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: Click Here

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This Legislative Affairs Specialist position is located within the Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If selected for this position, you will provide assistance to the Assistant Administrator of OLA to include analyzing, developing, strategizing, coordinating, and monitoring TSA legislative issues and activities. Duties include:

• Providing assistance to the Assistant Administrator of Legislative Affairs (LA) which includes analyzing, developing, strategizing, coordinating and monitoring TSA legislative issues and activities.
• Coordinating with the Office of the Administrator and other DHS and TSA organizations specifically, the Office of Finance and Administration and the Office of Chief Counsel, to articulate TSA's mission, goals, and transportation and security policies.
• Providing legislative advice consistent with U.S. House and Senate rules and ethics in presenting a strategic framework to promote the agency's legislative initiatives.
• Initiating and implementing internal organizational procedures and processes to ensure timely and accurate responses to DHS, TSA, and congressional mandates and directives.
• Works with OLA's Assistant Administrator and Deputy Assistant Administrator to implement legislative strategy through developing and maintaining strong working relationships and effective communication with Members of Congress and their staffs.

This position is also being announced through Public (US Citizens) procedures under Announcement #HQ-LA-20-738988-P Candidates who wish to be considered under both Public (US Citizens) and Government-Wide procedures must apply to both announcements.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
H

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National.
• You must complete a favorable Background Investigation (BI).
• Selective Service registration is required.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret Clearance.
• See additional "Conditions of Employment" and "Other Information" section

Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Qualifications

To qualify for the SV-G Pay Band (equivalent to GS-11), you must meet one of the qualification requirements (A, B, OR C) outlined below:

A. Experience: One year of specialized experience at the SV-F Pay Band or GS-9 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, and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Such experience includes:

• Conducting legislative research to analyze, develop, and coordinate legislative issues; AND
• Drafting legislation, preparing testimony, editing congressional correspondence and responding to sensitive requests from Congress.

OR B. Education: A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited college or university in a related field; OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.M., if related

OR C. A Combination of Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed progressively higher level graduate education (beyond the second year) and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements, and may be computed by first determining the total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the band level; then determining the 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. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower band level may be used to qualify for positions at the SV-G pay band.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: Education at the graduate level in an accredited college or university in the amounts indicated above meets the requirements for this position. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. One (1) year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement.

To qualify for the SV-H Pay Band (equivalent to GS-12), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-G Pay Band or GS-11 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. Such experience includes:

• Conducting legislative research to analyze, develop, and coordinate legislative issues;AND
• Drafting legislation, preparing testimony, editing congressional correspondence and responding to sensitive requests from Congress; AND
• Performing the legislative coordination and clearance processes utilizing OMB Circular A-19

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 transcript(s) 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, you must supply a transcript(s) or certification of degree.

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 workweek. 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.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

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

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.

If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment , and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

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.

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.

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.

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) 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.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

• Working knowledge of Federal Government operations, the legislative process, the structure/procedures of Congress, and interaction between Congressional and Executive branch staff.
• Working knowledge of Federal Government operations and OMB Circular A-19 in order to perform legislative coordination and clearance processes.
• Legislation and Congressional Awareness: Understanding of the policy impacts behind agency actions so as to answer inquiries appropriately.
• Ability to conduct legislative research in support of agency driven initiatives.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Top Secret

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness , National security

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, Veterans' Preference or eligible Veterans' Service (a veteran who was honorably discharged from the armed forces after completing at least three (3) years of continuous active duty service), 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 Status consideration.

If you are not a current TSA employee: you must submit your most recent Notification of Personnel Action SF-50 (or equivalent document) to support your eligibility for Status consideration.

NOTE: An award SF-50 (i.e. cash or time off award) does not indicate grade or level (i.e. pay band) or tenure to determine your eligibility for this position and will not be accepted.

DD-214 - If you are claiming Veterans' Preference or eligible Veterans' Service, 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.

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.

Individuals with Disabilities (IWD) Letter - In order to be eligible for employment through TSA's Individuals With Disabilities Appointing Authority, documentation of the disability is required. Such documentation is used to verify that the individual being hired is indeed a person with an intellectual disability, severe physical disability, or psychiatric disability. This documentation must be provided with your application before an individual can be hired. Documentation of eligibility for employment under this hiring authority can be obtained from a licensed medical professional (e.g., a physician or other medical professional certified by a state, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory to practice medicine); a licensed vocational rehabilitation specialist (i.e., state or private); or any Federal agency, state agency, or agency of the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory that issues or provides disability benefits.

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.

If you do not submit required documentation described in this job opportunity announcement, your application will be deemed incomplete and you will be ineligible for further consideration for this vacancy.