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Program Assistant

Department of State
Department of State - Agency Wide
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The incumbent relieves Foreign Service Officers and Civil Service program specialists and managers of significant program workload by disposing of clear-cut cases or transactions. 

If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
04/17/2020 to 04/30/2020
Salary
$48,670 to - $63,267 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 07
Location
District of Columbia, DC
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - One to five days per month.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
07
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Announcement number
DFAS/HR-2020-0029
Control number
565791900

Duties

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  • Examines incoming requests, applications, or claims for particular program actions or benefits to ensure that the information they contain is complete according to instructions and sufficient to permit decisions on their merits.
  • Records request, applications, or claims received into a database indicating the date received, type of action or benefit requested, other pertinent identifying information, and final disposition.
  • Approves or recommends approval of the request if found to be sufficient and the factual information contained on the face of the request ad in supplementary documentation clearly fulfills the legal or regulatory requirements.
  • Drafts correspondence, designs simple brochures, and makes formal presentations that explain the basic objectives and procedural requirements of the program.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
  • Verification of employment eligibility in the United States is required.
  • Must be able to type 40 words per minute.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements, including education, and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement. If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript with your application. NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements, by the closing date of this announcement.

Time-In-Grade Requirements: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions, per 5CFR 300, Subpart F.

Applicants applying for the GS-07 grade level must have at least 1 full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-06 level in the Federal service which provided you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:   Providing administrative, technical and general office support duties to an organization and utilizing office automation to create, retrieve, update, manipulate or store electronic data.

AND

Must be able to type a minimum of 40 wpm with no more than 3 errors. Note: Individuals may be required to take a typing exam.

Education Substitution: As a general rule, education is not creditable at this level for most positions covered by this standard; however, graduate education may be credited in those few instances where the graduate education is directly related to the work of the position.

Education

See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements, if applicable.

When an applicant has less than one year of specialized experience as described in the announcement, he or she may combine successfully completed graduate-level education with experience to meet the total qualification requirements. Generally, 18 graduate semester hours is equivalent to 1 full-time year of graduate study (your school and department determine what constitutes 1 full time year of graduate study). The percentage of specialized work experience (for example, 6 months equals 50%) and the percentage of graduate study (for example, 9 graduate hours for a GS-07 equals 50% where 18 graduate hours constitute a full time year) must total at least 100%.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click on the link for a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials.

Additional information

EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION PROGRAM (E-Verify) – U.S. law requires organizations to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States - either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the necessary authorization. This agency utilizes E-Verify to compare information from the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) records to confirm employment eligibility. If the employee’s information does not match DHS and/or SSA records, the employee is given an opportunity to resolve the problem. If eligibility cannot be verified, employment will be terminated.

For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or ReasonableAccommodations@state.gov.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

  • Knowledge in the use of various automated software systems.
  • Skill in managing priorities.
  • Ability to prepare and assemble information for various reports.

Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity. 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). Your resume should include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week. For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.

Qualified candidates are assigned a score between 70 and 100. Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) candidates must be rated "Well Qualified" for the position and earn a score of at least 85 (when applicants are rated in a range of 70 to 100) to receive consideration for selection priority. If, after reviewing your resume and self-assessment questionnaire responses and a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, a score will be manually determined that reflects your documented experience. This may result in a lower score, which may also eliminate you from consideration for this position.

Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any required supporting documentation by the closing date of this job opportunity. Your application package must contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. Applicants found to be among the top qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview.


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