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Administrative Support Specialist

Department of Homeland Security
DHS Headquarters
Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

All DHS-HQ announcements have a 5 business day open period due to the number of applications received. This announcement will be open for 5 business days OR until the first 100 applications have been received, whichever happens first.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
08/03/2020 to 08/04/2020
This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$48,670 to - $77,396 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 9
Location
Arlington, VA
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
9
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
ST-10862617-20-IA
Control number
574696100

Duties

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This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM), Systems Integration Branch Arlington, Virginia.The primary purpose of this position is to coordinate office alternations, modifications, repair projects, telephone work, furnishings and equipment requirements, and other associated services.

Duties performed:

  • Providing assistance to the supervisor regarding administrative support services
  • Assisting in the preparation of Reimbursable Work Authorizations (RAWs), Purchase Requests (PRs), and Interagency Agreements (IAA)
  • Assisting in financial advisory-services and providing guidance on obligations, receipts, trends and account status
  • Preparing budget, financial reports and spreadsheets reflecting current budget data
  • Providing customer service in the areas of security requests, personal property management, building equipment management and logistics
  • Receiving and screening all visitors and telephone calls to the supervisor

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
  • You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.
  • Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov/).
  • Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required
  • One-year probationary period may be required.
  • Must meet Time-In-Grade requirements.
  • PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG TESTING: This position requires a pre-employment drug test and you must
    have a negative drug test result prior to appointment into the position.
  • If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
  • DHS uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States.
  • All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
  • License required: no
  • Pre-employment physical required: no
  • Bargaining Unit Position: no
  • Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expenses will not be paid.
  • Financial Disclosure: If you are hired, you may be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days after appointment.
  • Promotion Potential: When promotion potential is shown, the agency is not making a commitment and is not obligated to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position at the GS-07 level, you must meet one of the following requirements below:

A.
Have at least one year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sector), performing the following duties:

1) coordinating a variety office functions;
2) providing assistance regarding administrative support services; and
3) providing customer service in person and over the phone to determine customer needs and to resolve customer problems.

-OR-

B. Have one full year of graduate level study, or possess a master's or higher degree, e.g., LL., J.D., LL.M., Ph.D, in a field that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Such fields include law enforcement, criminal justice, or security management.

-OR-

C. Have a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university AND meet Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) based on ONE of the following: 1) Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, based on completed courses. -OR- 2) Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. (Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.) -OR- 3) Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision.

-OR-

D. Have combination of specialized experience and graduate education as described above, that when combined equals 100% of the qualification requirement.

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 level, you must meet one of the following requirements below:

A. At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service, including the following:

1) utilizing budgetary policies, procedures, and regulations to formulate and maintain the budget of an organization;
2) utilizing organizational functions to coordinate administrative actions and develop and administer internal procedures;
3) overseeing property related matters for an organization that include maintaining automated records; and
4) administering directives related to space management within an organization.

-OR-

B. Have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., in a related field that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work of the position. (NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted at the time of application)

-OR-

C. Have a combination of graduate education and experience. To compute, first determine your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determine your graduate education as a percentage of the graduate education required for the grade level; and then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Only graduate education in excess of 1 year may be used to qualify applicants for positions at the GS-09 grade level. (You must provide transcripts to verify your academic accomplishments.)

Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying). Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to current competitive service employees applying for a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. NOTE: All current or former Federal employees must provide a copy of their SF-50 (you may need to submit more than one), "Notice of Personnel Action" that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position, title, series, grade, step, tenure (1 or 2), and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). You may need to submit more than one SF-50 to comply.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.

NOTE: 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.

Education

This position requires specific coursework and/or a degree to meet the basic education requirement. You must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Your transcript(s) must clearly demonstrate the course(s) listed in the qualification requirement section. If the transcript(s) does not clearly demonstrate this you must submit a copy of the course description and/or other documentation demonstrating that the courses are equivalent.

If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. Failure to provide such documentation with your application will result in lost consideration. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Note: DHS continues to take necessary steps to keep our workforce safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. If you receive a final job offer to onboard, please complete the onboarding forms and submit them electronically in an expeditious manner. Your start date may be delayed if the action above is not completed.

Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of its mission, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires each and every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation for Moderate Risk clearance as a condition of placement in this Non Sensitive position. This review includes financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.

Pursuant to Executive Order 12654 and DHS policy, DHS is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and, therefore, conducts random and other drug testing of its employees in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. Headquarters personnel in safety- or security-sensitive positions are subject to random drug testing and all applicants tentatively selected for employment at DHS Headquarters are subject to drug testing resulting in a negative test result.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP/CTAP): This program applies to Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed, or employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet eligibility criteria for CTAP or ICTAP; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. Well-Qualified includes those applicants whose knowledge, skills, and abilities clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. For information on eligibility criteria and required documentation, go to: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp

Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov/).

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 how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

For Competitive Merit Promotion and Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) Applicants: The highest rated candidates will be referred to the hiring agency.

For Noncompetitive Appointment Eligibles: All qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring agency.

To preview the assessment questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10862617

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, the veteran must 1) be a preference eligible; or 2) be a veteran separated after 3 or more years of active service performed under honorable conditions (you must submit a DD214-member copy 4).

Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above.

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