Deputy Assistant Director PGA Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. 25-PGA-DE-12621634-AG Department Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Salary $147,649.00 to $221,900.00 Grade 00 to 00
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 11/22/2024 Close Date 12/23/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

ATF is a law enforcement agency in the U.S. Department of Justice that protects our communities from violent criminals/criminal organizations, illegal use/trafficking of firearms, illegal use/storage of explosives, acts of arson/bombings, acts of terrorism, and illegal diversion of alcohol/tobacco products. We partner with communities, industries, law enforcement, and public safety agencies to safeguard the public through information sharing, training, research, & technology. Visit www.atf.gov

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from all qualified U.S. Citizens

Duties

This position is located in the Office of Public and Governmental Affairs in Washington D.C. The primary purpose of this position is to serve as the Bureau's principal spokesperson and contact with the public and news media and provides liaison between the Bureau and the Department of Justice (DOJ) and similar organizations in other Government agencies.

As a Deputy Assistant Director, Office of Public and Governmental Affairs, your typical work assignments may include:

  • Initiates, formulates, executes, and coordinates the Bureau's public liaison activities.
  • Provides supervision for the staff in the Office of Public and Governmental Affairs.
  • Represents the Director and Deputy Director on various inter-agency groups and in other high-level law enforcement and regulatory-based policy assignments.
  • Administers the requests for records, Privacy Impact Assessments, Systems of Records Notices and accounting for information pursuant to the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) overall responsibility for the digital, print and visual media presence; intergovernmental affairs; public affairs and legislative affairs and all Bureau involved Congressional activity.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

MOBILITY PLAN: New employees hired pursuant to this vacancy announcement must sign a mobility agreement. The purpose of ATF's mobility policy is to enhance career development and progression, and achieve mission and business effectiveness. To accomplish these objectives, the mobility plan will facilitate the movement of employees through special short-term assignments or permanent reassignments throughout the Bureau. Applicants who decline to sign a mobility agreement, as required, will be removed from the hiring process.

As a basic requirement, applicants must demonstrate progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior executive level managerial capability and directly related to the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required for successful performance in this position. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the equivalent of the GS-15 grade level in the Federal service or its equivalent with state and local government, the private sector, or non-governmental organizations. Failure to meet this basic qualification requirement and all executive and technical qualifications for the position, by the closing date of this announcement, automatically disqualifies an applicant.

The individual selected will be subject to the necessary security investigation for a critical position and reporting requirements of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978. The selectee will be required to complete an executive branch Personal Financial Disclosure Report, SF 278. The selectee may also be subject to post-employment conflict of interest restrictions under 18 USC 207 (c). You must complete a one-year probationary period unless already completed.

Key Requirements:
  1. Top Secret Clearance required.
  2. Pass drug screening and subject to random drug test.
  3. New SES appointees must successfully complete a 1-year probationary period.
  4. New SES appointees must receive OPM Senior Executive Service certification.
  5. U.S. Citizenship is required.

Qualifications

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position candidates must have demonstrated experience in the Public and Governmental Affairs career field or its equivalent.

You qualify if you possess experience, equivalent to the Executive Service grade level in the Federal, State, or Local government or equivalent public or private sector experience, performing the following duties:

  • Achieve organizational goals and objectives by administering the communications and public relations (PR) initiatives as determined by the larger organizational strategic planning process.
  • Integrate strategic communications plan to advance the organization's identity and broaden internal as well as external awareness of its law enforcement and regulatory based programs and priorities.
  • Direct and plan a Congressional strategy for a large organization, communicating budgetary, legislative and liaison comments and assistance promoting the agency's capabilities and goals.
  • Cultivate and maintain strong media, partner, and Congressional relationships.
  • Serve as executive editor and principal for the development, production and maintenance of an organizations internal and external communication vehicles.

Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) - Mandatory (Current members of the career SES, former career SES members with reinstatement eligibility, and OPM/QRB certified candidates need not address the ECQs). You are required to submit information describing your experience in each of the five ECQs. The narratives should be clear, concise, and illustrate your overall record (professional and volunteer experience, education and training, accomplishments, awards and potential) in these ECQs. Be sure to furnish examples and describe the context in which you applied your knowledge, discuss how you used skills relevant to the position, indicate the complexity and scope of your work, discuss the impact of your work, note the level of people with whom you interacted, and explain the sensitivity and criticality of the issues you addressed. Structure your statements in terms of the challenges you faced, the context or environment in which the actions were taken, the actions taken, and the outcome or results from such action (i.e., Challenge-Context-Action-Result {C-C-A-R} Model). Additional information on the ECQs is available at http://www.opm.gov/ses/recruitment/ecq.asp.

Executive Core Qualifications - Please attach written responses, limited to two pages per ECQ (i.e., for a total of ten typewritten pages for all five ECQs).
1. Leading Change - Involves the ability to bring about strategic change, within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.
2. Leading People - Involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.
3. Results Driven - Involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.
4. Business Acumen - Involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information services strategically.
5. Building Coalitions - Involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, state and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.

