Clarification from the agency

Current Smithsonian Institution Internal Employees/Agency Employees with Federal career/career-conditional status or eligibility may apply. More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

The Administrative Assistant provides a variety of financial, procurement and clerical support services. The work encompasses financial management, budget administration, procurement and/or human resources functions.

In this position, you will: 

• Order a variety of goods and services using the agency’s procurement system.
• Provide staff guidance and recommendations around new/established requirements, regulations and procedures related to administrative operations.
• Prepare and track forms for billing, receiving, disbursing, and/or transferring funds.
• Follow up on transactions to ensure completion.
• Prepare, review, certify, and approve travel authorizations/vouchers in the travel system.
• Prepare or review outgoing correspondence for grammar, format and correctness.

Conditions of employment

• Requires career/career-conditional status or eligibility.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal Service.  For this position, specialized experience is defined as:

1. Performing standard office and administrative support duties;
2. Creating purchase orders;
3. Serving as a Purchase Card (PCard) holder;
4. Managing time and attendance, travel arrangements, and other clerical functions;
5. Managing calendars for supervisors and managers; and
6. Assisting with gathering information from systems or reports to prepare internal reports.

OR

master's or equivalent graduate degree (Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.)

OR

2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree

OR

LL.B. or J.D., if related

Or a Combination: Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications; For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position. Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual experience.

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, 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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above. The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

1. Skill performing procurement functions for an organization in accordance with established policies.
2. Knowledge of applying administrative policies and procedures to operations.
3. Skill providing budget, financial tracking, grants management, personnel and procurement support to a major department or activity.
4. Skill providing administration and support for travel for a major department or activity.
5. Skill communicating in writing to create procedures or correspondence while maintaining a high level of customer service.

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.