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Legislative Analyst

Department of Defense
Office of the Secretary of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs (OASD/LA)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs (OASD/LA). The ASD(LA) serves as the principal adviser and assistant to the Secretary of Defense for all matters concerned with the formulation of national security and defense policy in the Congress and in engagements between the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the legislative branch. Serves as a Legislative Analyst for the Independent Offices Support Division.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
11/21/2025 to 11/26/2025
Salary
$84,601 to - $156,755 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Pentagon, Arlington, VA
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
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
ST-12821958-26-DL
Control number
850589100

Duties

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Incumbent typical work assignments may include the following:

  • Serves as a key legislative liaison to DoD and executives on issues impacting the offices within. This includes contacts throughout the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, Secretariates of the Military Departments, Directors of Defense Agencies, and other Executive Agencies.
  • Establishes and maintains close and effective liaison relationships with principal executives and officials of those bodies mentioned plus key staff members of various Congressional committees and subcommittees
  • Conducts numerous, complex, and high priority special assignments involving extensive research and fact-finding to develop position and issue papers on a variety of high-level subjects of critical importance
  • Analyzes conflicting and divergent viewpoints in order to provide full and accurate background information along with options for courses of action.
  • Provides authoritative analysis and advice to senior leadership and components on the evaluation and the effectiveness of program integration and on the operations and productivity and efficiency of broad congressional and legislative issues.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration)
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
  • Must be determined suitable for federal employment
  • Required to participate in the direct deposit program
  • This position is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing
  • This position is subject to the DoD Priority Placement Program
  • The incumbent must be able to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI)
  • The incumbent may be required to work other than normal duty hours, which may include evenings, weekends, and/or holidays and/or mandatory overtime
  • This position may require up to 10% occasional travel away from your normal duty station for official business on military or commercial aircraft

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position, you must meet the requirements described below.

You may qualify at the GS-11 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrates your ability to: 1) Interpreting legislative processes and procedures; 2) Preparing and responding to legislative written correspondence; and 3) Researching Congressional activities to develop comprehensive presentations.

OR

Education: Ph.D or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as 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) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. The first 2 years of graduate study are not qualifying for the GS-11 level. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts for verification).

You may qualify at the GS-12 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrates your experience in:1) Researching Congressional activities to develop comprehensive presentations; 2) Providing input to the implementation of legislative priorities for federal government program activities; and 3) Implementing procedures to improve productivity of assigned program areas related to policy issues.

You may qualify at the GS-13 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrates your experience in: 1) Providing input to the implementation of legislative priorities for federal government program activities; 2) Implementing procedures to improve productivity of assigned program areas related to policy issues; and 3) Conducting ongoing and timely review and analysis pertinent to a wide range of rapidly changing congressional activities and initiatives.

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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

All qualifications and education requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume. Your resume may not exceed two (2) pages. For qualifications determinations, it is recommended that applicants include their months and hours worked per week for each employment listed on their resume. If a determination is not able to be made about the duration of your creditable experience for qualification requirements, you will be removed from consideration.

Read more about what should I include in my federal resume at https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include

ACTIVE-DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS: Federal agencies treat active-duty service member as veterans, disabled veterans, and preference eligible, when they submit, as part of their application package, a "certification" of active service in lieu of a DD-214, indicating the service member is otherwise eligible and will be discharged or released within 120 days from the date of submission. A "certification" letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of the service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the character of service. This "certification" must include your rank, dates of active-duty service, type of discharge and character of service (i.e. honorable), and date any terminal leave will begin. It must be signed by, or by direction of, the adjutant, personnel officer, or commander of your unit or higher headquarters. Active-duty members that fail to provide a valid "certification" of service with their initial application will be found "not eligible". Members may be appointed before the effective date of their military retirement/separation if they are on terminal leave.

Current or Former Political Appointees: Agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level. If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Human Resources Office.

Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume.

Education

Education cannot be substituted for experience the GS-12 & GS-13 grade levels.


ONLY For the GS-11 grade level does the information below apply
ARE YOU QUALIFYING BASED ON EDUCATION or A COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE?

You must provide sufficient documentation of your education in your resume. You MUST provide a copy of official or unofficial transcripts or degrees in your application package. It may also be acceptable to document your applicable course listing in your resume (course number, credits earned, etc.). 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. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency. If selected, an official/sealed transcript will be required prior to appointment.

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: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

Probationary Periods: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): This program applies 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 ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/

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 that would interfere with completing an online application, you may request an alternative application. Please send an email to the following address for information on how to obtain an alternative application: whs.job.application.assistance@mail.mil

Reemployed Annuitants: Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants (DODI 1400.25, volume 300). http://www.esd.whs.mil/DD/DoD-Issuances/140025/

Nepotism: Under the provisions of 5 USC 3110, an individual may not be appointed into a position if the position is under the supervisory chain of command of a relative.

Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

In order 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 may requires an online USA Hire Competency Based Assessment. The USA Hire online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Your eligibility and 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 USA Hire Competency Based Assessment(s) required for this position (if applicable). If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.

Some USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. If a USA Hire assessment with a cut score is used, you must meet or exceed that score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below a cut score or fail to complete the assessment. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
DOD PPP candidates using Application-Based Procedures:

Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible: Military Spouse Preference applicants, must be selected and placed at the highest grade level for which they have applied and been determined best qualified. You must include a completed copy of the Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist (DD-3145-4) dated within 30 days along with the documents identified on the checklist to verify your eligibility for Military Spouse Preference.

Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technicians PPP Eligible: MR and NG technicians PPP applicants must be selected and placed at the full performance level if determined well qualified. You must include a completed copy of the Military Reserve and National Guard Technician PPP Self-Certification Checklist (DD-3145-3) to verify your eligibility for Military Reserve and National Guard Technician preference.

Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technicians Receiving Disability Retirement PPP Eligible: MR and NG technicians receiving disability retirement PPP applicants must be selected and placed at the full performance level if determined well qualified. You must include a completed copy of the Military Reserve and National Guard Technician Disability PPP Self-Certification Checklist (DD-3145-2) to verify your eligibility for Military Reserve and National Guard Technician Disability preference.

Retained Grade PPP Eligible: Retained Grade PPP applicants, must be selected and placed at the full performance level if determined well qualified. You must include a completed copy of the Retained Grade PPP Self-Certification Checklist (DD-3145-1) to verify your eligibility for Retained Grade preference.

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