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Program Specialist (HSI)

Department of Agriculture
Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement
Office of the Director
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in the Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE) .

The Program Specialist will serve as the USDA Liaison for the Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) in their respective state.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
05/28/2024 to 06/10/2024
Salary
$81,216 to - $105,579 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Chicago, IL
Las Cruces, NM
Yakima, WA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
DE-12379664-24-CB
Control number
793075100

Duties

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  • Communicates USDA program mission objectives to local farmers and ranchers, socially disadvantaged, beginning and veteran farmers and ranchers, and other USDA stakeholders.
  • Serves as a senior consultant to the State Food and Agriculture Committee (SFAC) to better integrate farmer and rancher perspectives, concerns, and interests into ongoing local programs.
  • Identifies and facilitates opportunities that will enhance greater advocacy and increased outreach between USDA stakeholders and USDA agencies.
  • Assists the program lead for the Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach (2501 Program) with distribution of information and materials to existing and potential award recipients.
  • Helps implement USDA student programs, including the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) Internship Program, Future Ag Leaders Program, AgDiscovery Program, internship programs, and other related programs.
  • Works with groups to foster partnerships to promote USDA’s programs and services to empower rural and underserved communities.
  • Plans and hosts regional and state-wide events to address specific community challenges and utilizing Federal, state, and local resources to alleviate those challenges.
  • Contributes to the development of meaningful and measurable metrics and performance indicators to examine and analyze the effectiveness of outreach and related work.
  • Conducts benchmark studies and solicit feedback from stakeholders to identify systematic concerns. Reports findings through analytical measurers and tools.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Time in grade:

Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

Specialized Experience:

At the GS-13: Qualifying experience for GS-13 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-12 which is directly related to the work of this position, and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience working with Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) on student recruiting, Hispanic agricultural outreach and/or programs available to HSIs.

This position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability, or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment. Applicants who do not meet these requirements are ineligible for further consideration.

Selective Placement Factor:
Ability to speak, interpret, translate, read and write both Spanish and English fluently. If selected for an interview, you may be asked to provide a writing sample to confirm your ability to write clear and concisely (Bilingually).


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 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

There is no education substitute for specialized experience at the GS-13 level.

Additional information

The salary range includes multiple geographic area locality adjustments; therefore, rates advertised represent the multiple locations and pay will depend upon the selectee's duty location. Please see the https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2024/general-schedule for more information. For specific location:

  • Chicago, IL
  • Yakima, WA
  • Las Cruces, NM
  • Aurora, IL
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

This position is being concurrently announced under Merit Promotion Announcement Number ST-12420665-24-CB. Current or former Federal employees or other eligible applicants may apply to both announcements to expand all possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. See the above announcement for more information.

This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

How you will be evaluated

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

Applications will be evaluated in accordance with Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Delegated Examining Procedures and USDA policy using category rating. Applicants who meet basic minimum qualifications will be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans. Category placement will be determined based on applicants' quality of experience and the extent they possess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) or competencies:

  • Program Management
  • Customer Service
  • Outreach & Education

Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Those determined to be in the best qualified category will be referred to the selecting official for consideration.Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To view the application form, visit:

https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12379664

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