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Staff Assistant

Department of the Interior
Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs
Northwest Region
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Northwest Region, Office of the Regional Director, Branch of Forestry in Portland, OR or Vancouver, WA.

This is a Bargaining Unit position, for more information see What are bargaining units?


NOTE:
TRAVEL AND RELOCATION EXPENSES WILL NOT BE AUTHORIZED. ANY RELOCATION EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH REPORTING FOR DUTY WILL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SELECTED EMPLOYEE.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
01/02/2025 to 01/21/2025
Salary
$65,846 to - $85,598 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Portland, OR
Vancouver, WA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes
Announcement number
STIMP-25-12658712-CAWY-MF
Control number
826463200

Duties

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  • Serve as the Awarding Official Technical Representative (SAOTR) for the Forestry program; and receive certification.
  • Prepare, review, and process travel authorizations, make travel arrangements for staff.
  • Coordinates requirements for the Forestry programs to assure organization goals and objectives are accomplished in compliance with standards for quality.
  • Monitor, compile and summarize financial activity for all Forestry account structures.
  • Develop, process and implement agreements with multiple agencies to facilitate funding and work for various tribal projects and programs, to include justification and scope of works.
  • Responsible for entering and tracking personnel actions and requests in payroll system.
  • Responsible for inputting Trust Asset Accounting Management System (TAAMS) data and contracts.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship Required
  • Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Indian candidates in accordance with the Indian Preference Act of 1934 (title 25, USC Section 472). Form BIA -4432 must be submitted with the application if claiming Indian Preference.
  • You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit
  • You may be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
  • A background security investigation will be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • If you are a male applicant born after 12/31/1959 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.
  • Incidental Operator position. If you are required to operate a motor vehicle in order to properly carry out assigned duties, the 25 IAM 4 Motor Vehicle Safety Program Policy applies. A Link is provided in the Additional Information Section.

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for Administrative and Management Positions, GS-0301).

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-09: I have at least 1 year of full-time specialized experience or the equivalent, comparable to at least the GS-07 in the Federal Service (obtained in either the public or private sector).This experience must include working with diverse Natural Resource programs; serve and perform the duties as the Awarding Official Technical Representative (AOTR) or Subordinate Awarding Official Technical Representative (SAOTR); assist management by serving as office manager and delegate assistance with various personnel actions; maintain budget and financial management activities, gather program data; analysis and develop responses to inquiries; assist with timekeeping and payroll duties; responsible for monitoring Undelivered Orders; maintain office supplies and services; prepare travel arrangements, schedule meetings, conferences, special projects and maintain appointment schedules; responsible for incoming mail; update, maintain, and track documents and correspondence; serve as primary contact among subordinates;
OR
EDUCATION:
Master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.B. or J.D., if related.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the position to be filled.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Merit Promotion candidates must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the announcement closing date.

Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Indian candidates in accordance with the Indian Preference Act of 1934 (title 25, USC Section 472).

Additional selections may be made from this announcement if identical vacancies occur in the same location within 90 days from the closing date.

Education

If you are qualifying based on your education, 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.

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.

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.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education which shows 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: FOREIGN EDUCATION

Additional information

All new hires earn the beginning salary of their pay grade (Step 1). See 2025 Salary Tables here and select the duty station from the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington to choose the appropriate pay chart. If no specific chart is listed for this geographic location, see the "rest of U.S." chart.

The full performance level of this position is GS-09.

TELEWORK: Indian Affairs has determined that the duties of the position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

As a incidental motor vehicle operator position, you may be required to operate a government-owned or leased motor vehicle in the performance of duties; therefore, a valid driver's license is required and be able to meet the safe driving requirements of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (25 IAM 4 Motor Vehicle Safety Program).

Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp .

Certain candidates may be eligible to apply under a special hiring authority including those for disabled individuals, Peace Corps employees, Foreign Service employees, veterans, etc. For more information, visit the following OPM websites: USAJOBS Information Center: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/; Vets Info Guide: http://www.fedshirevets.gov/.

Former Federal Employees are required to indicate whether they received a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) buyout in their previous employment with the Federal government, and are required to submit a copy of the applicable Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) regarding the VSIP. Most individuals who accept reemployment with the Federal government within 5 years of receiving the VSIP amount, must repay the gross amount of the separation pay prior to reemployment.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application package will be evaluated against the minimum qualification requirements specified above. In order to qualify, your resume must specifically describe your work history and the duties you performed in each position. Your resume will be evaluated after the closing date of 01/31/2025 to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position. Competencies measured include:

  • Administration and Management
  • Financial Management
  • Information Management
  • Technical Competence

We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If the information in your resume does not support your responses to the assessment questions, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your qualifications.

Qualified Indian preference candidates will be referred to the hiring manager in order of veterans' preference.

Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and awards during the interview/selection process conducted by the hiring manager. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.

You may preview the assessment questions here in the https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12658712.

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