Summary
This position is located in the National Science Foundation Office of the Director (OD), Office of Legislative and Public Affairs (OLPA), Government Affairs Branch. The incumbent is responsible for assisting in the facilitation, coordination, and communication of information to the Congress and the public on a wide range of issues related to Federal support for science and engineering research and education.
This job is open to
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. This position is open to the public under vacancy number OLPA-24-12380846.
Duties
As a Government Affairs Specialist, GS-0301-11/12 MP, you will perform the following duties:
- Supports the NSF Government Affairs staff members to enable close and continuing contacts and strategic engagement with Members of Congress and congressional staff.
- Helps to ensure NSF leadership is aware of all congressional initiatives and concerns relating to NSF by, assisting analyzing legislation that may impact NSF, attending and preparing reports of congressional hearings, mark-ups, and floor debates pertaining to issues important to NSF
- Manages Congressional correspondence, the grant notification system and other databases; supports tracking legislation; etc.
- Identifies opportunities to develop working partnerships between state-level stakeholders, institutions of higher education, and NSF.
- Performs operational functions, administrative support, special projects and duties as assigned.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a US citizen.
- Selectee will be required to have a background investigation prior to onboarding.
- Selectee may be required to serve a 1-year trial/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 & qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date.
You must answer all job-related questions in the NSF eRecruit questionnaire & 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.
Qualifications
To qualify at the GS-11 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in federal service supporting communications with members of Congress and/or Congressional staff. Examples of experience include: researching Congressional initiatives and legislation; analyzing legislation; drafting responses to Congressional inquiries/reports; drafting informational materials; identifying and tracking congressional reporting requirements; and establishing and maintaining relationships with Members of Congress, Congressional staffs, and/or external organizational stakeholders. OR
- Must Possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR
- Must Have Three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR
- Must Have a combination of post high school education and experience that together meet the qualification requirements for this position.
To qualify at the GS-12 level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in federal service facilitating communication with Members of Congress and Congressional staffs. maintaining an awareness of Congressional initiatives and legislation; analyzing legislation to determine potential impacts; drafting responses and recommendations based on Congressional inquiries/reports; developing informational materials on legislative issues; identifying and tracking congressional reporting requirements; and establishing and maintaining relationships with Members of Congress, Congressional staffs, and external organizational stakeholders.
In addition to meeting the specialized experience above. Applicant must also meet the following selective placement factor below:
I have experience managing and tracking Congressional reporting and correspondence as part of the federal legislative processes.
Experience refers to paid/unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) & other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, & skills & can provide valuable training/experience that translates directly to paid work. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Education
Education may be substituted for experience as described in "Qualifications" at the GS-11 level. If qualifying based on education, you must submit TRANSCRIPTS (unofficial copies are acceptable) or a DIPLOMA that verifies that the requirement is met.
There is no substitution of education for experience at the GS-12 level.
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.
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.
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), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
- External Awareness
- Organizational Awareness
- Stakeholder Management
- Teamwork
- Technical Competence
In some cases, additional assessment processes may be used.
Review your resume and responses carefully. Responses that are not fully supported by the information in your application package may result in adjustments to your score. A Human Resources Representative will validate the qualifications of those candidates eligible to be referred to the selecting official.
Applicants eligible for selection preference under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) must meet the agency definition of "well qualified." At NSF, this means a score of 90.0 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/12380847
Required Documents
All applicants should submit a resume/CV of their choice and may also submit a cover letter.
- 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 need not submit documents 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 the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (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.
- If qualifying based on education at the GS-11 level, you must submit TRANSCRIPTS (unofficial copies are acceptable) or a DIPLOMA that verifies that the requirement is met.
All uploading must be completed before 11:59 PM Eastern time 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.
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
Applicants must complete and submit an application online at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) USAJOBS website at https://www.USAJOBS.gov. An account must be established at the OPM website following the instructions provided in order to apply for the position. Once you have completed the USAJOBS process, you will be re-directed to the USA Staffing system to complete your application process, answer the online questions, and submit all required documents. Applications submitted other than the USAJOBS online application WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED under this announcement.
- Your application and all supporting documents must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of this announcement. Applicants applying online for this position will be able to apply until 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of this announcement. Please allow adequate time to complete your application.
- If you encounter technical difficulties during the process, please submit a USA Staffing Help Ticket for assistance. If you have technical difficulties applying to the vacancy on the USAJOBS website, click on Contact USAJOBS. It is suggested that you do not wait until the last day to apply for a vacancy announcement. We will not accept applications other than those submitted through USAJOBS.
- As the applicant, it is your responsibility to verify that information entered, uploaded, and submitted is received and is accurate. Ensure that your application includes the required documents listed under "Required Documents" and that they are uploaded in the appropriate fields.
- If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of this application and hiring process, please notify the point of contact on this job opportunity announcement.
Next steps
You may check the status of your application at any time on the USAJOBS website
Applicants should click 'Track this Application' in the Applicant Dashboard to receive application updates.
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