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Supervisory Staff Assistant (Assistant to the Deputy Administrator)

Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Marketing and Regulatory Programs

Summary

As an Assistant to the Deputy Administrator of Veterinary Services, you will play a critical role in providing input to the Deputy Administrator on key management issues and decision-making processes based on expert knowledge of substantive program and administrative activities.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/17/2026 to 04/23/2026
Salary
$125,776 - $197,200 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Location Negotiable After Selection
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% 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
14
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
MP-12938069-26-VS
Control number
865587800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted only from current permanent APHIS employees with competitive status and CTAP/RPL eligible candidates.

Duties

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  • The duties may include, but are not limited to:
  • Supervising subordinates more than 25% of the time including, but not limited to, recruitment, selecting, appraising, rewarding, addressing performance problems, and fostering an inclusive workplace.
  • Advises officials in the Office of the Deputy Administrator (ODA) on policy development, operational planning, and day-to-day management of headquarters operations.
  • Serves as a conduit for communication to internal and external stakeholders and ensures proper and timely attention is devoted to high level, high priority, urgent, and/or controversial situations.
  • Directs involvement and/or make assignments to program officials to provide background or staff work products in support of such activities.
  • Participates with the Deputy Administrator and VS executive team (VSET) in processes associated with making and communicating critical policy and program management decisions.
  • Provides liaison between the Deputy Administrator, VSET, and other managers through the organization.
  • Prepares speeches and talking points for the Deputy Administrator, facilitates topical or decision-point discussion groups, and ensures appropriate preparations are made for executive gatherings.
  • Develops agenda, coordinates input and preparation of necessary background materials, and monitors status of action in response to decisions made.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Individuals who were born male after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Subject to one year supervisory/managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable. New USDA supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period.
  • 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/.
  • All USDA employees are required to be enrolled in Continuous Vetting, which authorizes government agencies to receive notifications of criminal activity on individuals who hold low risk, public trust, or national security positions.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served. Refer to the Next Steps section for more information.
  • Work is normally sedentary in an office setting and does not impose any unusual physical demands.
  • Work is conducted in demanding, urgent, and high-profile circumstances requiring skills in stress management and emotional control.

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.

FOR THE GS-14 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-13 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates:

  • Serving as a liaison between executive level leadership and other program managers in identifying priority issues and problems for consideration, gathering applicable resources, and facilitating resolution.
  • Reviewing, evaluating and critiquing material contributions of various staff for external reports, ensuring information correctly reflects Agency and/or program policy and the interest of executive level leadership.
  • Identifying and proposing solutions to management problems which are characterized by their breadth, importance, and severity, and for which established management techniques are frequently inadequate.
  • Planning, organizing, and directing team to negotiate effectively with management to accept and implement recommendations, where the proposals involve substantial agency resources, require extensive changes in established procedures, or may conflict with the desires of select stakeholders.
  • Monitoring employee progress of work, adherence to methods and procedures, and prioritization of work through the development of assignments and schedules.
Note: There is no education substitution for this grade level.
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

This position does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

  • Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP or RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP 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 applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.
  • Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expense associated with reporting for duty will be the responsibility of the selected employee.
  • Locality pay will vary based upon the selectee's duty location. A final salary determination will be made upon selection.
  • Will remain in current duty station. This option is not available for employees currently in the National Capital Region. If selected, those employees must be assigned to a new duty station outside the National Capital Region.

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.

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies listed below:

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. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities need only meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

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.

To preview the application questionnaire, please visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12938069

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

You can make a difference! The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP) needs bright, energetic and committed professionals to facilitate the domestic and international marketing of U.S. agricultural products and to protect the health and care of animals and plants in the United States. We operate in domestic and global markets. Be part of an organization that protects the health and agriculture of the American people. Join our team!

To learn more about what it's like to work at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, what the agency does, and the types of careers, please visit the APHIS careers site.

APHIS is an emergency response agency. This means that all Agency employees may be asked or assigned to participate in rotating temporary duty assignments to support emergency programs at some time during their careers with APHIS. For details click: APHIS Emergency Response

Agency contact information

MRP Human Resources
Phone
612-336-3227
Email
MRP.Application.Help@usda.gov
Address
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
251 Marquette Avenue, Suite 410
Minneapolis, MN 55402
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/banner/careers

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