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Staff Assistant

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

Summary

This position is located in the immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM). The PM Bureau includes a staff of one Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, three Deputy Assistant Secretaries, and eleven offices, including Foreign Service Officers, Civil Service, and contractors.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
03/14/2022 to 03/18/2022
Salary
$89,834 to - $116,788 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
Washington, DC
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
12
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Announcement number
HRSC/T/PM-2022-0023
Control number
642482600

Duties

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  • Analyzes and evaluates memoranda and correspondence covering a wide range of PM programs, program-related policies, and regulations to ensure assignment to the corresponding program office and appropriate staff members.
  • Monitors and tracks the status of memoranda and correspondence within the Bureau to ensure proper coordination, compliance with due dates, and accurate completion of sensitive, time-critical actions
  • Ensures the quality and timeliness of written products drafted within the Bureau by providing guidance, enforcing deadlines, and reviewing for format, style, coherence, accuracy, content, and clearances.
  • Liaises with the Executive Secretariat, Under Secretaries offices, and other bureaus to coordinate the flow of paperwork to and from the PM front office and maintain critical lines of communication within the Department.
  • Conducts analysis of policies, organization structures and reporting requirements and performs special studies to evaluate workflow operations and identify problems, inefficiencies, and potential problems.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

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

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.

Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

  • Experience tasking, tracking, reviewing, and editing written briefing materials related to foreign policy, arms transfers, security assistance, peacekeeping operations, and conventional weapons destruction to promote the timely delivery of high quality products to senior executives.
  • Experience liaising across and within organizations to coordinate the flow of timely, relevant information related to foreign policy.
  • Experience working on a team to balance workload, schedules, operational processes, and generally support the efficient operations of executive offices.

There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-12 position.

Education

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

Additional information

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

 If eligible, telework and remote work agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. Please note that any approved remote work arrangement is subject to the locality pay area of the alternative telework worksite.

 If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department that may require a higher security clearance.

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated and rated under the Category Rating and Selection procedures. Based on your responses to the job-specific self-assessment questions, eligible candidates are placed for selection consideration into one of three pre-defined quality categories as described below:

Highly-qualified Category - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications for the position, candidates must fully demonstrate proficiency in all major aspects of the position.

Well Qualified Category - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications, candidates must demonstrate proficiency in some, but not all of the major aspects of the position.

Qualified Category - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications, applicants must demonstrate a basic level of knowledge, skill and ability of the position.

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 of administrative concepts, principles, and practices.
  • Ability to work through others to accomplish a specific goal.
  • Ability to establish priorities.
  • Ability to compile and analyze data.
  • Ability to plan and organize work.

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.

Application of Veterans Preference: The Category Rating Method does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three," but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each pre-defined quality category. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent (i.e., CPS and CP) must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) candidates must be rated "Well Qualified" for the position to receive consideration for selection priority. Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any required supporting documentation by the closing date of this announcement.

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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