Desk Officer

Clarification from the agency

This is a Merit Promotion announcement for career and career conditional Federal employees, I/CTAP eligibles and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information.

OIA is responsible for U.S. policy and program administration affecting the U.S. territories of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and the freely associated states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau -collectively referred to as the insular areas.

This position serves as a senior analyst and principal liaison for one or more of the jurisdictions mentioned above. Provides authoritative policy guidance, conducts advanced analysis, leads interagency coordination, supports federal program implementation, and contributes to strategic decision-making for jurisdictional priorities.

At the full performance level (GS-13) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Conducts comprehensive, high-level policy analysis grounded in federal statutes, regulations, Executive Branch directives, and jurisdiction(s) specific priorities. Develops strategic policy options for leadership that clearly outline political, fiscal, developmental, and operational implications for assigned jurisdictions.
2. Leads comprehensive oversight of major OIA financial assistance programs, federal investment initiatives, and cross-agency programs ensuring they are strategically aligned with jurisdictional needs and long-term policy objectives. Also leads cross-cutting analytical efforts by integrating demographic, economic, governance, and programmatic data across multiple jurisdictions to inform policy and decision-making.
3. Provides on-site analytical support and coordination during official visits, oversight missions, and program inspections. Identifies operational risks, governance challenges, and implementation realities during field travel.
4. Produces executive-level materials including briefings, risk assessments, white papers, jurisdictional profiles, and congressional/interagency responses.
5. Tracks emerging trends affecting governance, resilience, public finance, economic development, and U.S. relations with insular areas. Leads issue-specific reporting and strategic analysis for high priority jurisdictional initiatives.
6. Serves as a primary liaison for jurisdictional government offices, other federal agencies, oversight entities, and local stakeholders.

This position requires a valid state drivers license due to travel to remote areas as well as to maintain and/or obtain a valid U.S. Passport.

Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary; however, official travel to remote islands and field locations may involve long transit times, varied terrain, and occasionally challenging environmental conditions.

Work Environment: Work is typically performed in an office environment, with periodic travel to foreign field locations that may involve remote, tropical, or austere conditions.

Honolulu, HI Salary Rate Range Information: (First time hires to the federal government typically start at the beginning salary in the range for their respective grade level.) Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) rate of 8.64% is authorized.

GS-09 - $34,438 (Step 1) - $83,774 (Step 10)
GS-11 - $77,964 (Step 1) - $101-359 (Step 10)
GS-12 - $93,445 (Step 1) - $121,482 (Step 10)
GS-13 - $111,119 (Step 1) - $144,457 (Step 10)

This position is also open to status candidates under announcement DEU Announcement #: OS-1500-26-KS-062-DE. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.

Conditions of employment

• Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Must have and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
• You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.

You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 1 - 5 nights every other month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will 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.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 08/07/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

NOTE: Applicants utilizing education to qualify at the respective grade level must provide transcripts (unofficial are acceptable) in order to verify that the educational requirement has been met. The documents must be received by the closing date of the announcement. Failure to provide this information will result in you receiving an "INELIGIBLE" rating.

To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications for the grade to which you are applying:

GS-09:

Applicants must meet either A, B, or C below.

A. Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-09, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service.
Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:
1. Assisting with planning and coordinating official travel, preparing briefing materials, arranging logistical and stakeholder engagements;
2. Assisting senior staff with researching legislation, regulations, policies, and federal programs as it relates to state or local governments;
3. Assisting with preparing status updates for an organization's leadership and interagency partners as it relates to organizational activities.
Must Meet All.

B. Education: You may substitute education for experience if you have achieved: - Master's (or equivalent graduate degree), OR - 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. OR - LL.B. or J.D., if related.

C. Combination of Education and Experience: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and experience that total 100% of the experience requirements for the GS-09 grade level.

GS-11,
Applicants must meet either A, B, or C below.

A. Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-11, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:
1. Planning and coordinating official travel, preparing briefing materials, arranging logistical and stakeholder engagements, and providing on-site staffing support during visits.
2. Interpreting and applying federal legislation, regulations, and multi-agency policies to identify jurisdictional impacts and translate legal or regulatory requirements into clear, usable guidance for internal and external stakeholders.
3. Researching legislation, regulations, policies, and federal programs as it relates to state or local governments;
4. Preparing high level status updates for an organization's leadership and interagency partners as it relates to organizational activities.
Must Meet All.

B. Education: You may substitute education for experience if you have achieved: - Ph.D. OR equivalent doctoral degree, OR - 3 full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, OR - LL.M., if related.

