Clarification from the agency

See "Who May Apply" in the "Qualifications" section for more information on who is eligible to apply for this position.

• As a fully participating discipline on project design teams, interior design duties include:
• Providing recommendations relative to professional interior design considerations such as textures, colors, pattern, finish materials, acoustics, lighting, furnishings, signage, and the psychological and relative aesthetic value of their application
• Preparing "structural" interior design, composed of layout and coordination of the above interior and finish items; floor, wall, and window coverings, built-in features; handicapped features; work stations, and furnishings attached to the building.
• Creating documentation for assigned projects from an interior design suitability standpoint, as they relate to compliance with contract requirements and accepted interior design practices, in addition to meeting applicable codes and standards.
• Developing supporting data required to prepare scope-of-services for interior design portion of contracts.

Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position has a 25% TDY Requirement.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: To be eligible for consideration you must meet the definition of recent graduate as defined below:

Recent Graduate: a person who was awarded a degree by an institution of higher education not more than two years before the date of the appointment of the applicant. Exception: For a person who has completed a period of obligated service in a uniformed service of more than four years, the degree may be awarded by an institution of higher education not more than four years before the date of the appointment of the applicant. You must submit a copy of your transcript to determine eligibility under this hiring authority.

To learn more, please visit the Office of Personnel Management webpage, Hiring Authorities: Students & Recent Graduates.

This is a developmental position with a target grade of GS-11. Assignments at the GS-07 level will become progressively more difficult and will be under closer than normal supervision until the next level of GS-09 is reached. Assignments at the GS-09 level will become progressively more difficult and will be under close supervision until the full performance level is reached. Non-Competitive promotion to the target job may be effected provided you are sufficiently experienced; meet all necessary qualification requirements for promotion to the target job; and is performing the full scope of the major duties


In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Minimum Qualifications for GS-07: One year of specialized experience which includes designing and altering interior spaces to meet functional and aesthetic needs; meeting with vendors and manufacturer to discuss and evaluate materials, finishes, equipment, and furnishings; making appropriate selection based on familiarity with project and experienced judgment. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05).

OR Education: One full academic year (minimum 18 semester hours) of graduate-level education directly related to interior design or the design and alteration of interior space to meet the functional requirements.

OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for the position if the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education by 18. Add the 2 percentages.

OR Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement. To be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. Superior Academic Achievement is based on: (1) Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR (2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR (3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/).

Minimum Qualifications for GS-09: One year of specialized experience which includes creating furniture plans in CAD software, creating furniture packages to include, but not limited to, bill of materials, room by room contents lists, and item installation lists; participating in determining action plan and project design related tasks. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07).

OR Education: A master's or equivalent graduate degree or two full years (minimum 36 semester hours) of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.B. or J.D. directly related to interior design or the design and alteration of interior space to meet the functional requirements.

OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for the position if the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond one year (18 semester hours) by 18. Add the 2 percentages.

Minimum Qualifications for GS-11: One year of specialized experience which includes applying basic interior design theories, principles, and concepts to evaluate design objectives and identify the most economical and efficient procedures of building design and performance; participating in furniture procurement processes, to include collaborating with others within the workplace to see projects through to procurement, installation, punch inspection, and closeout. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09).

OR Education: A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or three full years (minimum 54 semester hours) of progressively higher-level graduate education directly related to interior design or the design and alteration of interior space to meet the functional requirements.

OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for the position if the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond two years (36 semester hours) by 18. Add the 2 percentages.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

Veterans and Military Spouses will be considered along with all other candidates.

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist for Public Announcements

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

• Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
• For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.

2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
• You must submit a copy of your transcript to determine eligibility under this hiring authority. Further, if you claim qualifications based on education and do not submit a supporting transcript, your education will not be used in making a qualification determination and you may be found not qualified. See: Transcripts and Licenses

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

Next steps