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Duties

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The Program Support Specialist is responsible for a variety of administrative tasks to support the ongoing operations and management of programs of various activities within the Office of Legislative, Intergovernmental and Public Affairs (OLIPA).

Supports the time and attendance system for staff, travel arrangements, calendar management, meeting/conference support, analyzing administrative processes and opportunities to improve processes, and other duties as assigned.

Project support to senior personnel includes collecting, organizing, or analyzing data; organizing stakeholder engagement events; drafting summary documents or requests for information; or other similar technical work in support of OLIPA community outreach projects.

Maintains communication with local government agencies, community and faith-based organizations or other law enforcement organizations and performs related liaison activities. Explains resources, services, and administrative processes to inquirers or makes referrals to an appropriate staff member. Responds to requests for reports from correctional agencies and other criminal justice organizations.

Independently conducts research, evaluating and validating specific data for use in complex reports and studies authored by others. Compiles and evaluates information gathered, makes sound judgement and conclusions based on facts. Presents findings from data or research to immediate supervisor and higher-level management via memorandum, PowerPoint presentation, or oral communication. Creates and executes plans of action, performs analytical and evaluative assessments, and prioritizes multiple tasks effectively and efficiently.

Performs a wide range of analytical, technical, and advisory functions related to the budgetary processes. Assist in tracking and monitoring the budget assigned to the program office.

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, if applicable
Background security investigation, drug test, and favorable adjudication
May be required to successfully complete a one year probationary period (unless already completed).
All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments directly deposited into a financial institution of their choosing.
CSOSA uses E-Verify, if you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-Verify" System.
Bargaining Unit Status: Not Eligible
This is not a virtual or remote position; you must live within or be willing to relocate within a commutable distance of the duty location which is Washington D.C. (District of Columbia).

Qualifications

You may qualify at the GS-07 level if you fulfill one of the following qualification requirements:

A. One year of specialized experience equivalent in level of difficulty and responsibility to that of the next lower grade (GS-05 or equivalent in other pay scales) within the federal service, which demonstrates the ability to perform the duties of the position, is required.
Specialized experience is defined as: Having administrative and clerical experience performing general administrative office and clerical duties and activities to includes all the following:

Experience providing customer service and/or technical support via telephone, email, and/or instant messaging or using live chat software tools.
Creating or preparing forms, reports, memos, letters, producing charts and graphs, and other documents using word processing, spreadsheets, database, or presentations using computers and related software for various applications.
Maintaining a time and attendance system; work or office calendar for upper management or high-level executives.
Proficient in using Microsoft (MS) Office (specifically MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and MS Excel).
Conducting research to find needed information or data using sources as the Internet, organizational manuals, statistical data reports, miscellaneous related reports, or other available resources to obtain valid data or information to create research reports or findings.

OR
B. One full year of graduate level education or have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with an accomplishing Superior Academic Achievement (Grade point average of a 2.95 or higher on a 4.0 scale or class standing in the upper third of the graduating class or major subdivision) or membership in a national scholastic honor society may be substituted to meet the specialized experience requirement. Note: Copies of official transcripts and supporting documents to include honor society membership if inducted.
OR
C. Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position if the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages.

You may qualify at the GS-09 level if you fulfill one of the following qualification requirements:

A. To be hired at the GS-09 entry grade level, applicants must minimally have: One year of specialized experience equivalent in level of difficulty and responsibility to that of the next lower grade (GS-07 or equivalent in other pay scales) within the federal service, which demonstrates the ability to perform the duties of the position, is required.
Specialized experience is defined as: Having administrative and clerical experience performing general administrative office and clerical duties and activities to includes allthe following:

Making travel and accommodations arrangements for high-level executives or upper-level management.
Experience providing customer service and/or technical support (to internal and external customers) via telephone, email, and/or instant messaging or using live chat software tools.
Using meeting or conference audio and visual software tools (such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom).
Experience tracking and maintaining the budget of an activity, program, office, or department for an organization, company, or agency.
Creating or preparing forms, reports, memos, letters, producing charts and graphs, and other documents using word processing, spreadsheets, database, or presentations using computers and related software for various applications.
Maintaining a time and attendance system; work or office calendar for upper management or high-level executives.
Proficient in using Microsoft (MS) Office (specifically MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and MS Excel).
Conducting research to find needed information or data using sources as the Internet, organizational manuals, statistical data reports, miscellaneous related reports, or other available resources to obtain valid data or information to create research reports or findings.

OR
B. Two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education or Master's degree or equivalent graduate degree, may be substituted to meet the specialized experience requirement. Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. Must provide transcripts.
OR
C. Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position if the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages.

