Duties

Summary

This position is located with Office of the Secretary of Interior, OS Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs in Washington, District of Columbia.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This position serves as policy advisor to the Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs on the formulation and development of the Indian Affairs AS-IA, BIA, BIE, and BTFA policies, programs, and procedures related to climate change, environmental justice, NEPA, and environmental and natural resource management. The incumbent prepares policy recommendations for senior Indian Affairs and Departmental decision makers in the context of all Indian Affairs operations, including those operations related to Indian Gaming, Economic Development, and all other Indian Affairs programs.

Reviews and analyzes material and correspondence produced by Indian Affairs and Departmental offices related to climate change, environmental justice, NEPA, and environmental and natural resource management.

Provides counsel and technical assistance to BIA line and senior operating staff on climate change, environmental justice, NEPA, and environmental and natural resource management as they impact or affect BIA operations.

The incumbent represents the Office of the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs and/or the Department at policy-making conferences and meetings involving all aspects of climate impacts environmental justice, NEPA, and environmental and natural resource management.

Interprets the applicability of court decisions and Federal laws and policies related to climate change, environmental justice, NEPA, and environmental and natural resource management.

The incumbent provides programmatic analysis of Indian Affairs and/or tribal government actions to detect deficiencies or inconsistencies with Federal laws and policies, Indian Affairs and Departmental regulations, policies, and guidelines related to climate change, environmental justice, NEPA, and environmental and natural resource management in the context of all Indian Affairs' operations, including those operations related to Indian Gaming, Economic Development, and all other Indian Affairs programs.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
15

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship Required
• You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit
• You may be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
• A background security investigation will be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication.
• If you are a male applicant born after 12/31/1959 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.
• Incumbent is required to operate a government motor vehicle, must possess a valid driver's license, and have a safe driving record within the 4 year period immediately preceding submittal of GSA Form 3607.
• TELEWORK: Indian Affairs has determined that the duties of the position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Qualifications

GS-15: To qualify for the GS-15 level, all applicants must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-14 or equivalent which includes all of the following: analyzing proposed legislation regarding climate and environment issues and evaluate the impact such legislation may have on one's organization; experience in and knowledge of laws and regulations governing Indian Affairs; experience in and knowledge of Federal court and administrative adjudicatory processes; performing in-depth analysis of a variety of program issues to recommend solutions; developing and delivering verbal presentations to high level officials on sensitive or controversial topics; providing technical guidance to others on programs and assignments; and experience communicating with a wide variety of individuals at all levels of an organization.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Merit Promotion candidates must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the announcement closing date.

Education

If you are qualifying based on your education, you MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.

If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education which shows the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

All new hires earn the beginning salary of their pay grade (Step 1). See 2021 Salary Tables here and select the duty station from the Washington, District of Columbia to choose the appropriate pay chart. If no specific chart is listed for this geographic location, see the "rest of U.S." chart.

The full performance level of this position is GS-15.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 93 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp .

Certain candidates may be eligible to apply under a special hiring authority. Common authorities include those for disabled individuals, Peace Corps employees, Foreign Service employees, veterans, etc. For more information, visit the following OPM websites: USAJOBS Information Center: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/ ; Vets Info Guide: http://www.fedshirevets.gov/ .

Under the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) two groups of individuals are eligible to apply under this announcement: current and/or former employees serving or who have served under time-limited competitive appointments at land management agencies. Land Management Agencies include: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service.

• Current appointees: 1) must have been hired under competitive examining procedures to a time limited appointment with a land management agency; 2) must have served under one or more time limited appointment(s) by a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of 2 or more years; AND 3) must have performed at an acceptable level during each period of service.
• Former appointees: 1) must have been hired under competitive examining procedures to a time limited appointment with a land management agency; 2) must have served under one or more time limited appointment(s) by a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of 2 or more years; 3) must have separated for reasons other than misconduct or performance; AND 4) must have performed at an acceptable level through the service period.

Former Federal Employees are required to indicate whether they received a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) buyout in their previous employment with the Federal government, and are required to submit a copy of the applicable Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) regarding the VSIP. Most individuals who accept reemployment with the Federal government within 5 years of receiving the VSIP amount, must repay the gross amount of the separation pay prior to reemployment.

If you are unable to apply online, require reasonable accommodation in the application process if you are an applicant with a disability, or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application package will be evaluated against the minimum qualification requirements specified above. In order to qualify, your resume must specifically describe your work history and the duties you performed in each position. Your resume will be evaluated after the closing date of 10/18/2021 to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position. Qualified candidates will then be rated as best qualified, well qualified, or qualified depending on their possession of the knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies and experience requirements as demonstrated by your responses to the assessment questions. Competencies measured include:

• Administration and Management
• Decision Making
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Oral Communication
• Technical Competence
• Written Communication

We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If the information in your resume does not support your responses to the assessment questions, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your qualifications.

Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and awards during the interview/selection process conducted by the hiring manager. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.

You may preview the assessment questions here in the https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11249838 . Additional selections may be made from this announcement if identical vacancies occur in the same location within 90 days from the date the certificate was issued.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

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

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

The following documents are required for this position:

• Resume which details work experience including dates worked (mm/yy-mm/yy), position title, Grade (if federal service), and hours worked per week.
• On-line Assessment Questionnaire
• Transcripts (if using education to qualify) - Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, an official transcript may be requested at a later time.
• Veteran's documentation - (if applicable) VA letter on VA letterhead stating your overall combined rating, SF-15, DD-214 (copy 4) reflecting an honorable discharge and dates of active duty military service.
• Special Appointing Authority documentation (if applying under a special hiring authority)
• Performance Appraisal (if applying under the Land Management Flexibility Act)
• Current & Former Federal Employees
  • If you are a current career or career-conditional Federal employee OR a former Federal employee who has reinstatement eligibility, you MUST submit the following by the closing date of this announcement, or you will not receive consideration as such:
    -- a copy of a recent SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" documenting proof of competitive status, tenure, position title, occupational series, grade level and step; and
    -- your most recent performance appraisal (if you do not have your most recent performance appraisal, please submit an explanation as to why it is unavailable); and
    -- if applicable, a list of any awards you received in the last 5 years (i.e., superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.).

If you are applying as a VEOA candidate, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 and your letter from the VA reflecting an honorable discharge and that you either completed three years of active duty service or are a preference eligible. For more information see: https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/shav/index.aspx#veoa .

ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 11:59PM Eastern Time ON THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. If your application package is incomplete in any way, you will not be considered for this position, and requests for extensions will not be granted. Please double check your application package before you submit it.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL NOT BE SOLICITED OR ACCEPTED BY THIS OFFICE.

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.