C. Combination of Education and Experience: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and experience that total 100% of the experience requirements for the GS-11 grade level.

GS-12: Note: Education may NOT be substituted at grades 12 and above.

You must possess the specialized experience defined below in order to qualify for this grade level.

Specialized Experience: You must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:
1. Planning and coordinating official travel, preparing briefing materials, arranging logistical and stakeholder engagements, and providing on-site staffing support during visits.
2. Interpreting and applying federal legislation, regulations, and multi-agency policies to identify jurisdictional impacts and translate legal or regulatory requirements into clear, usable guidance for internal and external stakeholders.
3. Researching legislation, regulations, policies, and federal programs as it relates to state or local governments;
4. Preparing high level status updates for an organization's leadership and interagency partners as it relates to organizational activities.
5. Designs written analysis and briefing materials for senior leaders decision-making.
Must Meet All.

GS-13:

You must possess the specialized experience defined below in order to qualify for this grade level.

Specialized Experience: You must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:
1. Planning and coordinating official travel, preparing briefing materials, arranging logistical and stakeholder engagements, and providing on-site staffing support during visits.
2. Interpreting and applying federal legislation, regulations, and multi-agency policies to identify jurisdictional impacts and translate legal or regulatory requirements into clear, usable guidance for internal and external stakeholders.
3. Researching legislation, regulations, policies, and federal programs as it relates to state or local governments;
4. Preparing high level status updates for an organization's leadership and interagency partners as it relates to organizational activities.
5. Designs written analysis and briefing materials for senior leaders decision-making.
6. Reviewing complex policy materials to recognize relevant provisions, and assess how cross-cutting directives affect insular area governments and federal operations.
Must meet 5 out of the 6 statements above.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

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

In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of the USA Hire Assessment, if required.

All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

DUE WEIGHT: Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, you must submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

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

Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level.

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) -08/07/2026-unless otherwise stated.

1. Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates in month-year format (include month/day/year format if needed for 52 weeks of experience), and indicate hours worked per week (or full-time). Your resume must clearly show how long you have held each grade/rank. Resumes must not exceed 2 single-sided pages and resumes longer than 2 pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed. Your 2-page resume must contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements. Resume Builder: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include
2. Complete All Required Assessments.
3. Performance Appraisals and Awards: All applicants must submit their most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record and signed by a supervisor. If the performance appraisal is not dated within the last 18 months OR no performance appraisal is available, you must submit a statement as to why it is not available (including if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level).
4. All College Transcript(s), if qualifying based on education.
5. Eligibility Documentation:
   • Current and former Federal employees must submit latest SF-50 (i.e. Promotion, Separation, Within Grade Increase (WGI)) showing tenure 1 or 2 in block 24, grade, and if applicable, an additional SF-50 showing the highest grade or promotion potential held. Time in grade will be determined by reviewing your resume and required SF-50s. If your SF-50 showing highest permanent grade held has an effective date within the past year, your resume must clearly show that you held that grade for one year. Do not submit award SF-50s.
   • Veterans Preference Documentation: Veterans eligible under VRA (GS-11 & below only), VEOA, 30% or more Disabled, or Disabled Veterans Enrolled in a VA Training Program must submit the most recent Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions (e.g. DD-214) as listed on the SF15. If you are a Parent or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit all documentation as listed on the SF15. You may request a copy of the VA letter from https://www.va.gov/records. If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active-duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, & 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
   • Public Land Corps: You must provide a copy of your signed Certificate of Non-Competitive Eligibility and clearly state in your resume time served and duties performed on an appropriate conservation project.
   • Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA): If you are applying under LMWFA, you must submit ALL Appointment AND Termination SF-50s for EACH appointment verifying the Position Occupied code 1-Competitive Service (block 34); AND Documentation of satisfactory performance for each period of temporary employment claimed, such as, performance evaluations, memorandum of record, whereas the supervisor(s) documented an acceptable performance level for a specified rating/employment period.
   • Special Appointing Authorities: If you are applying under a special appointing authority (i.e. Schedule A, Peace Corps, Military Spouses, etc.), you must submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility. If you fail to submit proof, you will not receive consideration. If you're eligible for an authority not listed, you are responsible for submitting documentation that's appropriate for that specific authority.
   • Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan (I/CTAP): If you are applying under I/CTAP, you MUST submit proof of eligibility including a copy of the agency notice, most recent performance rating, and most recent SF-50 showing your position, grade level, and duty location. For more information visit: USAJOBS Help Center - Career Transition Programs (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL).

Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

Do not submit photographs with your application package. - you must remove your image from all documents.

Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.

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