The incumbent works with senior OLPA and NSF staff on congressional, state and local interactions under the direction of the Supervisor for Legislative Affairs, Congressional Affairs Section. Specific duties include: 

• Works closely with senior legislative staff members to maintain close and continuing contacts with individual Members of Congress and Congressional Staff with interest in and/or responsibility for NSF oversight. 
• Assists in the planning and development of NSF Congressional hearing testimony and associated background materials. 
• Assists in the development and implementation of a legislative strategy for the Foundation based on insight developed through contact with congressional and other sources. 
• Assists in the planning and execution of ongoing strategic congressional relations activities that provide NSF program information in both proactive and reactive modes, to Members of Congress and their staff. 
• Works with NSF program staff, integrates state-related information available within OLPA and NSF, and coordinates state-related activities when appropriate. 
• Attends and prepares reports of Congressional hearings, mark-ups, and floor debates pertaining to issues important to NSF and the science and engineering research and education community. Communicates congressional interest to other affected NSF staff and assists in developing information and/or recommendations for NSF policy and follow-up actions. 
• Assists in the development and management of the distribution of information materials to the Congress, state and local officials, and general public. 
• Supports the maintenance of the congressional grant notification system and the congressional report tracking system. 
• Supports the legislative clearance process and interacts with OMB on behalf of the agency as appropriate. 
• Develops, maintains, and updates files, databases, and other materials of state or regional research and education information that can be used to inform Congress and provide background information to the Congressional Affairs team, Director, the Deputy Director and the Assistant Directors. 
• Identifies opportunities to develop working partnerships between states, institutions of higher education, and NSF.
  
  Competencies
  * Skilled in working with Members of Congress and Congressional staffs;
  * Knowledge of the Federal Legislative Process;
  * Skilled in building support for Science Policy Issues;
  * Teamwork/Collaboration - encourages and facilitates cooperation, works well with others;  
  * Oral Communication - effectively expresses ideas verbally;
  * Written Communication - effectively expresses ideas in writing.

Conditions of employment

• Background investigation
• Selective Service registration required for male applicants, unless exempt
• U.S. Citizenship

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.

You must meet eligibility and qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date.

You must answer all job-related questions in the NSF eRecruit questionnaire.

All online applicants must provide a valid email address. If your email address is inaccurate or your mailbox is full or blocked, you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

This position is in the bargaining unit.

Qualifications

For GS-11 level, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in federal service. Examples of experience include:

-Applying a variety of analytical techniques to gather, analyze, and evaluate complex policy and legislation;

-Establishing and maintaining contact with Members of Congress and their staffs;

-Assisting in the preparation of relevant background materials for Congressional testimony;

-Assisting in the development and implementation of legislative strategies;

-Participating in the Federal legislative process on Capitol Hill; and

-Supporting the legislative clearance process.

-OR-

-Have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree;

-OR-

-Have 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree;

-OR-

-Have an LL.M., if related;

-OR-

-Have a combination of post high school education and experience that together meet the qualification requirements for this position.



For the GS-12 level, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in federal service. Examples of experience include:

-Applying a variety of analytical techniques to gather, analyze and evaluate complex policy and legislative issues to make recommendations;

-Establishing, developing, and maintaining relationships with Members of Congress and Congressional Staff;

-Assisting in the planning and development of Congressional hearing testimony, and associated background materials;

-Assisting in the development and implementation of legislative strategies;

-Participating in the Federal legislative process on Capitol Hill; and

-Supporting the legislative clearance process.


For the GS-13 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in federal service. Examples of experience include:

-Applying a variety of analytical techniques to gather, analyze and evaluate complex policy and legislative issues to make recommendations;

-Establishing, developing, and maintaining relationships with Members of Congress and Congressional Staff with an interest in STEM topics;

-Participating in the planning and development of Congressional hearing testimony, associated background materials, and reports for Congressional hearings and debates;

-Assisting in the planning, development, implementation and execution of legislative strategies;

-Participating in the Federal legislative process on Capitol Hill with Members of Congress; and

-Supporting the legislative clearance process, interacting with OMB as necessary.

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 and select eligibles. Based on your responses to the occupational questionnaire, you will be assigned a score. Your score will determine in which of three categories you will be placed: Excellent, Very Good, or Good. Under this process, veterans will be assigned to the appropriate category (without additional preference points) and then placed at the top of their category.

Veterans with service-connected disability of 10% or more will be placed at the top of the highest quality category.

The information contained in your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you meet the competencies required of this position. Please ensure you answer all questions accurately. Your responses are subject to verification. In support of your responses provided in the Occupational Questionnaire, your resume should include verbiage that describes your experience relative to the position for which you are applying and provide examples that show the depth of knowledge, level of skill, or degree of ability you possess. If your application does not support your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire or your application is not complete, it may affect your evaluation or result in your name being removed from further consideration.

Applicants eligible for selection preference under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) or CTAP must meet the agency definition of "well qualified." In NSF categories, this means at least “Very Good.”
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