determined by the job analysis.

Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPFs as determined by the job analysis.

Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs as determined by the job analysis.

Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. (This position [is or is not] considered scientific/professional.) Other 10-point preference eligibles and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. View information on veterans' preference .

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

In addition to a resume and the assessment questions, you must submit copies of any of the following documents if you are applying based on current or former Federal Government Status (if you are not a current TSA employee), Veterans' Preference, or education or a combination of education and experience:

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action - Current TSA employees are not required to submit an SF-50 to support eligibility for internal/status consideration.

If you are not a current TSA employee: you must submit your most recent personnel action SF-50 (or equivalent document) to support your eligibility for Status consideration. If you elect Status for the consideration of your application without submitting an SF-50 demonstrating your current or previous permanent Federal employment status, and you are not a current TSA employee, your application may not receive Status consideration.

DD-214 - If you are claiming Veterans' Preference, provide a copy of your DD-214 (Member Copy 4) Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other appropriate documentation to prove your entitlement and to provide verification of an Honorable Discharge. Failure to provide this documentation will result in your application not receiving 5-point preference.

SF-15 and VA Letter - If you are claiming Veterans' Preference based upon a Compensable Disability, Widow or Spouse Entitlement, or as a Purple Heart recipient, you must submit your DD-214 or other proof of entitlement; an SF-15, and the required proof of disability, i.e., Department of Veterans Affairs letter dated 1991 or later. Failure to provide this documentation will result in your application not receiving 10-point preference.

Transcripts - If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed under the Qualifications and Evaluations section, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript(s) with your application. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.