Executive Assistant

Clarification from the agency

MARAD.MMA-wide employees with competitive status only, including FAA employees eligible for competitive announcements through FAA's OPM Interchange Agreement.

The Executive Assistant:

• Manages daily administrative operations, complex executive calendars, travel itineraries under Federal Travel Regulations, and administrative support personnel for the Immediate Office of the Superintendent to ensure effective office management and decision-making.
• Serves as the primary point of contact and liaison to senior officials across the Department of Transportation, Congress, military services, and the maritime industry, professionally handling sensitive inquiries and confidential matters.
• Reviews, analyzes, and controls all incoming and outgoing executive correspondence, managing suspense tracking systems to ensure proper staff coordination, security markings, and timely completion of reports.
• Conducts comprehensive research into DOT and USMMA directives, orders, and administrative issuances to prepare executive briefing materials, resolve operational challenges, and recommend management improvements.

The ideal candidate for this Executive Assistant position is a proactive, seasoned administrative professional who thrives in a high-stakes, fast-paced executive environment. Candidate should bring a high degree of discretion, sharp political acumen, and exceptional organizational skills to the Immediate Office of the Superintendent at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA).

Conditions of employment

• Must meet specialized experience stated in Qualifications section
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance the organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

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.

• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A background security investigation is required for all selected individuals. Appointment will be subject to the applicant’s successful completion of the security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
• TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade in the competitive or excepted service in the executive branch to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience requirements. consideration.

To qualify for the Grade 12, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11 it must include:

• Experience coordinating and managing daily administrative operations for senior managers or executive leadership, including calendar priority setting, travel arrangements under government regulations, and administrative supervision of office staff.
• Experience serving as an administrative liaison between senior leadership and high-ranking officials across government agencies, legislative offices, or industry groups, exercising tact and discretion when handling sensitive or confidential inquiries.
• Experience analyzing incoming executive mail, maintaining suspense tracking systems, reviewing completed action packages for policy compliance and proper clearances, and drafting official executive correspondence.
• Experience conducting research using agency directives, orders, and regulations to analyze operational issues, prepare background briefing packages, and recommend procedural improvements.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs):  Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

• Planning and Evaluating: Ability to organize work, establish priorities, coordinate activities across organizational components, monitor progress, and evaluate outcomes to support executive-level operations.
• Problem Solving: Ability to identify and analyze complex administrative or program issues, evaluate relevant information and alternatives, exercise sound judgment, and develop recommendations for resolution.
• Oral Communication: Ability to communicate effectively with senior officials, internal and external stakeholders, and other organizations regarding complex, sensitive, or potentially controversial matters.

For all types of consideration, 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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link:  https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. To receive full credit during evaluation, your assessment responses must explicitly point back to your resume, as HR cannot make assumptions about your experience. You must write your narrative answers in full paragraph format, beginning each response with the exact position title, organization, employment dates (MM/YYYY–MM/YYYY), full-time/part-time, average hours worked per week, and federal series/grade (if applicable) as listed on your resume. Within the paragraph, clearly describe your specific individual duties, actions taken, tools used, and measurable outcomes to prove your level of expertise. HR will cross-check your narrative against your resume; if your resume does not fully support every detail and timeframe claimed in your written response, the claimed experience will be disallowed, which may result in an ineligible determination.

Eligible Federal employees also seeking consideration for noncompetitive reassignment for this position, must indicate interest in the assessment. Noncompetitive federal candidates must have competitive status on a SF-50, meet minimum qualifications, have served at the same grade or higher, and held or exceeded the promotion potential of this position.

All applicants:  Your application will be reviewed in two phases determine how you move forward in the hiring process.  Phase I: Your resume will be reviewed to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. ONLY two (2) pages of your resume will be reviewed. Additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume) will not be reviewed.  Applicants passing “Phase I” will move on to the “Phase II” of the assessment process where your application will be reviewed and rated based on the KSAs/Competencies listed in the vacancy announcement by a Subject Matter Expert (SME).

• your most recent performance appraisal,
• the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and
• your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade. 
• YOU MUST SUBMIT ALL 3 documents and meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 80) to be considered under CTAP.

Displaced employees may be eligible for CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition.

Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents.  Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system.

 

Next steps