Duties

The Deputy Assistant Administrator (DAA) for Strategic Communications and Public Affairs (SCPA) serves as the principal advisor to the Assistant Administrator for Strategic Communications and Public Affairs and assists in managing and establishing the strategic direction and services for the Office. The DAA directs day-to-day public affairs functions, and serves as the final approval point for many routine communications, internal and external. The position requires significant experience interacting with executives and crafting important communications, written and verbal, on short timeframes. The DAA often serves as a primary point of contact for the Department-level Office of Public Affairs.

High level duties include:

• Assisting in the research and formulation of agency priorities under the direction of the Assistant Administrator, Strategic Communications and Public Affairs.
• Serving as the most senior career official within SCPA and as Acting Assistant Administrator in the absence of the Assistant Administrator.
• Overseeing the day-to-day operations and activities within Strategic Communications and Public Affairs to ensure all operations, products and services provided are completed in a timely manner for TSA and Strategic Communications and Public Affairs mission success. Provides guidance and counsel to the AA for key decision points.
• Assisting the Assistant Administrator in advising and counseling the Administrator, Deputy Administrator, and Chief of Staff concerning TSA's strategic communication priorities. Providing strategic communications program oversight, coordination, and management briefings on the program in the areas of budgeting, staffing, and administration.
• Developing long-term plans, establishes goals, and identifies processes and resources necessary to achieve goals of communication efforts. Overseeing the evaluation of strategic public communications operations and analyzes overall performance of the front office leadership staff to determine the accomplishment of these goals. Conducting extensive assessment of strategic public communications program goals and objectives and directs adjustments to assure each complies with the rapidly changing and expanding agency mission.
• Representing the Agency through contacts with the media, senior-level officials within and outside the Federal government, and the public. Actively participating in committees, meetings, and conferences.
• Developing, implementing, and managing internal tracking systems and processes related to events, publication, and marketing.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must possess U.S. Citizenship.
• You must complete a favorable Tier 5 Background Investigation (T5)
• You must pass Drug Screening, subject to random drug tests.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI clearance.
• Disclosure of your financial information is required.

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

COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate:

As required by Executive Order 14043, Federal employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of the employee's duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.), subject to such exceptions as required by law. If selected, you will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination by November 22, 2021, or before appointment or onboarding with the agency, if after November 22. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request of the agency a legally required exception from this requirement.

Due to COVID-19, the agency is currently in an expanded telework posture. If selected, you may be expected to temporarily telework, even if your home is located outside the local commuting area. Once employees are permitted to return to the office, you will be expected to report to the duty station listed on this announcement. At that time, you may be eligible to request to continue to telework one or more days a pay period depending upon the terms of the agency's telework policy.

Qualifications

As a basic requirement, applicants must demonstrate progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior executive level managerial capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Professional/Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications listed below. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the equivalent of the GS-15 grade level in the Federal service or its equivalent with state and local government, the private sector, or non-governmental organizations.

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show in your resume that you possess the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and the Professional/Technical Qualifications (PTQs) listed below. We recommend that your resume emphasize your level of responsibilities, the scope and complexity of programs managed, and your program accomplishments, including results of your actions. Please refer to the Office of Personnel Management's website, https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/reference-materials/guidetosesquals_2012.pdf for additional information about ECQs.

The application process used to recruit for this position is RESUME-ONLY. Therefore, evidence of each ECQ and PTQ must be CLEARLY REFLECTED in your resume.

If you are a current or reinstatement eligible Career SES/TSES member or a graduate of an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) approved SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) and your ECQs have been previously certified by OPM's Qualifications Review Board, you are not required to address the ECQs. However, you MUST address all PTQs in your resume.

Current and reinstatement eligible SES/TSES members please include with your application a copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) documenting your career appointment to the SES/TSES. SES CDP graduates, please include a copy of your OPM certificate.

Professional/Technical Qualifications (PTQs) :

1. Demonstrated skill in communicating both orally and in writing, complex issues and information to senior-level officials (e.g., Cabinet and sub-Cabinet, Congresspersons and related Committees) and subordinates.

2. Demonstrated experience developing and monitoring systems to manage both operational and programmatic work that involves high levels of collaboration.

3. Experience in process/quality improvement techniques and strategic planning.

Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) :

ECQ 1 - LEADING CHANGE. This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.

ECQ 2 - LEADING PEOPLE. This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.

ECQ 3 - RESULTS DRIVEN. This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.

ECQ 4 - BUSINESS ACUMEN. This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.

ECQ 5 - BUILDING COALITIONS. This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.

FAILURE TO MEET OR FULLY ADDRESS EACH EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATION AND PROFESSIONAL/TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS IN THE RESUME WILL ELIMINATE A CANDIDATE FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION.

CURRENT OR FORMER POLITICAL APPOINTEES: 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.

DRUG TESTING: You must pass a pre-employment drug test. In addition, you may be subject to random drug testing during employment.

SECURITY CLEARANCE: This position requires a TS/SCI (Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information) clearance that must be completed prior to appointment. You will be subject to a 5-year periodic investigation and must be able to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI clearance.

MOBILITY: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in the wake of 9/11 to strengthen the security of the nation's transportation systems while ensuring the freedom of movement for people and commerce. TSA employs a risk-based strategy to secure U.S. transportation systems, with nearly 50,000 Transportation Security Officers, each day at more than 450 airports nationwide. The agency continuously sets the standard for excellence in transportation security through its people, processes, technologies and use of intelligence to drive operations.

As a member of the TSES, you may be subject to frequent changes in posts of duty and positions. Mobility is a condition of employment, so you must be prepared to accept, without objection, the judgment of your superiors concerning reassignments for operational and/or career development purposes, or for other reasons determined to be in the best interest of the Transportation Security Administration.

Additional information

• The TSA, an excepted service agency, was established by Public Law 107-71, ATSA, on November 19, 2001. ATSA provides TSA with the authority to modify and develop its own human capital program, provided such modifications are consistent with 49 USC 40122.
• This is an excepted service position. However, there is an interchange agreement with the OPM and TSA that enables Career TSES members who have been approved by the Qualifications Review Board at OPM to qualify for Senior Executive Service (SES) positions without additional competition.
• You will be required to serve a probationary period of one year unless you previously completed the probationary period in a SES/TSES position.
• When you enter on duty, you will be required to complete a Public Financial Disclosure Report, OGE Form 278. You will need to provide this information annually.
• Veteran's Preference does NOT apply to SES/TSES positions.
• View common definitions of terms found in this announcement.