Skip to main content
U.S. flag

Administrative Support Specialist

Department of Energy
Department of Energy - Agency Wide
Legal Affairs & Administration,Southeastern Power Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is part of the Southeastern Power Administration. As an Administrative Support Specialist, you will serve as liaison between Human Resources and the Administrative office. You will assist the Administrative Officer in developing and carrying out a comprehensive personnel management program related to a wide range of Human Resources personnel actions and programs.

**THIS IS NOT A REMOTE POSITION. YOU WILL REPORT TO THE DUTY LOCATION IDENTIFIED IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT**

Overview

Help
Job canceled
Open date: 06/24/2026
Closed date: 06/25/2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$65,271 - $102,669 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Promotion potential
11
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Not required
Appointment type
Permanent
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
26-SE-00209-12989083-DE
Control number
874215100

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens, Nationals, or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Duties

Help

As an Administrative Support Specialist, some of your duties will include, but are not limited to:

  • Participate with the AO in developing and carrying out a comprehensive personnel management program in matters of staffing and related personnel program. Advise internal and external stakeholders on all procedural and administrative functions, providing guidance on appropriate response to actions and preparing responses.
  • Assist with researching, developing, and recommending personnel procedures to implement policies for the court; communicate human resource policy information.
  • Manage a variety of administrative operations including but not limited to financial/budget administration; billing; travel and credit card purchases; training; audit and inspections; recruitment; evidence and inventory controls; property inventory; record management; and human resources management and administrative functions.
  • Draft and prepare targeted media announcements, scripts, articles and brochures for public distribution. Prepare news releases, fact sheets, talking points and other material on energy and environment issues and ensure accuracy and conformance with DOE information policy.
  • Develop reports, memorandums, and procedures that articulate information to help in completing tasks; responding to external audits; and detailing the need and allocation for resources. Conducts integrated plans, and schedules; analyses and modifies completed plans as required.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period. Employees serving on a probationary or trial period may be terminated at any time during the probationary or trial period for performance, conduct, or business-related reasons in the interest of Federal service.
  • In accordance with Executive Order 14170, applicants are encouraged to respond to the four short, free-response, essay questions in the questionnaire. Answers to these questions are not scored or rated. Your answers will be reviewed by the hiring manager and agency leadership if you are referred for selection consideration.
  • Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy.

Specialized Experience: Applicants must possess one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. The experience need not have been in the federal government.

To qualify for the GS-9:
Applicants must have one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level or pay band in the Federal service. This experience includes meeting 2 of the 3 listed below:
  • Applying analytical and evaluative methods to administrative and management matters to improve efficiency.
  • Adapting policies and procedures to situations.
  • Expertise in the proper use of grammar, spelling, punctuation, correspondence preparation and formats to reflect a variety of information.
OR
SUBSTITUTE EDUCATION: Successfully completed a 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. (You must provide a copy of your transcripts (official or unofficial) to support your claim).
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) by 18. Add the two percentages.

To qualify for the GS-11:
Applicants must have one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level or pay band in the Federal service. This experience includes meeting 2 of the 4 listed below:
  • Assisting with answering human resources related questions and resolving basic issues.
  • Communicating human resource policy information.
  • Preparing status reports, charts, presentations, and briefings, as required, to inform management of the actual status of program/projects/activities and progress toward accomplishment of objectives.
  • Drafting and preparing targeted media announcements, scripts, articles and brochures for public distribution.
OR
SUBSTITUTE EDUCATION: Successfully completed aPh.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. (You must provide a copy of your transcripts (official or unofficial) to support your claim).
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) by 18. Add the two percentages.

"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills; and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.


PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. Manual dexterity is required in operation of standard office machinery.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work is performed in a typical office setting.

Education

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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.

Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website. DO NOT email or mail in any of your application documents. Documents will not be accepted outside of the online application system.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

Additional information

  • This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across DOE.
  • For general information on government-wide Telework polices visit: www.telework.gov.
  • Applicants may request Reasonable Accommodation (RA) when applying or competing for a job due to a medical condition or to exercise religious beliefs. If you need reasonable accommodation in the application or selection process, please contact the Agency Contact listed on this vacancy announcement.
  • If selection is made at a lower grade, promotion up to the full performance level may be made without further competition. However, promotion(s) will depend on the performance of the incumbent and are not guaranteed.
  • Promotion Potential: The full performance level.of this position is the GS-11.
  • The selectee for this position may be eligible to receive a recruitment or relocation incentive. You will need to sign an employment agreement to be eligible for this incentive.
  • Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs are not authorized.
  • This position may be eligible for creditable service towards annual leave. Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. DOE may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
  • Salary negotiation may be available for those candidates who are new to Federal service.
  • Salary: The salary range indicated in this announcement will be adjusted to include locality payment for selected duty location. General Schedule locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages.

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.

USAHire: 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 requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Category Rating Procedure: You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. Once the application process is complete, your resume, supporting documentation, and questionnaire/assessment responses will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications. If you are minimally qualified for this job, your responses to the USAHire rating assessment(s) will be evaluated and you will be placed into one of three predefined quality categories. These categories are Best Qualified, Well Qualified, and Qualified.

Application of Veterans' Preference: If you are a preference eligible candidate, you will be listed at the top of whichever quality category your rating places you in. Preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more are placed at the top of the highest category for all positions except scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or above (or equivalent).

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

Simultaneous Listing: Candidates may be referred simultaneously on multiple certificates for which they are interested, eligible, and within reach.

Your qualifications will be evaluated 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


Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified."

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (07/07/2026) of this announcement.

Reasonable Accommodation 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 the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12989083.

Department of Energy - Agency Wide

The mission of the U.S. Department of Energy's Southeastern Power Administration is to market and deliver Federal hydroelectric power at the lowest possible cost to public bodies and cooperatives in the southeastern United States in a professional, innovative, customer-oriented manner, while continuing to meet the challenges of an ever-changing electric utility environment through continuous improvements.

Agency contact information

PMA Careers
Email
PMACareers@wapa.gov
Address
Southeastern Power Administration
1166 Athens Tech Road
Elberton, GA 30635
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Department of Energy - Agency Wide, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dc8BuCJpzbI?si=Ag5NQzaFHe7i7ahJ

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.