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Congressional Affairs Specialist

Department of Defense
Office of Inspector General
Office of Legislative Affairs and Communications (OLAC)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General (DoD OIG), Office of Legislative Affairs and Communications (OLAC). OLAC leads and coordinates OIG congressional and media activities, and informs OIG employees and the public about DoD OIG audits, evaluations, and investigations that oversight Department of Defense programs and operations.

As a Congressional Affairs Specialist, GS-0301-13/14, your typical work assignments may include the following:

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
08/06/2020 to 08/12/2020
Salary
$102,663 to - $157,709 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13 - 14
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Alexandria, VA
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel up to 10% for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
IG-20-10882880-OLAC-MP
Control number
575662200

Duties

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  • The incumbent reports to, and supports, the Chief of Legislative Affairs for OLAC on a variety of legislative matters, coordinating and synthesizing information from various DoD OIG components and senior leaders to respond to inquiries from Congress.
  • Serves as the senior legislative liaison and a primary point of contact between the DoD OIG and Congress.
  • Develops and executes strategies to establish, maintain, and promote close working relationships with Members of Congress, congressional staff, and other stakeholders.
  • Leads face-to-face meetings with congressional stakeholders, and ensures complete and timely responses to engagement due-outs, whether proactive or in response to a specific congressional inquiry.
  • Closely monitors and analyzes the impact of Federal legislative activities on DoD OIG equities, including the annual National Defense Authorization Act and defense appropriations bill.
  • Leads the preparation of DoD OIG leadership appearing before congressional hearings, including the completion, clearance, and timely submission of the written hearing statement.
  • Oversees the DoD OIG?s engagement with Congress on sensitive matters involving administrative and criminal investigations.
  • Handles several phases of a variety of sensitive matters of keen interest to Congress, the media, the DoD, and the private sector.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. citizenship.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Position has been designated as Critical Sensitive. Incumbent is required to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
  • Incumbent is required to submit to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and is subject to random drug testing for the duration of service with DoD OIG.
  • Current DoD civilian employees are not required to submit to drug testing if moving from one Testing Designated Position (TDP) to another with no break in service, unless deemed appropriate on a case-by-case basis.
  • If you have not previously completed a probationary period with the Federal government in a similar position, you will be required to serve a two-year probationary period.
  • This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies within 90 calendar days of the initial issue date of the referral list.
  • Position(s) may be filled by displaced Department of Defense (DoD) employees through the Priority Placement Program.
  • All qualifications and time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
  • Applicants who have held a non-temporary General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must meet the time-in-grade restriction.
  • The incumbent must adhere to the DoD Standards of Conduct.

Qualifications

Specialized Experience GS-13: You must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-12 level in the Federal service or at an equivalent level. Specialized experience is defined as: : (1) serving as the liaison between an OIG office and Congress; and (2) working knowledge of the day-to-day activities of an Inspector General's office, reviewing and evaluating congressional inquiries related to audits, evaluations, and investigations involving waste, fraud, and abuse.

Specialized Experience GS-14: You must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-13 level in the Federal service or at an equivalent level. Specialized experience is defined as: (1) serving as the liaison between an Office of Inspector General (OIG) and Congress on administrative and criminal investigation matters; (2) working knowledge of the day-to-day activities of an Inspector General's office, reviewing and evaluating congressional inquiries related to audits, evaluations, and investigations involving waste, fraud, and abuse (3) analyzing the impact of pending legislation on OIG equities.

You must meet the minimum qualification requirements as stated in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/Standards/group-stds/gs-prof.asp.

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 to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

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

Education

Education cannot be substituted for experience at this grade level.

Additional information

Working for DoD OIG offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health benefits and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.

Military retirees seeking to enter civil service in the Department of Defense now require a waiver if they are within 180 days following their official date of retirement (5 United States Code 3326.)

If applicable, you may apply under the appropriate Special Appointment Authority and be considered for non-competitive appointments.
Please see link for definitions of the Special Appointment Authorities: http://www.opm.gov/hr_practitioners/lawsregulations/appointingauthorities/index.asp

Veterans' Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA): See Veterans Guide for definition. Submit a copy of your most recent DD-214 (member 4) showing length of active duty, character of service, and type of discharge.

Disabled Veterans: See Veterans Guide for definition. Submit a copy of your most recent DD-214 (member 4) showing length of active duty, character of service, and type of discharge, and a VA Certification Letter.

Military Spouse: Submit a copy of the spouse's PCS orders or VA certification of disability or death of service member, along with any other documentation proving eligibility such as a most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action.

Family Members Eligible under Executive Order 12721: Submit a SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, from the position and any other documentation proving eligibility.

Interchange Agreement: Submit a SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, from the position and any other documentation proving eligibility.

Schedule A: Submit proof of disability in the form of written certification from a licensed medical professional, OR a licensed vocational rehabilitation specialist, OR any Federal agency, State agency, or agency of the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory that issues or provides disability benefits.

Reemployed Annuitants: DoD policy on employment of annuitants will be used in determining eligibility of annuitants. The DoD policy is available on http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/1400.25-V300.pdf.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): Applicants must be well-qualified, which is defined as meeting all of the minimum qualification standards and eligibility requirements as well as possessing skills that clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position established by the Best Qualified category definition.

Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirement listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application package, you may be excluded from consideration for this position. If you are found to be among the best qualified candidates, you will be referred to the hiring official for employment consideration.

All qualified candidates will be evaluated on the following competencies:

  • Communication
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Organizational Awareness
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Program Management


Preview the assessment questionnaire here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10882880

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