Summary
This position is in the Department of Justice, Justice Management Division, Office of the Executive Secretariat. The Policy Analyst performs a variety of analytical, research, evaluative or other professional activities in the furtherance of the Department's responsibility for formulating, assessing, and promoting policy and program initiatives in the law enforcement and the administration of justice.
Duties
This position is in the Department of Justice, Justice Management Division, Office of the Executive Secretariat. The Office of the Executive Secretariat (OES) serves as a liaison between the Department of Justice's leadership offices (Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, and Associate Attorney General) and its components by overseeing the review and approval of official documents and coordinating the flow of information critical to rigorous decision making. The Office is also responsible for the coordination of all policy related decision material submitted to the Department for clearance. The Office provides records management services, including storage of classified material and document searches.
As a Policy Analyst, you may be responsible for:
* Identifies short-term policies and programs and provides recommendations to senior policy officials.
* Collects and analyzes pertinent data to establish policy issues and/or problems.
* Circulates policy clearance documents to relevant components/offices.
* Collaborates with internal and external components and offices.
* Provides guidance concerning program-related or administrative policies for application to internal program issues.
* Serves as a liaison between the Office of Executive Secretariat and internal and external stakeholders.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a United States Citizen or National.
- You will be required to complete a pre-employment security investigation and background check which includes a drug screening.
- You may be required to complete a one-year probationary or two-year trial period.
- Selective Service registration is required for males born on, or after, December 31st 1959. Those not registered should have an approved exemption on file.
- You must meet all eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement and continue to meet these requirements throughout the hiring process. Offers can be rescinded if requirements are not met.
- Additional selections may be made from this announcement, at any time, if openings occur in other offices serviced by Justice Management Division, HR Operations.
- A USA Hire assessment is required. An email will be sent with additional information after you submit your application. You will have 48 hours from the closing date of this announcement to complete the assessment.
Qualifications
To qualify for the position of Policy Analyst at (GS-0301-12/13), you must meet the basic qualification requirements listed below AND possess the required specialized experience specific to this series and grade you're applying to.
If you are a current or former government employee on a permanent appointment in the competitive service, you will need to demonstrate 1-year (52-weeks) at the next lower grade level, to meet the time-in-grade requirements for this occupational series and grade. Additionally, please ensure to submit an applicable SF50 (please refer to the "required documents" section for additional information).
**A two page resume is strongly recommended**
Specialized Experience:
For the GS-12, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-11 grade level or equivalent pay band in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: Assists in developing department wide policy goals and program development requirements; identifies short-term policy and program options and making recommendations; and develops research, collection, and analyze data for creating detailed reports.
For the GS-13, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-12 grade level or equivalent pay band in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: Advising management on program-related issues and policy guidelines; present recommendations and finding on program and policy effectiveness and collects, analyzes data, and write a detail analytical report for senior management.
You MUST meet all qualification requirements, including Time-in-Grade, by the closing date of this announcement, 09/25/2025.
Your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating. See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume.
After you submit this application, you will receive an e-mail informing you that a USA Hire assessment is required of you. You will have 48 hours from the closing date of this announcement (09/25/2025) to complete the assessment as this assessment is part of your application.
Education
For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience along. No substitution of education for experience is permitted.
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.
Review our 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):
- Attention to Detail
- Customer Service
- Decision Making
- Flexibility
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Learning
- Reading Comprehension
- Reasoning
- Self-Management
- Stress Tolerance
- Teamwork
In order 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.
When addressing the specialized experience statement, applicants must present evidence of the experience in their resume. If the specialized experience statement is repeated, in the applicant's resume, Human Resources will deem the applicant as ineligible.
BASIS OF FINAL RATING:
DOJ's Merit Promotion Procedures will be used to evaluate candidates.
Career Transition Programs (CTAP or ICTAP):
These programs apply to Federal and/or DOJ employees who meet the definition of surplus or displaced from a position in the competitive service. To receive selection priority for this position, you must:
- Meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria;
- Be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above based on the competencies listed above; and
- Submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.
Required Documents
Documentation requirements may vary from applicant to applicant based on your eligibility claims.
It is your responsibility to carefully review the list of document descriptions below, to see which documents are required for your application.
ALL APPLICANTS: You must submit a detailed resume containing the following pieces of information for each job entry listed in your employment history:
- Contact Information: Name, address, phone number, and email,
- Official position title;
- Employer name and contact information;
- Start and end dates (including month and year);
- A detailed list of duties & accomplishments,
- Your grade/step achieved; and
- The number of hours worked per week (or indicate full-time).
If you are a current or former Federal employee:
- You must submit your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or equivalent agency form. Do not submit an award SF-50, these do not contain sufficient information about your appointment
- Your SF-50 should list the full position title, series, grade and step, organization, duty location, service computation date, effective date, and your service type and tenure status.
- Submit a copy of your most recent performance evaluation or appraisal, signed, showing your final rating. If a performance appraisal is not available submit a statement explaining why one is not available.
- See USAJOBS Current & Former Employees for more information.
If you are a Veteran or a qualifying parent or spouse:
- Submit all DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, Member-4 Copy) forms.
- If you are a Veteran with a service-connected disability rating you will need to submit the SF-15 (Application for 10-point Veterans Preference) and a copy of your VA Letter stating your disability rating.
- If you are the qualifying parent or spouse of a disabled, deceased, or deployed Veteran, and are seeking a derived preference eligibility, you must submit appropriate supporting documentation such as the Veterans DD-214, SF-15, VA Letter.
- If you are a Purple Heart recipient, you will need to submit a copy of your Member 4 DD-214 or other official documentation.
- If you are claiming Veteran's Preference under the VOW Act, you will need to submit a certification letter from the armed forces that certifies you are expected to be discharged or released from active duty service in the armed forces under honorable conditions no later than 120 days after the date the certification is submitted.? This letter must contain (a) military service dates including the expected discharge or release date and (b) character of service.
- For more information on each type of Veterans Preference, and the documentation required for each, see FedsHireVets.
If you are a person with a disability, claiming eligibility under Schedule A:
- You must submit "proof of a disability" documentation ("Proof of a disability" is a letter stating that you have an intellectual disability, severe physical disability or psychiatric disability).
- You must get this letter from your doctor, a licensed medical professional, a licensed vocational rehabilitation specialist, or any Federal, state, or local agency that issues or provides disability benefits.
- For more information about Schedule A and verification requirements, please see OPM's Schedule A site.
If you are a displaced Federal employee claiming eligibility under CTAP or ICTAP:
- A copy of the agency notice (i.e., letter of intent, separation notice, or agency RIF letter),
- Your most recent performance appraisal, and
- Most recent SF-50 showing current/former position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location.
- See USAJOBS' Career Transition Programs for more information.
USAJOBS - What documents might I need to provide?
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/25/2025 to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
If you would like to preview the assessment questionnaire, please see: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12796799
- To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button
- Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
- Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on 09/25/2025.
- After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder.
- If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements (https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_System_Requirements)
- Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account.
To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (
https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to
Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account:
https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. All of your applications will appear on the
Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an
Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application, including the invitation to take the USA Hire assessment. The
Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each
Application Status means, visit:
https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/
Next steps
Based on your application and your responses to the application questionnaire, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire system to complete the online assessments. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation for the assessment should you have a disability covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Your assessment results will be kept on record for one year and used toward future positions for which you might apply that require the same assessments.
To be considered for the position, you must meet all qualifications, including meeting or exceeding the cut score on the required assessments.