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Congressional Affairs Liaison

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Washington, D.C
Closing date
Oct 27, 2021
Duties

Summary

NOTE TO APPLICANTS: The closing date has been extended from 10/18/21 to 10/25/21.

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) is looking for a highly qualified and motivated individual to serve as a Congressional Affairs Liaison.

This Job Opportunity Announcement (JOA) may be used to fill other Congressional Affairs Liaison, GS-0301-14 positions within the FRTIB in the same geographical location with the same qualifications and specialized experience.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The major duties of the position are:
  • - Serves as the primary point of contact with selected members of the U.S. Congress and their staffs, and with Agency oversight committees, for the purpose of gaining their acceptance of legislation proposed by the FRTIB and assessing their interests in and attitudes towards these legislative requests.
  • - Proactively leads, initiates, and cultivates productive working relationships with Congress and congressional staff to share information of interest, support a continuing dialogue and provide active insight into ongoing and planned FRTIB/TSP activities.
  • - Works with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
  • - Displays expert interpersonal, organizational, and problem-solving skills with superior ability to interact with members of Congress and with senior FRTIB staff.
  • - Leads briefings to Congress; assists in the identification, review, evaluation, and development of information to be presented; and anticipates congressional reactions to FRTIB briefings and testimony.
  • - Keeps Office Director and Agency senior leadership fully informed of Congressional reactions to FRTIB proposals and activities.
  • - Creates expert written communications to tactfully convey complex information and ideas to members of Congress, congressional committees, and their staffs.


Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position; primarily for conferences or training.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment


U.S. Citizenship is required.

All qualification requirements must be met by 10/25/2021. Your application package will not receive consideration if it is missing any of the required documents under the "Required Documents" tab.

Probationary Period. One-year probationary period may be required.

Selective Service. If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System , or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law.

Background Suitability Investigation. Continued employment is contingent upon satisfactory completion of a background investigation and the granting of a federal suitability or security clearance. If selected, you may be offered tentative employment until the background investigation has been fully adjudicated.

Qualifications

This job opportunity is also posted using merit promotion (MP) procedures under announcement # FRTIB-21-MP-039-11258171. Job seekers who wish to be evaluated using MP procedures must submit a separate application.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet the selective factor and the specialized experience as described below.

Selective Factor : Worked with, or for, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and/or the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Specialized Experience Statement
GS-14: Applicants must have at least one year of full-time specialized work experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the next lower level (equivalent to the GS-13) in the federal government. Specialized experience is defined as : (1) Serves as a liaison between an agency / organization and the United States Congress regarding activities, plans, and policies; (2) Communicates in-person and in writing to lead briefings and reports to Congress; and (3) Creates and maintains relationships with congressional members and staff to advance the priorities of an agency / organization.

*Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations. 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.

Specialized experience must meet 52 weeks equivalent to the next lower grade level. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Education

Education may not be substituted for experience for this series and grade combination.

Additional information

The FRTIB offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid time off*, life insurance, health benefits, and participation in the 3-tier federal retirement system. The FRTIB also has wonderful benefits and work/life-balance flexibilities that may be right for you. We offer, if applicable:
  • -Flexible work schedule options. The FRTIB offers three flexible work schedules, the Gliding Schedule, the Flexible 5-4/9 Schedule, and the Maxiflex Work Schedule. All work schedules allow for an arrival time between 6:30 and 9:30 am. Employees on the Gliding Schedule work 8 hours plus a 30-minute unpaid lunch period. Employees on the Flexible 5-4/9 Schedule work eight 9-hour days and one 8-hour day (plus the 30-minute unpaid lunch period) in each biweekly pay period, and receive one scheduled day off. Employees on the Maxiflex Work Schedule work between 4 and 10 hours per day, and core work hours apply; the latest departure time under Maxiflex is 8 pm.
  • -Telework up to 2 days per week for eligible positions.
  • - Employee Assistance Program (EAP ). The EAP provides employees with free confidential assistance for help with personal issues that may be affecting work life. The program also provides consultation to supervisors who are trying to best help an employee with performance and/or attendance problems.
  • -Work Life 4 You. The FRTIB provides all employees and their family members with access to the Federal Occupational Health managed referral and information service to assist in dealing with life, family, health, education, work, and finance. This service is provided at no cost to the employee.
  • -*Annual and sick leave (paid time off). Employees of the FRTIB accrue both annual and sick leave depending on years of service with the federal government. Annual leave may be used for vacation or other personal reasons. Sick leave may be used when you are ill, when you have a doctor, dental, or optical appointment, or when you need to provide care to an ill family member.
  • -Fitness center. The FRTIB employees, at no cost, have access to the fitness center conveniently located on the main level of the building featuring state of the art weight training and cardiovascular equipment.
  • -Extensive training programs and tools supportive of enhancing organization effectiveness and employee development.
  • -A monthly transit subsidy for a portion of your commuting costs to help defray the commuting costs of employees who use mass transportation, including commuter bus, Metrorail or Metrobus, or commuter rail systems.
  • -Child care program. The FRTIB's childcare subsidy program offers up to $600 in monthly subsidy paid to qualified child care providers of employees meeting the eligibility requirements.
  • -Student loan repayment or recruitment bonus, when applicable.
The FRTIB offices are conveniently located within a few blocks of the Union Station metro station. In addition, private parking is available in the building at the posted daily and monthly rates.

