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Senior Congressional Affairs Specialist

Federal Housing Finance Agency
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Supports the senior leadership for the Office of Congressional Affairs and Communications (OCAC) in representing FHFA with Congress, including members, committee staff, and legislative staff. Contributes to the formulation of FHFA policy regarding legislative activities and fosters strong, open communications between Congress and FHFA. The incumbent provides the FHFA executive team with advice on pending legislative issues that could affect the Housing GSEs or FHFA's responsibilities.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
03/13/2023 to 03/17/2023
Salary
$133,784 to - $227,433 per year
Pay scale & grade
EL 14
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
OCAC-23-07 DE
Control number
712137400

Duties

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Communicates with Congressional staff on issues affecting FHFA's programs, objectives, intentions, and issues impacting FHFA's regulated entities.

Provides input to the Office of Congressional Affairs and Communications (OCAC) and other executives regarding Congressional priorities and concerns. Seeks Congressional support on FHFA requirements to effectively supervise the Housing GSEs.

Assists in identifying legislative issues of strategic importance to FHFA and assists FHFA in communicating its views on such matters to Congress, the Administration, and the financial services industry.

Contributes to the development of legislative proposals, testimony, reports, briefings and, correspondence to Congress, and manages FHFA's timely responses to Congressional inquiries.

Coordinates with senior OCAC staff on pending legislative matters with policy makers and congressional liaisons in other Federal agencies such as the Department of Treasury, the Federal Reserve Board, and other financial regulatory agencies. Develops and maintains an understanding of their strategic priorities. Works to ensure that FHFA contributes on broad public policy matters affecting the mission of the agency.

Serves as a liaison with other Federal agencies/entities.

Drafts comment letters, questions for the record and reviews technical assistance (or reviews drafted communication to ensure it projects the appropriate message). Handles congressional casework and ensures timely and appropriate response to such inquiries. Manages the agency's recordkeeping with respect to congressional communications.

Provide substantive information relative to assigned responsibilities for response to Members of Congress, their staff, or others having interest in the mission and functions of the agency. Assist Members of Congress and their staff concerning program and policy matters and pending legislation.

Maintains regular and direct contact with senior Congressional staff from personal Congressional offices, Committees, or other legislative offices as an immediate liaison. Leads or assists with the Congressional hearing preparation process, including writing or assisting with the writing of testimony or statements, developing briefing materials, and preparing a witness for a hearing.

Monitors, reviews, and provides legislative analysis of congressional and legislative activities in light of Departmental policies and objectives to identify positive or negative ramifications for the agency. Provides information for congressional hearings, committee mark-ups, floor action, and technical assistance requests.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary period
  • Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
  • Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation
  • Resume and supporting documents (See How To Apply)

Qualifications

Qualifying experience for the EL-14 level includes one year of specialized experience at least equivalent to EL/GS-13 which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.


Examples of specialized experience include the following:

  1. Demonstrated experience leading legislative discussions and analysis with Subject Matter Experts that encompass housing finance policy and/or the secondary mortgage market; and/or
  2. Demonstrated experience developing and managing relationships with House Financial Services Committee offices as well as House leadership and / or congressional caucuses; and/or
  3. Demonstrated experience developing written testimony and preparing government witnesses for appearances before Congress;
  4. Demonstrated experience engaging with key external stakeholders to FHFA (e.g. mortgage industry and consumer advocacy groups); and/or
  5. Demonstrated experience preparing Congressional correspondence.
Selective Placement Factor:

Experience analyzing and applying legislative or regulatory policies and guidance related to housing finance and experience with the legislative and oversight/hearing process of the House of Representatives.

Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume.

Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and are claiming 5-points veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility. If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form. For more information on veterans' preference visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Veterans.

Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx).

Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 90 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

FHFA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of race, color, religion, gender (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, disability (physical or mental), age (40 years of age or over), genetic information, parental status, marital status, prior protected EEO activity, political affiliation, or other non-merit factors.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

FHFA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, except when doing so would pose an undue hardship on the Agency. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify FHFA. The Agency's decision on granting a reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.


Ethics: FHFA employees are subject to government-wide ethical standards of conduct, financial disclosure requirements, and post-employment prohibitions. In addition, certain FHFA employees are prohibited from accepting compensation from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for a two-year period after terminating employment with FHFA. Furthermore, to avoid financial conflicts-of interest or the appearance of conflicts-of-interest, FHFA employees may need to divest or sell certain assets they, their spouse, or minor children own or control, including securities issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Federal Home Loan Banks. Employees who work on Federal Home Loan Bank issues may need to sell or divest financial interests with any of the Federal Home Loan Bank members, which may include stock in bank holding companies, insurance companies, and other financial services firms. Questions regarding these requirements and prohibitions should be directed to the Office of General Counsel at (202) 649-3088.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities: For more information on noncompetitive appointment authority eligibility requirements:

How you will be evaluated

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

All applicants will be rated on the following competencies for this announcement:

Competencies:

  • Accountability
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Legislative Process
  • Sharing Information & Knowledge


Please click here to preview the assessment Questionnaire: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11880839


Applicants for this position who meet the basic qualification requirements for this vacancy will be rated according to Category Rating Procedures. ***

Candidates applying for this position are applying under delegated examining procedures and will undergo a multi-tiered evaluation process. A subject-matter expert will determine if you possess the competencies and skills required for the position. Candidates successfully achieving the competency/skill review will be evaluated for eligibilities and minimum qualification requirements by human resources.

Finally, you will be rated according to Category Rating Procedures. Based on your veteran's status and responses to the job specific questioner you will be assigned to a pre-defined quality category. There will be three quality categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified and Qualified. Generally, only candidates in the top-quality category will be referred to the hiring manager for selection.

Best Qualified - Applicants who have experience that is almost identical to those required by the position. (95)

Well Qualified - Applicants who have experience that is very similar to those required by the position. (85)

Qualified - Applicants who meet minimum qualification requirements, but do not identify any additional qualifying experience or skill. (70)

The Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher).



All of the information you provide will be verified by a review of the work experience and/or education as shown on your application forms, by checking references or through other means, such as the interview process. This verification could occur at any stage of the application process. Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempts to conceal information may be grounds for rating you ineligible.

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