Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Executive Assistant

Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is in the Office of Research, Development, and Technology (RD&T) of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Department of Transportation (DOT) at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia. The incumbent provides direct administrative and clerical support to the Associate Administrator, as well as other RD&T staff. The incumbent provides critical administrative and business support services, as well as technical support to the data automated systems.

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
11/17/2023 to 11/30/2023
Salary
$58,811 to - $84,441 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 08 - 09
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
McLean, VA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—The position may be eligible for telework. This is not a full-time telework position or approved as a remote work position.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Full Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
09
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
FHWA.HRT-2024-0001
Control number
761137700

Duties

Help

As an Executive Assistant, you will:

  • Receive all visitors and telephone calls for the senior executive leader. Screen calls and visitors and determine which require the leader’s personal assistance, which should be referred to other staff members, and which the incumbent can personally handle. When appropriate, the incumbent provides the leader with appropriate background information when relaying messages. The incumbent also provides administrative or technical information to callers and visitors, as appropriate.
  • Maintain the leader’s calendar and schedule appointments, without prior approval, based upon knowledge of the leader’s’ workload and current issues of importance. Brief the leader on background and matters to be considered prior to the scheduled meeting. In the absence of the leader, schedule or reschedule meetings and arranges for representation by another staff member to attend meetings and conferences.
  • Make all arrangements for meetings and conferences, including space, time, participants, and agenda. Advise participants of the date, subject, and the extent of their participation. Is responsible for the duplication and distribution of all materials to be utilized during the meeting or conference. Make arrangements for virtual meetings using teleconferencing, video conferencing and web-conferencing technology.
  • Administer the office’s time and attendance (T&A) records and prepares bi-weekly staff timecards for approval by the leader or Program Manager within the Castle T&A system and serve as primary purchase card holder for the office.
  • Control and prepare correspondence using office automation equipment and appropriate software. Compose correspondence in own or supervisor's name. Review outgoing correspondence for completeness, grammar, spelling, format, and conformance with office procedure and instructions. Review incoming correspondence. Process correspondence in the Electronic Document Management System and determines which staff member should be assigned actions. Follow up with the staff member to ensure required actions are accomplished by the established due date.

The ideal candidate is a highly motivated individual with experience providing executive level administrative support and assistance to an Associate Administrator, or equivalent level; has strong interpersonal skills needed to represent leadership on a variety of administrative matters; and is proficient in a number of standard automated administrative tools.

Requirements

Help

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.
  • BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
  • TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • DEU REQUIREMENTS: Applicants selected under delegated examining procedures may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: This position may be eligible for occasional and/or regularly scheduled telework.  The number of telework days approved will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency’s telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position.
  • CERTIFICATION: You will be required to obtain and maintain a Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) certification.

Qualifications

To determine which grade(s) you are eligible for, review the following grade specific details.  You will be asked questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet this specialized experience for each grade you are applying to in your resume or you may be deemed ineligible. 

For the GS-08: You must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-07 grade level, which included:

  • Experience providing the full range of administrative support in an organization at the manager level (e.g. correspondence management, coordinating travel, time and attendance, etc.); AND
  • Experience utilizing automation systems (i.e. travel, correspondence, time & attendance systems).

For the GS-09: You must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-08 grade level, which included:

  • Experience providing the full range of administrative support in an organization at the executive/senior management level (e.g. correspondence management, coordinating travel, time and attendance, etc.); AND
  • Experience utilizing, managing, and maintaining automated travel and correspondence management systems for an organization; AND
  • Experience researching, compiling, assembling, and summarizing materials for public speaking engagements.

You cannot qualify for either grade under this series based on education, you must meet the grade specific specialized experience. 

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

  1. Clerical - Knowledge of filing, typing, entering data, maintaining records, taking shorthand, and using and completing forms.
  2. Computer Skills - Uses computers, software applications, databases, and automated systems to accomplish work.
  3. Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.
  4. Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner 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

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

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

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. 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.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.