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Legislative Affairs Specialist

Railroad Retirement Board
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Come aboard the Railroad Retirement Board and join us in using creativity, automation and innovation to carry out our mission to administer insurance benefit programs under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. You can be a part of the team that delivers best in class service to railroad workers and their families!

This position is located in the Office of Legislative Affairs, part of the Office of the General Counsel, Railroad Retirement Board. The incumbent will be responsible for performing a wide variety of administrative and technical support work for the Office of Legislative Affairs.

This job announcement may be used to fill one or more vacancies.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
05/03/2018 to 05/16/2018
Salary
$45,972 to - $59,762 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington DC, DC
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Promotion potential
9
Supervisory status
No
Announcement number
18-DEU-04 10202343JMG
Control number
498603000

Duties

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As a Legislative Affairs Specialist, you will:

  • Be responsible for receiving and responding to inquiries from congressional staff, RRB officials, and others regarding Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) and Railroad Unemployment and Sickness Act (RUIA) programs and legislative matters.
  • Represent the Director when responding to telephonic and written inquiries of a highly sensitive and urgent nature.
  • Prepare and proofread correspondence for office staff.
  • Assist the Director and Legislative Affairs Officer (LAO), and Legislative Assistant in monitoring and tracking legislation of interest to the agency, pertaining to, or having a potential impact on, the RRA, RUIA, (Social Security Act) SSA, Civil Service, and other matters.
  • Establish and maintain the office's legislative files. Requisitions supplies and equipment.
  • Requisition supplies and equipment.
  • Maintain the Director's correspondence folders, and controls action items.
  • The work performed requires the ability to analyze complex situations wherein the incumbent exercises a high degree of judgment, discretion, and initiative in the accomplishment of assigned duties.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen
  • Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service
  • Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary period
  • Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications for GS-07 level:

A. Superior Academic Achievement: A bachelor's degree in any field with either a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 based on a 4.0 scale; a 3.5 GPA based on a 4.0 scale for required courses completed in a major field of study during junior and senior year of 4 year college or university; class standing of upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or a major subdivision of the college; or membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society certified by the Association of College Honor Societies, excluding freshman honor societies; OR
B. One full year of graduate level education in an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in one of the
following related fields; Public Administration, Law or Political Science. The education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work; OR
C. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service, that demonstrates the
ability to perform a wide variety of administrative duties and technical support work in support of legislative affairs. Such work would typically involve coordinating inquiries/meetings with congressional offices; monitoring congressional initiatives and/or legislation; and creating, editing and finalizing documents such as: briefing materials, memorandums, power point presentations; congressional inquiries and requests for information. Or other work that equipped the candidate with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.; OR
D. A combination of education and experience as listed above.

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). 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.

Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.

Additional information

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP):

  • ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority for competitive service vacancies. You must be determined to be well-qualified for the vacancy to be eligible for special selection priority. After submission of an acceptable application which meets ICTAP eligibility, you will be determined to be well-qualified for a vacancy if your rating places you in the best qualified category.
  • ICTAP eligibles must submit proof of eligibility for special selection priority, such as: a separation notice; an agency certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has been terminated; an OPM notification that your disability annuity has been terminated; or a Military Department or National Guard Bureau notification that you are retired under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456. You must also submit a "Notice of Personnel Action" (SF-50) notating your current position, grade level, and duty location, and a copy of your most recent Performance Rating. Click here for more information on ICTAP.

If you are a male applicant who was born after 12/31/59 you 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.

How you will be evaluated

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

Category rating procedures will be used to rank eligible candidates. The rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire, and is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the competencies required for this position. Thus, your application should contain information about specific work performed that relates to this position. 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 rating.

Qualified candidates will be assigned to the following categories: Best Qualified, Qualified, and Minimally Qualified. Within each quality category, veterans' preference eligibles will receive selection priority over non-veterans.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your responses to the online assessments completed during the application process. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Knowledge of the Congressional inquiry process
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Decision Making
  • Reasoning
  • Reading

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