Clarification from the agency

Open to all qualified candidates eligible to work in the United States.

The incumbent serves as a clerical and administrative assistant for the Mexico Institute and the Canada Institute, reporting jointly to the respective Program Directors (or Deputy Directors where applicable), and is responsible for planning, executing and closing out the Program’s events, workshops, conferences, seminars, and meetings. As such, the incumbent:

• Provides financial management, administrative, and logistical support for all Program activities and events.
• Maintains the short and long-term Program timeline for grant-based deliverables and obligations.
• Arranges and executes travel and accommodations for the Program staff as well as the Program’s invitational travelers and scholars. 
• Assists the Program Associates and Directors with tracking expenditures for Program accounts and reconciling those accounts with reports provided by the Wilson Center’s Financial Management Office.
• Monitors and tracks the financial management related to grants and submitting grant-related expenses to the shared tracking system in coordination with the Program Associates and Directors. 
• Routinely drafts correspondence for Directors’ signature. 
• Drafts and sends invitations for meetings and events for dissemination, books rooms and prepares all materials for meetings and events, including programs, signs, tent-cards, and any other necessary arrangements to ensure overall success of meetings.
• Coordinates with Wilson Center Audio Visual and External Relations to communicate special requirements for meetings, and ensures inclusion of meetings on the Wilson Center’s strategic planning calendar.
• Drafts and prepares a variety of correspondence, financial reports, forms, and other materials related to Project activities and commitments to funders.
• Organizes, maintains and regularly updates all files on all events, meetings, contacts, ongoing projects, and funding sources.
• Maintains and updates the Program’s contact and grant-tracking databases.
• Assists with the production of meeting/conference reports, grant reports, impact assessments, briefing notes, and grant applications.
• Assists with the recruitment, orientation, supervision, and out-processing of interns.
• Assists with the maintenance and updating of the Programs’ webpage, especially as it pertains to events.
• Helps with the organization and maintenance of Program archives. Gathers narrative and statistical data to prepare various reports to funders.
• Performs basic research related to program activities and event topics.
• Works in office as determined by the Mexico Institute and the Canada Institute’s telecommuting agreement and is on-site to assist at events as required. 

Conditions of employment

• May be required to serve a one-year probationary period
• Pre- appointment background investigation
• Must participate in Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds for salary payment
• Must meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you meet the required specialized experience, or education as described, for the respective grade level in which you are applying:

IS-7: 

To qualify you must have at least one (1) year of specialized work experience equivalent to the IS-6 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) performing most of the following types of duties:

• Planning, implementing and closing-out organization sponsored events;

• Using a variety of software packages, especially Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint, and financial tracking software to perform/automate office work;

• Demonstrating proficiency in grammar, punctuation, and spelling, including the ability to proofread in order to draft a variety of documents, reports, and summaries for a general audience.

• Verbally communicating in cross-cultural professional environments;

• Understanding of basic accounting, grant management, and budgetary processes;

• Cultivating partnerships with internal and external partners.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

For more information on the qualifications for this position, link to OPM Qualification Standards

Volunteer Experience: 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.

You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies".

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 for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified, your résumé and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If, after reviewing your résumé and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

Your application will be evaluated in accordance with Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Delegated Examining Procedures using category rating. 

Your application will then be placed in one of three categories:

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

• Research and Analysis
• Oral Communication
• Administrative
• Written Communication

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.