Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open to Federal employees and other eligible applicants.

The incumbent serves as an expert on all matters relating to the management, implementation, and oversight of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Inspector General (OIG)'s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) programs and responsibilities. This also includes providing advice to NSF OIG staff on difficult and complex FOIA and PA questions.

The employee exercises initiative and independent judgment to develop appropriate and efficient solutions for OIG information access and safeguarding, privacy, and information security processes. Working with the OIG FOIA Attorney, the employee provides direct oversight and technical guidance in connection with OIG's implementation of FOIA and PA, as well as related statutes, regulations, and the Department of Justice (DOJ), NSF Information Officer, and staff. Develops the full range of OIG processes, standards, rule-making, and procedural guidance for the conduct of the FOIA and PA programs to ensure compliance with all statutory requirements of both the FOIA and Privacy Acts, as well as DOJ and OMB Directives and guidance.

• Works directly with all executive branch agencies concerning FOIA and PA issues and executive order information programs, i.e., Department of Justice, Office of Management and Budget, National Archives and Records Administration, Government Accountability Office, and White House legal staff. Acts as OIG spokesperson on FOIA and PA programs at inter- and intra-agency meetings, governmental and non-governmental symposiums, and training seminars, etc.
• Drafts, obtains General Counsel to the IG approval of, and publishes all changes and additions to, OIG FOIA and Privacy Act regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations.
• Develops and maintains OIG standards and guidelines for OIG responses to FOIA and PA requests for information, consistent with applicable rules and guidance. Periodically review OIG standards and guidance that address FOIA and Privacy Act matters and amends them as needed.
• Directly involved in the planning, development, implementation, and amendment of OIG core information systems to assure they meet legal requirements, NSF and OIG policy, and best privacy and security practices. Analyzes the impact of social networking media as it pertains to the FOIA and Privacy Act. Works with a team of OIG staff to develop new standards and procedural guidelines. Advises senior management on the risks and benefits of the use of social media within the context of FOIA and Privacy Act.
• Serves as an Initial Denial Authority for OIG when OIG denies requests in whole or in part for information sought under the FOIA or Privacy Act, when General Counsel to the IG determines employee is ready to be the initial denial authority.
• Responsible for the processing of FOIA and PA requests received by OIG concerning a wide variety of complex subjects. Plans, organizes, assigns, executes, directs, and reviews the work required to respond within required deadlines. Directs, advises, and assists individuals tasked with collecting, reviewing, and processing information under FOIA and PA requests to ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. Establishes goals and priorities for the program and enacts and uses sound administrative procedures to track all requests, responses, and appeals. Tracks all data required to be submitted in the Annual FOIA Report. Resolves problems that may arise in the daily workload. Additionally, provides in-depth analysis and assistance to the senior FOIA Attorney and the General Counsel to the IG on FOIA and PA requests, appeals, and litigation.
• When needed, acts as an alternate media and congressional liaison and evaluates, reviews, advises, coordinates, and responds to Congressional and press inquiries for information held by or involving the Inspector General, Deputy Inspector General, or other high-level OIG officials.
• Prepares, or provides guidance on, the preparation of reports required by law concerning OIG's FOIA and Privacy Acts. This requires compiling all statistics on the number of requests and appeals received and responded to during the calendar year, determining the full costs of administering both programs, and identifying ways to improve the administration of the Acts. Ensures all necessary data for reports are captured throughout the year.
• Analyzes, reviews, and makes recommendations on proposed legislation and major case law concerning the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts, analyzes their impact NSF OIG's business practices, and evaluates what additional resources will be required to accommodate changes.

Conditions of employment

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYEMENT:

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online on-boarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID-compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• You must meet all eligibility requirements within thirty days of the date the announcement closes and continue to meet these requirements throughout the hiring process. Offers can be rescinded if requirements are not met.
• You will not need a clearance to accept this position, but you must be able to obtain a clearance if needed.
• If you are a current federal employee holding a General Schedule (GS) position, you must meet the time-in-grade requirements.

All online applicants must provide a valid email address. If your email address is inaccurate or your mailbox is full/blocked, you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

Qualifications

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: To qualify at the GS-14 level, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service. For this announcement, specialized experience is defined as at least 75% of your duties including: processing FOIA/PA requests for access to records; conducting searches for records; determining whether records are responsive to the request; communicating with requesters, both orally and in writing; making determinations or recommendations regarding disclosure of material; researching and analyzing issues contained in responsive records and providing recommendations for action; and researching applicable points of law and summarizing substantive information from statutes, case law, etc..

Experience refers to paid/unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) & other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, & skills & can provide valuable training/experience that translates directly to paid work. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

TIME-IN-GRADE: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-14 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one year of time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year of time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Do not submit an award SF-50.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Expert knowledge of FOIA & Privacy Act Law
• Legal & regulatory analysis
• Program management
• Oral & written communication
• Judgement & decision making
• Stakeholder management

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

1. Current, permanent federal employees within fifty miles of NSF OIG (Alexandria, VA) performing FOIA/PA functions for an OIG
2. Current, permanent federal employees within fifty miles of NSF OIG (Alexandria, VA) performing FOIA/PA functions
3. All other current, permanent federal employees

Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and include the job title, duties, grade/salary and dates worked. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited based on the time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.