Clarification from the agency

This position is open to current Department of Commerce (DOC) employees who are serving in the competitive service as permanent career or career-conditional employees, & CTAP eligibles.

As a Chief of Staff, you will perform the following duties:

• Serves as the Chief of Staff to the Executive Director for ICTS and in this capacity is responsible for providing direct support to the Executive Director for ICTS in the administration of the overall operations of OICTS administration.
• Exercises moderate influence in the development and implementation of major programs and policies.
• Plans and schedules ongoing production-oriented work on a quarterly and annual basis, or direct assignments of similar duration.
• Improves work methods and procedures used to produce work products.
• Adjusts staffing levels or work procedures to accommodate resource allocation decisions made at higher echelons.

This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Chief of Staff GS-0301-14, FPL GS-14 positions within the Department of Commerce in the same geographical location with the same qualifications and specialized experience.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• This position requires a TOP SECRET/SCI CLEARANCE: Any required investigations and clearances must be completed before the selectee can be placed in the position.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use of possession of drugs.
• A probationary or trial period may be required.
• Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/).
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
• All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• Bargaining Unit Position: No
• Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE form 450): Yes
• Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expense: will not be paid
• Drug Test Required: Yes, This position is subject to pre-employment drug testing and random drug testing thereafter.
• Pre-employment physical required: No
• Time-in-grade/band requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement unless eligible for special hiring authority, reinstatement eligible, non-current Federal employee applying as a VEOA eligible which do not require time-in-grade/band.
• Temporary Travel: Frequent temporary travel may be required. Therefore, the incumbent must possess and maintain a valid state driver's license and be qualified to operate a privately owned or government motor vehicle.
• Must be able to obtain and retain a Top-Secret security clearance with Special Intelligence Access as a result of current and/or favorable Special Sensitive background investigation. Incumbent of the position will also be required to complete an SF-312, Classified Nondisclosure Agreement.

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-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/

Applicants must possess one year 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 competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government.

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.

To qualify at the GS-14 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as:- Analyzing data and results; AND- Using data to make recommendations on the development of staffing standards for program functions and/or missions (e.g., management of agency research operations, or staffing requirements for new or substantially altered training or operational missions and programs); AND- Managing projects that involve the development of new approaches to identify workload factors and performance quality levels.

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 how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., two-page resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, the result of the Structured Resume Review and Structured Interview required for this position.

Structured Resume Review: Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. SMEs will review ONLY two (2) pages of your resume. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume). Applicants passing the structured resume review will move on to the next phase of the assessment process.

Structured Interview: A structured interview is an assessment method designed to measure job-related competencies of candidates by systematically inquiring about their behavior in past experiences and/or their proposed behavior in hypothetical situations.

If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the vacancy announcement, you will be placed in one of the three pre-defined categories. The categories are "gold", "silver" and "bronze". Candidates placed in the "gold" category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager.

How you will be evaluated for preference eligibility: Within each category, those entitled to veterans' preference will be listed at the top of the pre-defined category for which they are placed. Preference eligible with a service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest quality category (gold) depending on the position and grade level of the job. For more information on Category Rating, please go to Category Rating.

All:

"Performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and will be forwarded to the selecting official as support in consideration of your application in the evaluation process. To receive due weight, you must submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation (i.e. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.)".

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

The assessments will evaluate you on the following general/technical competencies required to perform the job; please do not provide a separate written response:

• Organizational Awareness
• Planning and Evaluating
• Decision Support
• Human Capital Management

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. Do NOT include the following types of information in your resume/application. If any are included, you will be deemed INELIGIBLE for consideration.

• Classified or government sensitive information
• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Photos of yourself
• Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.

To preview the questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12930917

A complete application consists of the following:

• Resume (that should not exceed two pages in length) which shows relevant experience; cover letter optional. If more than two pages are submitted for the resume, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. Your resume should list your educational and work experience including the dates (mm/dd/yy) of each employment along with the number of hours worked per week, if less than 40. Your resume may be used to validate your responses to the qualifications/assessments. Your resume should also indicate your citizenship and if you are registered with the Selective Service System if you are a male born after 12/31/59. Refer to the "How you will be Evaluated' section for types of information not to include in your resume/application.

• Veterans' Preference documentation. Please indicate on your resume the type of veterans' preference you are claiming and provide the appropriate supporting documentation (DD-214 stating disposition of discharge or character of service, VA letter, SF-15, etc.) to validate your claim. For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please go to: https://www.opm.gov/fedshirevets/veteran-job-seekers/vets/

• SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action," supporting your eligibility, showing tenure code, position occupied and highest grade and step.

• If applicable, performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and will be forwarded to the selecting official as support in consideration of your application in the evaluation process. To receive due weight, you must submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation (i.e. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.)
• Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) documentation, if applicable.
  • CTAP or ICTAP applicant(s), MUST submit the following documents:
    • A copy of your specific RIF notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; or a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES); or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, a notice eligibility for discontinued service retirement, or similar notice); or notice of disability annuity termination; or certification from your former agency that it cannot place you after your recovery from a compensable injury; or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement; or a copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" documenting your RIF separation, noting your positions, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc;
    • Any documentation from your agency that shows your latest performance appraisal rating; AND
    • Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

• Education. If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information.

• Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee? Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:
  • Position title;
  • Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
  • Agency; and
  • Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient.

Failure to provide such documents when requested may result in lost consideration.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: See Note in Education Section for additional information.

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