Clarification from the agency

Open to current and former Federal employees with competitive status, VEOA Applicants, AND All U.S. Citizens.

At the full performance level, the Writer-Editor:

• Researches, analyzes, coordinates, drafts and finalizes for publication in plain language and in a format suitable for the intended audience, a variety of highly complex and potentially sensitive written materials.
• Provides authoritative guidance on style, format, grammar, and spelling for all outgoing RRS correspondence and other written materials, including, but not limited to, regulatory documents, economic cost benefit analysis, decisions and other written materials related to FRA’s Railroad Safety Board (Board), reports, technical manuals and/or instructions, program plans, and other products prior to publication and distribution.
• Manages the drafting, review, and/or clearance of technical bulletins, pamphlets, and other materials to be used by FRA personnel during meetings and technical training sessions.
• Develops a variety of specific or general talking points for speeches for RRS senior management and/or technical experts
• Develops Statements of Work and task orders to ensure that correspondence and other written documents being produced are logged, received, sorted, assessed, and correctly edited for response, format, type, and completeness.
• Ensures that systems are in place to appropriately track all correspondence and other documents being produced, and that the system is kept up to date.
• Serves as the administrative lead for all petitions to the Board. Monitors incoming correspondence for petitions, uploads petitions and all supporting documentation to the appropriate tracking system(s), disseminates incoming requests to appropriate FRA personnel for handling, and tracks handling of the petitions to resolution.
• Responsible for logistical arrangements for Board meetings. Independently drafts most Federal Register notices related to petitions before the Board.
• Leads and/or manages the workload of contractor personnel comprised of technical editors and administrative support.

The ideal candidate will have demonstrated strong analytical, writing, and editing skills and the ability to communicate clearly with a variety of internal FRA stakeholders, including technical subject matter experts, attorneys, and executive leadership. Ideal candidate will also have a demonstrated ability to effectively function both independently and as a member of a team, establishing and maintaining collaborative working relationships with all staff levels. Ideal candidate will also have strong organizational skills and experience effectively tracking and progressing multiple high-priority tasks and projects under tight deadlines.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
• You must meet specialized experience to qualify.
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
• TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade in the competitive or excepted service in the executive branch to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
• DEU REQUIREMENTS: Applicants selected under delegated examining procedures may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
• ETHICS/CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: All employees are subject to the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 2635, including restrictions on owning financial interests that may conflict with performance of their duties. Some employees, like those involved in contracting or regulating non-Federal entities, are subject to Executive Branch Financial Disclosure requirements set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 263. Please note that you may be required to file an annual financial disclosure.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet either the education or specialized experience requirements for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

To qualify for the GS-11 on Experience, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS- 09 it must include:

• Experience writing, editing and proofreading printed materials, and gathering and analyzing data and developing written materials that articulate, interpret and explain organization policies and programs.

To qualify for the GS-11 on Education alone, you must have:

3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

You can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.

To qualify for the GS-12 on Experience, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS- 11 it must include:

• Experience editing, and formatting correspondence, regulatory documents, talking points, briefers, presentations, or other written materials.
• Experience in reviewing and editing correspondence to ensure responsiveness, completeness, appropriateness of style, tone, grammar, and format.
• Experience in acquiring information about different subjects and in analyzing, selecting and presenting the information in an appropriate style, manner, and format, given the designated medium and intended audience.

You cannot qualify on education at the GS-12 level; you must have experience.

To qualify for the GS-13 on Experience, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS- 12 it must include:

• Experience drafting, editing, and formatting correspondence, regulatory documents, talking points, briefers presentations, or other written materials.
• Experience serving as a technical authority for the proper and expeditious action on senior executive level correspondence and documents, AND serving as a technical expert for advising on, developing, and/or modifying writing and editing policies and processes
• Experience developing and implementing business processes around communications (such as correspondence management, reporting on investigations or findings of technical analyses) or acting as a writer-editor tasked with drafting business process in other subject matter/functional areas.

You cannot qualify on education at the GS-13 level; you must have experience.

PLEASE NOTE: A writing sample will be requested from applicants who are determined as qualified and referred to the selecting official.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

1. Customer Service: Anticipates and meets the needs of both internal and external customers. Delivers high-quality products and services; is committed to continuous improvement.
2. Flexibility: Is open to change and new information; rapidly adapts to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles.
3. Manages and Organizes Information: Identifies a need; gathers, organizes, and maintains information; determines its importance and accuracy, and communicates it by a variety of methods.
4. Writing: Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a brief, clear, and organized manner; produces written information, which may include technical material, that is appropriate for the intended audience.

For all types of consideration, 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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link:  https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. 

To compete with U.S. Citizens:  If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of two categories: Qualified and Well Qualified which is based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference that have provided supporting documents will receive selection priority over non-veterans. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position.

To compete with other competitive status government employees: If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be scored based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.

Eligible Federal employees also seeking consideration for noncompetitive reassignment for this position, must indicate interest in the assessment. In eligibility question 14: select Yes/Other/Former Incumbency of a Position brought into the Competitive Service. Noncompetitive federal candidates must have competitive status on a SF-50, meet minimum qualifications, have served at the same grade or higher, and held or exceeded the promotion potential of this position.

All applicants:  Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package.  If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated on your behalf or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating.