Congressional Relations Officer Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. CCQL-12753045-25-RWC Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs
Salary $101,401.00 to $185,234.00 Grade 12 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 6/23/2025 Close Date 6/27/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

Incumbent serves as a member of the professional staff of the Office of Congressional & Legislative Affairs with responsibility for managing a segment of the Department's Congressional and Legislative Affairs program. The position entails a variety of assignments dealing with the Department's programs & policies, congressional oversight & legislative agenda.
This position will close on 6/27/2025 OR at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time the day the 150 applications have been received, whichever comes first.

Duties

Major duties include:

  • Serving as a key liaison between VA and Members of Congress/VA Committees of Jurisdiction and helping drive VA's legislative agenda impacting Veterans, the Department, and it's programs and policies.
  • Tasking and preparing timely and quality answers to various types of Congressional inquiries to include, but not limited to technical assistance on VA related legislation, briefing requests, and requests for information.
  • Preparing key senior executive leadership for VA Congressional Hearings or Briefings.
  • Arranging and conducting frequent technical assistance calls, briefings and presentations with Members of Congress, personal and professional committee staff.
  • Reading, interpreting, and analyzing legislative text and draft bills.
  • Exchanging information on program and policy matters, reporting findings, assessing any anticipated problems, and recommending appropriate courses of action.
  • Working with personal or committee staff on a committee of jurisdiction including House or Senate Veterans Affairs, House or Senate Armed Services Committee.
  • Building networks within Congress and across Executive Branch agencies and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
  • Drafting, reviewing, and actioning legislative proposals.
Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level (GS-14) without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: Full time
Compressed/Flexible: May be authorized with supervisor's approval
Telework: Adhoc only.
Virtual/remote: This is not a virtual or remote position
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment

Qualifications

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

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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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 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:

GS-12 Qualifications:
Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-11) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience include: experience that has provided you with knowledge of the legislative process to research and interpret legislation, procedures, and policy; providing technical advice and assistance to Members of Congress and their staffs; assisting in special assignments, studies, and projects presented by Members of Congress and their staffs; tasking legislative actions and congressional deliverables, including white papers, questions for the record, hearing due-outs and transcript review, and maintaining relationships with legislators.

GS-13 Qualifications:
Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-12) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience include: analyzing and interpreting public laws, executive orders, regulations, and policies related to Legislation and Congressional issues; preparing detailed reports, briefings, and recommendations on legislative issues for senior management or elected officials; developing and maintaining relationships with Congressional staff, government agencies, and other stakeholders; developing informational materials, policy guidance, and technical assistance documents for dissemination within and outside the Department.

GS-14 Qualifications:
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 include: experience that has equipped you with expert knowledge in the area of legislation and of the interests and concerns of Members of Congress and congressional committees and how these issues impact a Department's programs and policies; experience working with committee staff on a committee of jurisdiction (such as House or Senate Veterans Affairs, House or Senate Armed Services Committee); handling complex and sensitive congressional issues and providing technical assistance to lower graded congressional relations staff; recommending strategies for communicating legislation to congress and monitoring movement of legislation key to a Department.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Policy Analysis and Technical Acumen
  • Oral and Written Communication
  • Internal and External Stakeholder Management
Physical Requirements: Work is primarily sedentary, although some slight physical effort may be required. Travel may be required.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) applicants must be well qualified to receive selection priority over other candidates. To be found well-qualified, in addition to the specialized experience listed above, applicants must meet the following qualifications:
GS-12: Experience in directly (not indirectly) engaging with congressional offices to communicate the organization's positions and facilitate responses to legislative inquiries to include experience in preparing senior executive leadership witnesses for congressional hearings and briefings.
GS-13: Experience successfully navigating complex legislative processes and advising senior leadership on strategic legislative matters to include experience in preparing senior executive leadership witnesses for congressional hearings and briefings, and experience working directly with committee staff on a committee of jurisdiction and Office of Management Budget
GS-14: Experience serving as a senior advisor to the organization's executives on legislative and congressional matters, performing comprehensive analyses and policy recommendations of complex legislative initiatives, extensive experience in preparing senior executive leadership witnesses for congressional hearings and briefings, and experience working directly with committee staff on a committee of jurisdiction and Office of Management Budget.

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: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 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.

Education

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office.

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 (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) 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. VA 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.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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. Information about ICTAP and 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/.

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.

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.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

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.

Order of referral: Eligible applicants will be reviewed and referred in the following order:

  • All current, permanent VA Employees in the VACO Office of Congressional & Legislative Affairs
  • All other current, permanent VA employees
  • All other applicants (if status)

Required Documents

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

If applying as a CTAP/ICTAP:
You must submit the following documentation demonstrating your eligibility for CTAP/ICTAP. Failure to submit all documentation at the time of application will result in an ineligible rating. You will not be contacted for additional documentation.

  • Resume
  • Agency Reduction in Force (RIF) notice
  • Most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty station.
  • Most recent performance rating (must be fully successful or above)
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
  • Resume
  • Most recent SF-50 (if applicable) (Current Federal Employees must provide an SF-50 dated 1-12-2025 or later; Current Federal Wage System (WG/WL/WS) employees must provide one dated within one year of the closing date)
    • ATTENTION: You may need to submit more than one SF-50 if we cannot verify that you meet time-in-grade by your most recent SF-50. For example, if your most recent SF-50 is a General Adjustment, we need your most recent SF-50 dated 1/12/2025 and another SF-50 to verify time-in-grade. Examples of SF-50s for time-in-grade verification include your last within-grade increase or promotion to highest grade held. A promotion SF-50 shows when you started the grade level and a within-grade increase verifies that you were at that grade level for at least one year. Failure to provide your most recent SF-50 dated 1/12/2025 or later and other SF-50s to verify time-in-grade will result in you being disqualified. We cannot verify time-in-grade based on the grade and step you are currently on alone.
    • Former federal employee applying under reinstatement eligibility must supply their latest SF-50 as well as any additional SF-50s needed to verify time-in-grade as stated in the above bullet.
    • Award SF-50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
    • Examples of appropriate SF-50s to include in addition to your most recent SF-50's include:
      • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
      • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
      • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.
  • CTAP/ICTAP documentation (if applicable)
  • Veterans documentation (if applicable)
Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx.

How to Apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 06/27/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12753045.

  1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
  2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

To verify your application is complete, log into your USA JOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Application page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USA JOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USA JOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Agency contact information

Robert Collett
Address
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs
810 Vermont Ave NW
Washington, DC 20420
US

Next steps

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.

You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.