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Government Information Specialist

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in a Forest Service Regional Office.

The purpose of this position is to provide advisory services for the Freedom of Information (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) programs.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Dawnee Burson at 385-266-1193 or dawnee.burson@usda.gov.


Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/03/2023 to 04/17/2023
Salary
$69,107 to - $89,835 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
Location Negotiable After Selection
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel - with overnight lodging may be required for meetings, training, workshops, and field/site visits.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
23-RSVAMAR-11897191-G-BV
Control number
716561500

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Duties

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  • Provide proper disposition of all requests and forward them to the proper official and/or office for appropriate course of action.
  • Maintain a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) control log and /or database to ensure information is secure.
  • Review submitted documentation to determine if the information clearly answers requests and/or if it is reasonable under the law and specific regulatory provisions.
  • Provide advice and/or guidance to supervisors and managers regarding Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) /Privacy Act (PA) policies and procedures to ensure compliance with all statutory requirements.
  • Present trainings Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) /Privacy Act (PA) briefings and training for management officials and employees as required.
  • Provide guidance to record custodians on strategies to safeguard Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Privacy Act (PA) to ensure proper reporting of suspected or known breaches, or compromises of FOIA/PA within published timelines.
  • Provide advice, assistance and/or policy guidance on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Privacy Act (PA) concerns and requests to management officials and staff.
  • Analyze all Freedom of Information (FOIA) and/or Privacy Act (PA) requests for information to determine the validity and/or applicability of request.
  • Plan and/or execute policies, standards and procedural guidance on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Privacy Act (PA) programs to ensure compliance with all statutory requirements.
  • Compose responses to requestors regarding requests for information.
  • Prepare Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) appeal packages, which may include research on and justification of exemptions claimed.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

Specialized Experience Requirement:
For the GS-11 level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level in Federal Service. Specialized experience is defined as three or more of the following: Reviewing and analyzing all FOIA and/or PA requests for information; and/or Reviewing submitted documentation to determine if the information clearly answers requests and whether it is releasable under the law and specific regulatory provisions; and/or Participating in the assessment of FOIA requests, drafts final FOIA response packages for review; and/or Assisting management in providing advice and guidance to supervisors and managers regarding FOIA/PA policies and procedures OR a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related; OR an appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education (beyond what is required for a master's degree, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.)

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.

TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA).

Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Part-time and intermittent service will be credited only for time actually worked. Non-pay status such as leave without pay is credited for up to six months in a calendar year; anything beyond six months is not credited. Applicants are responsible for providing sufficient information/documentation to determine if the 24 month criteria is met.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.

This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

Position(s) will be located at a Forest Service office. Final determination of the duty station will be made by the selecting official at the time of the job offer. To see where these Forest Service Offices are located click here. Click each region to see the different locations.

Pay rates vary depending on location, the salary shown is for the Rest of the U.S. See OPM.gov for additional information on pay rates.
This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Forest Service daycare facilities is not available.

Government Housing is not available.

We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the competencies listed below:

  • Manages and Organizes Information
  • Oral Communication
  • Technical Competence
  • Technical Writing


Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position.

If you meet the qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified, you will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities must meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered to more accurately reflect the submitted documentation. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11897191

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