Relocation expenses are not authorized for this position; however, other recruitment incentives may be authorized.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

To preview the occupational questionnaire, click on the following link https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11258170 .

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

Once the application process is complete, a review of the resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):
  • Coalition Building
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • In-person Communication (Oral Communication)
  • Written Communication (Writing)
  • NOTE TO APPLICANTS : A writing sample is required as part of your application. Please provide a recent (within the past five years) writing sample on an issue related to your work interacting with congressional members and/or their staff. The sample should demonstrate your ability to write succinct, convincing correspondence and/or reports. It should be at least two, but no more than five, pages in length.

    For Delegated Exam referral lists, Category Rating procedures will be used to rate and rank candidates. The category assignment is a measurement of the degree in which your background matches the competencies required for this position. Qualified candidates will be ranked into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified or Qualified.

    Best Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most requirements of the position. Generally, candidates scoring 90 and above will meet the best qualified requirement.

    Well Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and meets most requirements of the position. Generally, candidates scoring between 80 and 89 will meet the well qualified requirement.

    Qualified - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not possess the relevant competencies to a substantive degree. Generally, candidates scoring between70 and 79 will meet the qualified requirement.

    If you are found Best Qualified for this vacancy your application may be referred to the selecting official for further review.

    The Category Rating process does not add veterans' preference points but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher).

    When a sufficient pool of candidates has been determined only members of that group will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration.

    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
    Credentialing

    Required Documents

    Veterans' Preference. If you are claiming veterans' preference you must submit supporting documentation as described in the "Required Documents" section. Visit the Feds Hire Vets website for more information regarding veterans' preference.

    Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). The ICTAP provides eligible displaced federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility, you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and you are found Well Qualified for this vacancy. Well Qualified means you must meet all the minimum qualification standards listed above and be assessed and assigned the rating of at least Well Qualified to receive special selection priority. Well Qualified is further defined as possessing the Basic Qualifications and meeting the specialized experience noted above.

    You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Information about ICTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition website .

    Please be advised, the following documents are required even if you are already a current federal employee or employee of the FRTIB:

    1. Resume (please include on your resume the experience you wish to be considered for the review of your qualifications, the dates of employment with month, day and year, and hours worked per week). Resumes that do not contain all of the necessary information to determine qualifications may be marked as insufficient and applicants may not receive consideration for this position. Your latest resume submission is the one that will be used to determine your qualifications.

    2. Responses to the occupational questionnaire.

    3. You must submit supporting documents verifying your selection priority eligibility or any preference eligibility along with your application package. Omitting these documents may result in no preference being adjudicated for you. These documents may include, but are not limited to:
    • -Veteran's documentation. All veterans must submit a DD-214, Member Copy 4. If you are currently on active duty, you must submit an official statement of service from your command or other official documentation that proves your military service was performed under honorable conditions.
    • -Preference eligible documentation. If claiming 10-point preference you must submit the final VA letter including percentage (please do not include letter from VA noting specific private medical information), as well as the DD-214 Member Copy 4. The SF-15 will be requested if selected.
    • -ICTAP documentation. RIF separation notice along with your last performance rating or appraisal.
    4. Writing Sample. Applicant must submit a writing sample with their application. Failure to supply a writing sample will result in an incomplete application package.

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