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.

Education

ARE YOU USING YOUR EDUCATION TO QUALIFY? You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.
PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.
GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.
FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

If you are an eligible Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) applicant, you may apply for special selection over other applicants for this position. Individuals who have special priority selection rights under the CTAP or ICTAP must be well qualified for the position. To be well qualified, applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and meet the mid-level (scoring between 85 and 89) of the rating criteria for all factors or the established cutoff score. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must submit one of the following as proof of eligibility for the special selection priority: a separation notice; a "Notice of Personnel Action" (SF-50) documenting separation; an agency certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has been terminated; an OPM notification that your disability annuity has been terminated; OR a Military Department or National Guard Bureau notification that you are retired under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456. Additional information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

This vacancy announcement may be used to fill future vacancies for identical positions within the next year.

Relocation expenses are not authorized.

Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.

CSOSA is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

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 based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

Attention to Detail
Clerical
Computer Skills
Customer Service
Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
Decision Making
Financial Management
Flexibility
Integrity/Honesty
Interpersonal Skills
Learning
Oral Communication
Performance Measurement
Problem Solving
Project Management
Reading Comprehension
Reasoning
Research
Self-Management
Stress Tolerance
Teamwork
Technical Competence
Writing
Written Communication

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.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Your application will be rated under Category Rating Procedures and be placed in one of three categories: Highly Qualified (highly proficient with an overall comprehensive level of knowledge, skills, and abilities of the job based on a complete review of experience, education and training), Well Qualified (competent in the position with an overall accomplished level of knowledge, skills, and abilities of the job based on a complete review of experience, education and training), or Qualified (an overall basic level of knowledge, skills and abilities of the job based on a complete review of your experience, education and training). With the exception of positions which are professional and scientific at the GS-09 (or equivalent) and above, qualified preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 30-percent or more (CPS) and those with a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10-percent but less than 30-percent (CP) move from the category in which they would otherwise be placed to the top of the highest quality category. Within these categories, applicants eligible for Veterans' Preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.

Required Documents

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You must submit a complete Application Package which includes:
-Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).
To apply for this position,
- Your resume' showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment and duties performed.
- Other supporting documents:
- Cover Letter, optional
- College transcript(s), if qualifying based on education
- Most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" showing you are/were in the competitive service and the highest grade or promotion potential held (if applying as a status candidate with current or former Federal Service)
- DD-214, SF-15 Form and VA letter, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty from Veterans for consideration under Veteran hiring authorities. https://www.usajobs.gov/Veterans.
- Noncompetitive appointment authority documentation, if applicable
- Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program Documentation, if applicable (e.g. Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.)

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

Help

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:

1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
4. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder.
5. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_System_Requirements
6. Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under the "Track my application" link for the corresponding application.

To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: https://www.usajobs.gov. On the Home page, scroll down and locate your job application Once the job has been located, click the "Track this application" link on the right under the application date. The page will refresh to display the Agency's Application Information page where you can scroll down and review any notifications the agency has sent you. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

Agency contact information

Vanessa Willis

Phone: 202-220-5443
Email: Vanessa.Willis@csosa.gov

Address: CSOSA
800 North Capitol Street NW Suite 700
Washington DC, DC 20002
US

Next steps

Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.

Your assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.

Required Documents

Help

You must submit a complete Application Package which includes:
-Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).
To apply for this position,
- Your resume' showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment and duties performed.
- Other supporting documents:
- Cover Letter, optional
- College transcript(s), if qualifying based on education
- Most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" showing you are/were in the competitive service and the highest grade or promotion potential held (if applying as a status candidate with current or former Federal Service)
- DD-214, SF-15 Form and VA letter, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty from Veterans for consideration under Veteran hiring authorities. https://www.usajobs.gov/Veterans.
- Noncompetitive appointment authority documentation, if applicable
- Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program Documentation, if applicable (e.g. Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.)

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

Help

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:

1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
4. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder.
5. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_System_Requirements
6. Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under the "Track my application" link for the corresponding application.

To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: https://www.usajobs.gov. On the Home page, scroll down and locate your job application Once the job has been located, click the "Track this application" link on the right under the application date. The page will refresh to display the Agency's Application Information page where you can scroll down and review any notifications the agency has sent you. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

Agency contact information

Vanessa Willis

Phone: 202-220-5443
Email: Vanessa.Willis@csosa.gov

Address: CSOSA
800 North Capitol Street NW Suite 700
Washington DC, DC 20002
US

Next steps

Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.

Your assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.