Clarification from the agency

Current or former Federal employees with competitive status obtained through a permanent Federal competitive service appointment OR individuals with eligibility for noncompetitive special appointing authority OR ICTAP/CTAP eligibles OR veterans eligible under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA). This position is open to the public under announcement NSF-26-12942928.

As an Executive Assistant, you will perform the following duties:

• Serve as a confidential assistant to an executive handling private and/or sensitive information with discretion.
• Collaborate with senior staff to address business needs and enhance effectiveness by evaluating complex management processes and projects using analytical techniques.
• Research diverse subjects and analyze data to deliver authoritative information and materials for senior leadership's preparation of reports, policy documents, and speeches.
• Schedule internal and external meetings for executives, and prepare and distribute meeting materials, including notices, file briefs, agendas, and supporting documentation.
• Plan and coordinate all foreign and domestic travel, accommodations, and transportation for executives and special guests. Review travel requests and vouchers to ensure compliance with Federal Travel Regulations and NSF policies
• Work with executives on special assignments and projects of a sensitive and/or high priority nature.
• Other duties as assigned.

Conditions of employment

1. You must be a U.S. citizen.
2. Selectee will be required to have a background investigation prior to onboarding.
3. Selectee may be required to serve a 2-year trial/1-year probationary period.

Additional Requirements:
Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade/equivalent.

You must meet eligibility and qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date.

You must answer all job-related questions in the NSF eRecruit questionnaire and any external assessment that is included.

All online applicants must provide a valid email address. If your email address is inaccurate or your mailbox is full/blocked, you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.

It is NSF policy that personnel employed at, or Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) individuals detailed to, NSF are not permitted to participate in foreign talent recruitment programs. Failure to comply with this NSF policy could result in disciplinary action up to and including removal from Federal Service or termination of an IPA assignment and referral to the Office of Inspector General.

NSF has determined that all of its positions are eligible for telework. Work suitable for telework depends on job duties; therefore, employees must receive approval from their supervisor for telework and have a telework agreement in place. Entering into a telework agreement is voluntary.

Qualifications

To qualify at the GS-9 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level in the Federal service providing administrative program support for an organizational executive.

OR A master's or equivalent graduate degree;
OR 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree;
OR A combination of post high school education and experience that together meet the qualification requirements for this position.

Examples of specialized experience for the GS-9 level include:

• Serving as a personal assistant in a confidential capacity to a senior official
• Performing management planning, meeting planning, and coordinating and organizing policy activities
• Performing various administrative duties independently
• Completing special assignments of a high priority and sensitive nature.

To qualify at the GS-11 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level in Federal service providing substantive administrative and organizational program support for senior executive leaders.

OR possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree;
OR possess 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree;
OR a combination of post high school education and experience that together meet the qualification requirements for this position.

Examples of specialized experience for the GS-11 level include:

• Speaking for a senior official in informal circumstances, communicating their goals and objectives
• Independently researching and analyzing various subjects and issues to provide authoritative recommendations to executives
• Planning and coordinating travel, accommodations, and transportation arrangements for a senior official

Experience refers to paid/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/experience that translates directly to paid work. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

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., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

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. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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

• Integrity/Honesty
• Reasoning
• Decision Making
• Attention to Detail
• Flexibility
• Interpersonal Skills

Applicants eligible for selection preference under ICTAP must meet the agency definition of "well qualified." At NSF, this means a score of 85.0 or higher.

In the merit promotion selection process, formal performance appraisals may be considered if voluntarily submitted by the applicant.

To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12943135

All applicants are required to submit a legible resume/CV that is no longer than two pages. The resume must include a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates specified in month and year, and indicates hours worked per week. If a military or civilian Federal employee, you must include your rank and/or grade.

• IMPORTANT NOTE: Only the two-page resume, starting at your work experience, will be reviewed to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the specialized experience. Additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letters, links to additional information) will not be reviewed to determine if you meet the specialized experience listed in the "Qualifications" section of this announcement. In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. We may not make assumptions regarding your experience.

Additional Documents, if applicable, may include:

• Applicants may submit an optional cover letter.
• You must submit proof of meeting the basic education requirement described in the QUALIFICATIONS paragraph. Therefore, you MUST submit TRANSCRIPTS (unofficial copies are acceptable) or a DIPLOMA that verifies that the requirement is met. OR If qualifying based on education, you must submit TRANSCRIPTS (unofficial copies are acceptable) or a DIPLOMA that verifies that the requirement is met.
• If you are an NSF employee on or eligible for a permanent, competitive service position or you are an NSF employee who is reinstatement eligible based on prior Federal permanent, competitive service, you do not need to submit a Standard Form 50 (SF-50) to confirm status.
• If you are not an NSF employee as described above, but you are eligible under merit promotion, under an Interchange Agreements, under a non-competitive authority, or under a similar authority, you will be required to submit supporting documentation. This will typically require the submission of one or more of the following documents:
  • Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50s) or comparable federal agency forms to verify your eligibility for reinstatement and/or grade/step/salary if you are a current or former permanent federal civil service employee.- SF-50 must indicate that appointment is/was to a competitive service position with permanent tenure or conditional tenure within the last three years; OR, to a similar position in the excepted service at an agency that has an Interchange Agreement.- An example of a comparable agency form is a personnel action from a DOD Non-appropriated Fund organization or from the US Postal Service for a current and continuing appointment without a break in service.- Documents that are NOT comparable and NOT acceptable substitutes for a SF-50 include a SF-52, a Performance Appraisal form, a Personnel Action Request (PAR), or a Request for Personnel Action (RPA).
  • Performance appraisals and awards may be considered during the evaluation process if voluntarily submitted.
  • DD-214 (Member-4 copy); and if applicable, an SF15, the Department of Veterans Affairs Notice of Compensable Disability Rating (VA Letter) from applicants requesting consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA), Veteran Recruitment Act (VRA), or the disabled veterans appointing authority.
  • Schedule A Certification - from applicants requesting consideration under the Schedule A appointing authority for disabled applicants.
  • Other - Documentation which verifies you are eligible to be appointed to a permanent position in the federal competitive civil service. If you are requesting consideration under a Special Hiring Authority listed below, you must submit the required documentation as outlined in the regulation or Executive Order. Please also annotate your application to reflect that you are applying under a special hiring authority. This includes:
    • Returned Peace Corp Volunteers
    • Certain Military Spouses (Executive Order 13473)
    • Former Overseas Employees
    • Foreign Service Employees
    • Career Service Employees
    • Postal Rate Commission Employees
    • Government Accountability Office (GAO) Employees
    • Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Employees
• If you are requesting special employment consideration under ICTAP or CTAP, you must submit documentation provided by your current or former employing agency verifying your eligibility for that program. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of your most recent performance rating, and a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing your position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP or ICTAP eligible.

All uploading must be completed before 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET) on the vacancy closing date.

IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, DATE OF BIRTH OR ANY OTHER PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION ON YOUR APPLICATION DOCUMENTS.

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