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Congressional Affairs Specialist

Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Secret Service
Office of Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs (IGL), Congressional Affairs Program (CAF)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Joining the Secret Service, Office of Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs (IGL), Congressional Affairs Program (CAF), will allow you to serve as an expert on the legislative process to support Secret Service initiatives and priorities on Capitol Hill.

For more information on the Secret Service click here.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
05/01/2024 to 05/07/2024
Salary
$99,200 to - $153,354 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel 1-5 nights per month for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Announcement number
DE-12308477-24-MW
Control number
789100700

Duties

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The selectee will serve as a Congressional Affairs Specialist in the Office of Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs (IGL), Congressional Affairs Program (CAF). Typical work assignments include:

  1. Promoting and maintaining working relationships with Congressional staff to provide in-person outreach, data, and program related information.
  2. Assisting in the development of specialized talking points, presentations, and other communication materials regarding the agency's legislative priorities for use by agency leadership when presenting to Congressional Members or staff.
  3. Monitoring legislative proceedings to assess opportunities to advance agency priorities.
  4. Collaborating with organizational leaders to implement and track congressional outreach plans for each Congress.
  5. Providing information and analysis of legislative initiatives of importance to the agency, as well as recommendations and/or courses of action.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
  • One-year probationary period may be required.
  • Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required.
  • Obtain and maintain a top secret Tier 5 clearance.
  • Submit to a drug test prior to your appointment and random drug testing while you occupy the position.

Qualifications

Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Specialized Experience requirements as noted below:

GS-12: You qualify for the GS-12 level (starting salary $99,200.00) if you possess one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) performing the following duties:

  • Researching legislation or congressional action to determine its relevancy to agency or organizational objectives;
  • Attending legislative meetings on Capitol Hill on behalf of an organization;
  • Assisting in the preparation of briefing documents to be used for congressional meetings; and
  • Working with congressional staffers to further the objectives of the organization.
GS-13: You qualify for the GS-13 level (starting salary $117,962) if you possess one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-12 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) performing the following duties:
  • Providing leadership guidance on the process of developing and advancing legislation through Congress;
  • Developing legislative initiatives related to organizational priorities;
  • Preparing briefing materials for organizational leaders to be used when advocating for advancement of legislative priorities; and
  • Advocating organizational positions and priorities with congressional staff members.
NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement; otherwise, you will be found ineligible.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification claims will be subject to verification.

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.

Veterans' Preference: For more information on veterans' preference see: https://www.opm.gov/fedshirevets/veteran-job-seekers/#

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. 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.

Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP/CTAP): This program applies to Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed, or employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet eligibility criteria for CTAP or ICTAP; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. Well-Qualified includes those applicants whose knowledge, skills, and abilities clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. For information on eligibility criteria and required documentation, go to: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.

Education


Additional information

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Personnel Management guidance and U.S. Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

DHS uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States.

This position will require a credit check after a conditional offer of employment has been accepted.

The agency's Telework Policy allows up to 80% telework, which is at the discretion of management and based on roles and responsibilities. Additionally, compressed or flexible work schedules are offered with appropriate approval.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade and unit occur. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

The Secret Service prohibits employees from having visible body markings (including but not limited to tattoos, body art, and branding) on the head, face, neck, hand and fingers (any area below the wrist bone) (exception: a single conservative and unobtrusive tattoo in the form of a ring is authorized on one finger).

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), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Manages and Organizes Information
  • Political Savvy
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
  • Writing


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

If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:
  1. Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF), and appropriate Quality Ranking Factors (ORF) as determined by the job analysis.
  2. Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPF's and appropriate ORFs as determined by the job analysis.
  3. Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
The Category Rating Process does not add veteran's 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). This position is not considered scientific/professional. Veteran preference eligibles will receive selection consideration before non-preference eligibles within each quality category.

If you are among the best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

An interview may be required for this position. If an interview is required, failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration.

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