Skip to main content
U.S. flag
 

Legislative Affairs Officer

Department of Veterans Affairs
Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management
Office of Budget

Summary

This position is located in the Office of Management, Office of Budget. The Office of Budget provides strategic and operational leadership for all budget matters in the Department. In addition, the office promotes public confidence through sound stewardship of VA's financial resources and oversight of the Department's business activities, ensuring their consistency with policy, law, and regulation.

Overview

Help
Accepting applications
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
$143,913 - $187,093 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
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
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
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
CCLQ-13102894-27-FN
Control number
890527200

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

This position is open only to current CTAP-eligible Department of Veterans Affairs employees in the Washington, DC local commuting area.

Duties

Help

Major Duties:

  • Serves as VA's primary liaison with congressional committees, Members of Congress, and OMB on budget and appropriations matters.
  • Independently represents VA on sensitive funding, budget execution, and fiscal legislative issues consistent with Administration policy.
  • Develops and defends VA's legislative and budget positions during hearings, markups, and negotiations, resolving complex issues.
  • Prepares congressional testimony, budget justifications, and posture statements incorporating program office input and OMB guidance.
  • Analyzes legislation, committee reports, and appropriations language; recommends actions and advises senior leadership.
  • Coordinates accurate, timely congressional responses with VA offices and OMB.
  • Mentors developmental Legislative Affairs Officers, reviews their work, and provides technical guidance.
  • Maintains relationships with congressional staff and Member offices to support timely exchange of sensitive budget information.


Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm
Compressed/Flexible: Available
Return to Office (RTO): RTO mandates are in effect; selectees will be required to report to in person work unless they have an approved exemption.
Telework: Available-as determined by agency policy
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: PD550180
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding 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.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a one year probationary period or two year trial 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 one year probationary period or two year trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/29/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: 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 you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to some former Federal employees applying for reinstatement, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. See the Required Document section below for more information regarding the SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade.


You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-13 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to experience:

  • Serving as a legislative liaison to Congressional committees, OMB, and Member offices on budget, appropriations, and fiscal policy matters;
  • Experience applying expert knowledge of federal budget and appropriations processes to assess proposed legislation and recommend programmatic and fiscal actions;
  • Experience leading Congressional testimony, budget justifications, and posture statements; resolving complex legislative and budget issues independently;
  • Advising senior leadership on legislative strategy and emerging budgetary matters.



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; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). 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.

Note: Resume must include job title and employer name, number of hours worked per week, start and end dates (including month and year), list of duties and responsibilities for each position held. In addition, if the experience was a federal position, you must list the grade for each position held. Failure to include this information may result in an ineligible rating. A full year of work is considered to be 40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of 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.

Physical Requirements: Work is performed for the most part while seated. The incumbent, however, lifts and carries reference books, working papers, and similar items to and from meetings. A moderate amount of standing and walking is required in getting to and from meeting places away from the worksite.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be found well qualified, applicants must meet the following qualifications:

  • Knowledge of the federal budget and appropriations process with demonstrated mastery-level knowledge of OMB Circular A-11, congressional budget procedures, and agency appropriations structures, sufficient to independently analyze legislation and budget proposals for impact.
  • Skill in legislative liaison and negotiation with demonstrated ability to independently represent an organization's position in negotiations, hearings, or markups with congressional committee staff, OMB examiners, or Member offices, including on sensitive or high-visibility matters.
  • Knowledge of Congressional operations and procedure with demonstrated extensive understanding of House and Senate Appropriations Committee structure, rules, precedent, and protocols, along with the legislative history and priorities of relevant authorizing/oversight committees.
  • Skill in preparing testimony and budget justification materials with demonstrated ability to lead or substantially contribute to the preparation of Congressional testimony, posture statements, or budget justification narratives, integrating cross-office input under tight deadlines.
  • Ability to provide authoritative advice to senior leadership with demonstrated experience advising senior officials on legislative strategy, emerging budget issues, and the implications of proposed legislative or regulatory changes.
  • Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing with demonstrated ability to draft clear, persuasive written products (e.g., talking points, responses to Congressional inquiries) and to communicate complex budget/policy matters orally to senior officials and Congressional staff.
  • Ability to mentor and provide technical guidance with demonstrated experience reviewing the work of less experienced staff or providing technical guidance on legislative/budget liaison procedures.

Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Washington, DC. This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from 810 Vermont Ave NW, Washington, DC 20420. .

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration (HRA) at The Fair Chance Act.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

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 the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA 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, based on your adjudication decision. 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 RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here:
https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information

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

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

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

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork



Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.


During the application process, you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise to care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate care to Veterans?

Agency contact information

Felecia Nolan
Phone
5043574454
Email
felecia.nolan@va.gov
Address
Office of Asset Enterprise Management
810 Vermont Ave NW
Washington, DC 20240
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

http://www.va.gov/jobs

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.