Technical Qualifications (TQs) - Mandatory - Please attach written responses, limited to one typewritten page per TQ.

l. Demonstrates experience in the application of advanced public/media relations principles, trends and generally accepted practices and techniques in order to plan and direct public relations programs and legislative affairs activities for a large, complex law enforcement organization of nationwide scope.

2. Demonstrates broad management experience in planning, developing, administering, and directing an organization, including overall responsibility for short and long-range program planning, budget formulation, and allocation of human and material resources, development of operational guidelines and policies, and creation of new methods and measures to solve complex management problems.

3 Demonstrates experience and expertise in delivering oral and written communication on extremely sensitive and controversial issues to a wide variety of audiences, such as the organization head and Executive Staff members, Members of Congress and their staffs, counterparts in other agencies, Departmental officials, industry groups, the media, and members of the public requesting documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and/or the Privacy Act.

4. Demonstrates applied knowledge of the legislative process, including Congressional procedures, practices and guidelines for proposing and monitoring new legislation and communicating legislative goals.

Education

There is no education requirement for this position.

Additional information

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.

EEO Statement: The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, status as a parent, genetic information, disability, age, membership or non-membership in an employee organization, or on the basis of personal favoritism. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to discrimination, or retaliation for participating in EEO activity or for opposing discrimination, should contact the ATF's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity at (202) 648-8760 within 45 calendar days of when the alleged harm occurred.

Please click on the following link to read important information. Department of Justice EEO Policy Statement https://www.justice.gov/jmd/page/file/1393306/download

Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.

Filling the position is subject to any hiring freeze or funds availability.

"Federal Regulations state no ATF employee, his/her spouse, or his/her minor child shall have, directly or indirectly, any financial interest, including compensated employment, stock, or proprietary interest in the alcohol, tobacco, firearms or explosives industries. You should be aware that you may be asked to relinquish any ownership of or interests in the alcohol, tobacco, firearms or explosives industries before a determination can be made whether access to ATF information, information technology systems, and/or facilities can be authorized."

Additional vacancies may be filled from this vacancy announcement.

A one -year probationary period is required for new members of the Senior Executive Service.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application will first be evaluated to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications. A rating and ranking panel of senior executives will review your application and evaluate your qualifications for this position. It will determine the extent to which your professional and volunteer experience, education and training, and awards or professional recognition indicate you possess the required executive and technical experience. Candidates determined to be highly qualified will undergo at least one interview. Prior to selection, candidates will undergo a reference check.

Note: All applicants must thoroughly address the Mandatory Technical Qualifications. Current and former SES members, and other applicants who have already been certified by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Review Board (QRB), are not required to address the Executive Core Qualifications. However, they must provide documentation of certification in the form of a SF-50 showing career SES status or an OPM issued SES qualification certificate.

Required Documents

  • Resume showing relevant work/volunteer experience, education, and training. Include the start and end dates (from month/date/year to month/date/year). Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must support your answers to the completed online assessment questions.
  • Narrative Statement of Executive Core Qualifications, if applicable.
  • Narrative Statement of Technical Qualifications.
  • SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):
    • Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
    • An SF-50 showing 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
    • Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
    • Examples of appropriate 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.
  • The page of your performance evaluation that indicates your overall, current rating of record and the date of that rating. Actual written narrative submissions are not required. A copy may be asked for at a later time.

Applicants who fail to submit all required information and documents will not receive consideration for the position.

Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. It is also your responsibility to ensure all documents are received on time and the materials are readable. If applying on-line poses a hardship to any applicant, please contact us at the telephone number listed on this announcement. Applicants must contact us prior to the closing date to speak to someone who can provide assistance for on-line submission. Requests for extensions will not be granted. Paper applications submitted without prior approval from the agency point of contact may be handled as incomplete.

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.

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.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. You must submit a complete application package by 11:59 PM (ET) December 23, 2024 to be considered. The application process is as follows:

  1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
  2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
  3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.

To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period return to your USAJOBS account. There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit My Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement is closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account. Your applications will appear on the Welcome page. Navigate to the job application and click Track this application to view your application status. The link will take you to the hiring agency application system, which has the most up-to-date status of your application. There you can review any notifications sent to you related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means click here.

Agency contact information

Edward Maguire
Address
Office of Public and Governmental Affairs
99 New York Ave., N.E.
Washington, DC 20226
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.

Your assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.

Our evaluation will be based on the information you supply. You should expect that we will verify performance, suitability, and security information and take that information into account in making employment offers.

You can check the status of your application anytime by accessing the USAJOBS online application system at http://www.usajobs.gov. You will need to provide your USAJOBS User ID and Password to access the Track your Online Job Application feature. You may also click on the link provided to access additional information on USAJOBS.

All applicants will be notified at four (4) stages in the hiring process:(1) upon receipt of your application;(2) after your qualifications have been assessed;(3) whether or not you've been referred to the Selecting Official; and (4) whether or not you've been selected for the position.


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