Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open to current or former federal employees and/or current employees of the federal Judiciary (AO or U.S. Courts) nationwide. Relocation expenses will not be provided unless specifically authorized by the Director of the AO.

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), Department of Administrative Services (DAS) seeks a proven leader to serve as the Chief of the Financial Liaison and Analysis Staff (FLAS). The incumbent is responsible for leading the Judiciary's liaison office to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittees with jurisdiction over Judiciary funding. The FLAS office works exclusively with the Appropriations Committees in Congress and is a separate office from the AO's Office of Legislative Affairs, which works with congressional authorizing committees.

The FLAS Chief, under the direction of the AO Director and the Judicial Conference's Budget Committee, leads the Judiciary's efforts on Capitol Hill to justify and advance the Judiciary's annual budget request totaling more than $9.0 billion in discretionary appropriations, periodic supplemental appropriation requests, and continuing resolution anomalies. The incumbent reports to the Associate Director in the DAS.

The ideal candidate has extensive congressional appropriations experience working on the House or Senate Appropriations Committees or serving as an appropriations liaison to Congress for a federal agency.

The duties of the FLAS Chief include, but are not limited to:

1. Supervising and leading the work of the FLAS office.
2. Serving as a member of the AO's senior staff and advising AO leadership on congressional appropriations issues.
3. Overseeing and monitoring the congressional appropriations process for the Judiciary.
4. Serving as a primary advisor to the AO Director, Deputy Director, and the Judicial Conference of the United States and its committees on appropriations matters impacting the Judiciary.
5. Interacting with congressional appropriations staff to justify and advance the Judiciary's annual budget requests, supplemental requests, and continuing resolution anomalies; briefing appropriations staff on Judiciary funding issues; and coordinating with AO offices on responses to congressional inquiries or requests for programmatic briefings.
6. Drafting appropriations bill and report language and related justifications for congressional consideration, including for the annual budget request, supplemental appropriations requests, and continuing resolution anomalies.
7. Preparing for congressional appropriations hearings, including drafting written testimony and oral remarks, developing hearing briefing book materials, conducting hearing prep sessions, and coordinating AO responses to post-hearing questions for the record.
8. Providing direct staff support to the Budget Committee of Judicial Conference of the United States, including preparing and presenting agenda items on appropriations issues, arranging meetings with key appropriators in Congress, and drafting remarks and talking points in preparation for Hill meetings.
9. Developing strategies for federal courts nationwide to interact with local congressional delegations to improve understanding of the breadth and scope of the federal courts and how federal courts serve their constituents.
10. Providing oral briefings to AO leadership, Judicial Conference committees, and court groups on the status of Judiciary appropriations, including explaining complex congressional dynamics to facilitate understanding of the appropriations process.
11. Interacting with the Office of Management and Budget, Congressional Budget Office, and Congressional Research Service on Judiciary funding issues.

Conditions of employment

Qualifications

Applicants must have demonstrated experience which shows competence in the qualifications as listed below. This requirement is according to the AO Classification, Compensation, and Recruitment Systems which includes interpretive guidance and reference to the OPM Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions.

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-15/JSP-15/CL 31 level which is in or directly related to the line of work of this position. Specialized experience for this position is defined as follows:

• Working in the congressional appropriations process.
• Working on the House or Senate Appropriations Committees or serving as an appropriations liaison to Congress for a federal agency.

Mandatory Technical Qualifications: The MTQs listed below should be evident in your resume. A supplemental narrative must be uploaded and attached to your application addressing each MTQ listed below. Please limit your response to two pages for each MTQ.

1. Knowledge and experience in the congressional appropriations process, specifically experience working on the House or Senate Appropriations Committees or serving as an appropriations liaison to Congress for a federal agency.
2. Experience working with the congressional Appropriations Committees to justify and advance agency budget requests.
3. Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with executive-level personnel to explain complex appropriations issues.

Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs): Applicants currently serving in an AOES and Court Unit Executive positions or under a career Senior Executive Service (SES) appointment, eligible for reinstatement into SES, or have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) approved by OPM are not required to submit a narrative response for the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ). A narrative response as part of the application package for each of the following ECQs is MANDATORY for all other applicants. Please limit your response to two pages for each ECQ.

1. Leading Change: This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment. Leadership Competencies: Creativity & Innovation, External Awareness, Flexibility, Resilience, Strategic Thinking, Vision.
2. Leading People: This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts. Leadership Competencies: Conflict Management, Developing Others, Team Building.
3. Results Driven: This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks. Leadership Competencies: Accountability, Customer Service, Decisiveness, Entrepreneurship, Problem Solving, Technical Credibility.
4. Business Acumen: This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically. Leadership Competencies: Financial Management, Human Capital Management, Technology Management.
5. Building Coalitions / Communication: This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals. Leadership Competencies: Partnering, Political Savvy, Influencing/Negotiating.

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your resume and supporting documentation and compare this information to your responses on the occupational questionnaire to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for this job. If you meet the minimum qualifications for this job, we will evaluate your application package, to assess the quality, depth, and complexity of your accomplishments, experience, and education as they relate to the requirements listed in this vacancy announcement.

You should be aware that your ratings are subject to evaluation and verification. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume and/or narrative responses, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Failure to submit the mandatory narrative responses will result in not receiving full consideration and/or rating credit. Deliberate attempts to falsify information may be grounds for not selecting you, withdrawing an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.