Duties

About the CRS Graduate Recruit Program

Initial appointments under the CRS Graduate Recruit Program will be made for a period up to 120 days. Initial appointments are expected to convert to permanent, contingent upon the participant's successful performance, completion of all degree requirements, and availability of funding. Those students who return to school to complete their advanced degree program may be eligible for a permanent position once they obtain their degree.

About CRS

CRS works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress, CRS experts assist at every stage of the legislative process-from the early considerations that precede bill drafting, through committee hearings and floor debate, to the oversight of enacted laws and various agency activities.

CRS is well known for analysis that is authoritative, confidential, objective, and nonpartisan. Its highest priority is to ensure that Congress has immediate access to the nation's best thinking on public policy issues of interest to its Members and Committees.

Job Responsibilities:

Working with both legislative information and congressional client information, the selectee will: track measures through the legislative process from introduction, floor proceedings in both chambers, multiple amendment processes, committee and subcommittee actions, and approval or veto by the President; evaluate legislative actions and documents; contribute to the processes of subject term assignment; and maintain quality control over legislative metadata and authority records to ensure accuracy, timeliness, availability, and reliability. The Legislative Information Specialist will perform this work in a digital online environment.

This candidate should have solid computer skills, including skills needed to work with databases, spreadsheets, and web applications in a network environment. The ideal candidate will be enrolled in or graduating from a Master's program in Library and Information Science and have coursework or experience in legal research and/or political science. Excellent interpersonal and communications skills, as well as strong collaborative skills are also valued. Strong attention to detail is required.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Library employees must be fully vaccinated by Monday, January 3, 2022. New hires must be fully vaccinated by the date of their appointment.

Employees are considered fully vaccinated when it has been at least two weeks since they received the second dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine (e.g., Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna) or the single dose of a one-dose vaccine (e.g., Johnson & Johnson/Janssen). At this time, booster shots are not necessary to be considered fully vaccinated.

New hires will be required to show proof of vaccination their first week of work.

Upon request, employees must provide proof of vaccination to the Health Services Division.

Consistent with applicable law, the Library will consider individual exceptions to the vaccination requirement based on an employee's medical condition or sincerely held religious belief. Employees with an approved exception will be subject to weekly testing and other COVID-19 safety protocols as directed, including, for example, wearing masks and social distancing.

Library of Congress employees are prohibited from using illegal drugs, including marijuana. The Library is part of the Federal Government and abides by federal law, so regardless of individual state or District of Columbia laws, marijuana use is illegal, considered criminal activity, and can affect your employment at the Library. In addition, past drug use and activities (e.g., selling or distributing) may deem you ineligible for employment.

Qualifications

Graduate students and Library of Congress employees who meet all of the following eligibility requirements:

U.S. Citizenship

Current enrollment in or anticipated graduation from an appropriate, accredited advanced degree program. (Library of Congress employees who already possess a graduate degree may be considered for appointment under the CRS Graduate Recruit Program).

General education requirements for a GS-09 appointment (see below).

GS-09 Grade Level

Two years of progressively higher level appropriate graduate education leading to a master's degree, OR

Master's or equivalent graduate degree related to the position, OR

One year of specialized experience at the GS-07 grade level in the federal service or at a comparable level of difficulty outside the federal service.

Transcripts (official or unofficial) of all completed graduate courses or a self-prepared course list showing grades and the number of credits received must be attached to your online application. Graduate transcripts/course list are mandatory; undergraduate transcripts are optional.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL, AND ABILITY REQUIREMENTS

The critical knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs), gained through education, experience and/or training, needed to successfully perform the duties of the position:

GS-09 Grade Level

KSA #1: Knowledge of the Legislative Process**

Knowledge of legislative processes, including operations of the United States Congress and how legislation becomes law, sufficient to monitor legislative activity and enhance legislative metadata.

KSA #2: Ability to Interpret Complex Information**

The ability to interpret complex information from an official source to identify and apply appropriate research tools and other information sources, including official government documents and commercial resources

KSA #3: Ability to Maintain Quality Control of Data**

The ability to maintain quality control over structured data to ensure accuracy, timeliness, availability, and reliability of information provided to Congress. This includes identifying problems or abnormalities, locating and diagnosing the cause for any abnormalities identified, tracking back to the original source of the problem, and initiating the necessary process to correct the quality control problem.

KSA #4: Ability to Attend to Detail**

The ability to attend to and verify the accuracy and completeness of detailed information. This includes the ability to identify missing or inconsistent information or data.

Additional information

The Congressional Research Service, within the Library of Congress, is part of the Legislative Branch of the federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service.

The salary range indicated reflects the locality pay adjustment for the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

This is a non-supervisory, bargaining unit position.

The appointment tenure for this position is full-time temporary with the expectation of subsequent conversion to permanent; flexible work schedules may be available.

The position description number for this vacancy announcement is 235738, GS-09.

Relocation expenses are not authorized for the person(s) selected under this vacancy announcement.

The Library reserves the right to fill a lesser or greater number of vacancies indicated during the life of this vacancy announcement.

Appointment/retention is subject to a favorable evaluation of an appropriate personnel security/suitability investigation.

Those Graduate Recruit Program participants who are converted from a temporary appointment to a permanent position, and who have not yet completed the one-year probationary period, which is required of all new Library employees, will be required to do so. Time served in the temporary appointment will not count toward completion of this one-year probationary period requirement.

CRS staff not placed in a permanent position under the Graduate Recruit Program will return to the position occupied before entering the program or a position of similar grade and duties without loss of federal service tenure or seniority. Before applying, other Library of Congress employees should consult their supervisor or service unit management regarding the status of their position should they be selected for the program but not placed in a permanent position.

The Library of Congress is an equal opportunity employer. Women, men, minorities, and persons with disabilities who meet eligibility requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.

This agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify Carmen Reese at CRSGraduateRecruit@crs.loc.gov or (202) 707-6275. The decision on granting reasonable accommodations will be made on a case-by-case basis.