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Support Services Specialist

Employer
USAJobs
Location
District of Columbia, D.C
Closing date
Sep 23, 2021
Duties

Summary

This position is located in the General Services Division, Office of the Executive Director, Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA/EX/GSD), Department of State.

The Division provides general administrative support to the Bureau, i.e. provision of contract services, procurement of goods/services, building/property related matters, supplies/equipment, asset management, domestic emergency planning, records management, Bureau's security/safety programs, and supplies for consular sections overseas, etc.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

  • Plans and coordinates procurement activities that enable the Agency to obtain a wide variety of supplies and services needed to meet defined Agency requirements including specialized supplies and equipment and construction services.
  • Reviews assigned requests for contracts and purchase orders to ensure compliance with Federal procurement regulations and established policies and standards including contracts and orders for single items, lease to purchase options, etc.
  • Assists program officials during the initiation and execution of annual budgets and financial plans to ensure that planned expenditures for telephones, furniture, construction/renovation/maintenance, and other support services are properly funded.
  • Ensures that all newly acquired property is properly bar-coded and entered into the proper system.
  • In cooperation with the security office, coordinates efforts to ensure that a high level of physical security and personal safety is maintained in all Agency occupied buildings and offices.
  • Coordinates badge issuance, renewal, and return and the issuance and return of card readers and other security devices.
  • Ensures that communications security materials are readily available to properly cleared individuals whose job duties require it and maintains records of materials issued from the custodian's account to individuals (i.e., hand receipt).


Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

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


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-11 grade level must meet one of the following requirements:

A. Have at least 1 full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service which provided you with knowledge of the methods and procedures for providing or performing a variety of functions and services applicable to the position to be filled; ability to plan, organize, and control work involving diverse activities; ability to gain cooperation and coordinate the work of others; and skill in oral and written communication.

Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:
  • Management analyst or technician or other work that included study, analysis, or evaluation leading to the development or improvement of managerial or administrative policies, practices, and procedures.
  • Administrative officer or assistant, budget administration, program analysis, or other work that demonstrated knowledge of an organization and its functions, and the ways in which support services can facilitate the work of the organization.
  • Office management experience that included responsibility for directing a variety of support services such as typing, mail processing, purchase of supplies and equipment, etc.
  • Secretarial work that required monitoring and coordinating administrative and processing work of subordinate elements through a system of internal procedures, controls, production, progress reporting, etc., to insure the efficient operation of an organization.
  • Military experience that included responsibility for directing a variety of support functions such as communications, property management, mail service, facilities and equipment maintenance, etc.

In addition, qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:
  • Experience analyzing and applying policies, procedures, and regulations for a broad range of administrative support areas;
  • Experience in procurement, space management, printing, records management, contractor administration, inventory, and supply management;
  • Experience in developing cost estimates, and financial plans for costs associated with the procurement of furniture, equipment and supplies;
  • Experience coordinating the delivery of a variety of miscellaneous support services, including but not limited to: express mail services; shredding of classified and Personable Identifiable Information (PII) documents; and
  • Experience managing security accounts, controls the receipt, storage, shipment, and destruction of all materials issued to custodian accounts, and maintains accurate and up-to-date accounting records to reflect all transactions.

OR

B. Have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M. (if related), from an accredited college or university with a major in public administration, business administration, industrial engineering, industrial management, or other administrative or management fields related to the position to be filled;

OR

C. Have a combination of graduate education with a major in public administration, business administration, industrial engineering, industrial management or other administrative or management fields related to the position to be filled AND specialized experience (as described above), which is equivalent to the GS-09 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%.

If you are qualifying based on education, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript (s) with your application by the closing date of this announcement, and if selected, an official college transcript WILL BE required to verify education prior to employment. If you fail to provide the requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you WILL lose consideration for this position.

GS-12 Level:

Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service which provided you with knowledge of the methods and procedures for providing or performing a variety of functions and services applicable to the position to be filled; ability to plan, organize, and control work involving diverse activities; ability to gain cooperation and coordinate the work of others; and skill in oral and written communication.

Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:
  • Management analyst or technician or other work that included study, analysis, or evaluation leading to the development or improvement of managerial or administrative policies, practices, and procedures.
  • Administrative officer or assistant, budget administration, program analysis, or other work that demonstrated knowledge of an organization and its functions, and the ways in which support services can facilitate the work of the organization.
  • Office management experience that included responsibility for directing a variety of support services such as typing, mail processing, purchase of supplies and equipment, etc.
  • Secretarial work that required monitoring and coordinating administrative and processing work of subordinate elements through a system of internal procedures, controls, production, progress reporting, etc., to insure the efficient operation of an organization.
  • Military experience that included responsibility for directing a variety of support functions such as communications, property management, mail service, facilities and equipment maintenance, etc.

In addition, qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:
  • Experience assessing existing and new support services programs to determine how best they can be implemented;
  • Experience in procurement, space management, printing, records management, contractor administration, property and facility management, customer service and supply chain management;
  • Experience in developing cost estimates, and financial plans for cost associated with the procurement of furniture, equipment, and supplies; and
  • Experience managing security accounts, controls the receipt, storage, shipment, and destruction of all materials issued to custodian accounts, and maintains accurate and up-to-date accounting records to reflect all transactions.

There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-12 position.

Education

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

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 .

If eligible, telework and remote work agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. Please note that any approved remote work arrangement is subject to the locality pay area of the alternative telework worksite.

If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department that may require a higher security clearance.

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 policies, U.S. Government regulations, procedures, and legislation governing the transportation, travel procurement and related programs.
  • Knowledge of the organization and its functions and physical layout as related to space management and general services operations.
  • Skill in negotiating and coordinating work with others.
  • Ability to conduct quality control reviews / evaluations.
  • Knowledge of Microsoft Office applications in order to utilize billing systems for vendor billing purposes.
  • Ability to perform in depth inspections of all utilized space and providing such finds to the appropriate staff member for appropriate action.

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 must 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 special priority. Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any required supporting documentation by the closing date of this announcement. 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
Top Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk

Trust determination process
National security

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 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 preferred), 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.

If claiming 10-point veteran's preference (i.e., preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more), you must submit the documentation required by the SF-15 (Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference) to support your claim (e.g., DD-214, official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs). 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 applicants claiming 10-point derived veterans' preference (i.e., spouses, widows, widowers or mothers of veterans), a completed SF-15 must be submitted with the application with all required supporting documents listed on the form.

For Sole Survivorship preference, you must provide a copy of your DD-214 (Member Copy 4 is preferred) 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, click here .

6. ICTAP/CTAP 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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