Clarification from the agency

You may apply if you are a Status Candidate (this includes current or former Federal employees with career or career-conditional tenure in the competitive service; Former Overseas Employees, CTAP, ICTAP, VEOA, VRA, 30% or More Disabled Veterans, Schedule A, Military Spouses, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, Vista and Interchange Agreement Eligible)

As a Program Support Assistant at the full performance level, you will;

• Serve as a Confidential Assistant providing administrative, clerical, and program support to the Office of General Counsel, including office operations, coordination and tracking of Whistleblower Program activities, and FOIA administrative support.
• Provide general administrative and clerical support to the General Counsel and all OGC staff, including scheduling, travel assistance, records management, filing, office supply coordination, meeting logistics, and editing or preparing routine correspondence.
• Organize and maintain office records, correspondence, and workflow systems to support smooth operations and ensure timely retrieval and disposition of documents.
• Serve as a receptionist/intake point for clients, respond to routine inquiries, and follow up with OIG staff on pending matters to ensure timely completion of tasks.
• Support OIG Front Office components, including the Offices of Communications and Innovation, International Partnerships, and Overseas Contingency Operations, by attending meetings and assisting with administrative processes that facilitate effective program operations.
• Provide administrative support for the Whistleblower Protection Program by receiving, logging, routing, and tracking disclosures and complaints; generating standard correspondence; conducting follow-up; communicating with stakeholders; and maintaining relevant databases and records.
• Support the FOIA Program by receiving and processing incoming FOIA requests; generating acknowledgments and routine responses; tracking deadlines; coordinating with OIG staff on request processing; and managing FOIA records and final document assemblies.
• Apply established administrative procedures and judgment to maintain workflow tracking systems, ensure timely action on assignments, and recommend improvements to clerical processes where appropriate.
• Communicate and coordinate with internal and external stakeholders to exchange information, ensure accurate processing of administrative actions, and maintain effective working relationships across OIG offices.
• Safeguard sensitive information, maintain confidentiality of legal and program-related materials, and comply with all applicable policies, including FOIA, Whistleblower Protection, Privacy Act, and records management requirements.
• Perform other duties as assigned in support of OGC and Front Office operations.

Conditions of employment

• United States Citizenship is required.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance.
• Males born after 12/31/1959, must be registered with the Selective Service.
• You may be required to serve a one-year probationary period.
• Completion of Financial Disclosure may be required.
• Designated and/or random drug testing required

Qualifications

To qualify for the GS-09 grade level, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-07 level in the Federal service or equivalent. Specialized experience is defined as: 1) Providing administrative support, such as scheduling office meetings, keeping office activities organized, preparing correspondence, and supporting daily office operations by following established procedures. 2) Keeping records and files organized, including storing, locating, tracking, and properly disposing of documents-such as program files or case materials-according to records management rules and guidelines, and 3) Receiving and processing incoming program-related requests or correspondence-such as FOIA inquiries or whistleblower submissions-by logging them, routing them to the right staff, sending standard acknowledgments, updating tracking systems, following up as needed, and ensuring all steps follow required procedures.

Time in Grade Requirement: Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date. This means that you must have served at least 52 weeks at the next grade level (or equivalent) below the grade advertised on this vacancy announcement.

ICTAP/CTAP: If you are requesting special employment consideration under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) or CTAP, you must provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP or CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP or CTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy.

To be well-qualified you must meet the following: OPM qualification requirements for the position, all selective factors, where applicable; special OPM approved qualifying conditions for the position; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate, to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and receives a rating of at least "well-qualified" on the questionnaire. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP or CTAP eligibility, or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information regarding ICTAP or CTAP eligibility is available from Career Transition (opm.gov).

How you will be evaluated

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

We use a multi-step process to review and evaluate applicants:

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this announcement. You will be assessed on the following competencies:

• Administrative Processes and Techniques
• Organize workflow or clerical and administrative support functions
• Interpret and apply policies and guidelines
• Technology Awareness
• Verbal and Written Communication

Evaluation will be based on your application materials (such as your resume and supporting documents), your responses to the application questionnaire, and the results of all required assessments.

Resume Requirement Please limit your resume to 2 pages with the font size no smaller than 10 points. If your resume is more than 2 pages, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed and considered for the qualification determination.

Minimum Qualification Question As part of the application process, you must answer a minimum qualification question addressing whether you meet the Specialized Experience required for this position, as described in this announcement.

Your response must be supported by the experience documented in your resume. If your resume does not demonstrate the required Specialized Experience, you may be found not qualified. If you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, your application will be further evaluated based on your answers to the vacancy questionnaire, using the Category Rating Method. This means you will be placed into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified, depending on your responses. Your rating may be lowered if your responses are not supported by the experience described in your resume. Veterans' preference is applied by listing preference eligibles ahead of non-preference eligibles within the same category in which they are placed. Qualified preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent (CPS and CP) will be placed at the top of the highest quality category (Best Qualified), ahead of all other preference and non-preference eligibles, regardless of the quality category in which they are placed as a result of the assessment of their qualifications (excepted for scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level and above). A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Qualified), provided no preference eligibles in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible.

SME Resume Review Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine whether you meet the required Specialized Experience.

SME Structured Interview You may be invited to participate in a structured interview with one or more Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to assess the required competencies for the position.

Applicants who successfully pass the assessment(s) may be referred to the Hiring Manager for consideration.

You must complete all required steps in the process, including submitting an application and resume and participating in the structured interview, to be considered for this position.

• Resume (limited to 2 pages) showing relevant experience (to include month and year).
• Most recent performance appraisal if applicable
• Veterans' documentation, if requesting consideration under any veterans' hiring eligibilities such as VRA, preference point entitlement (e,g, DD214, SF-15, and Veteran's Administration Letter). For a detailed list of documents, click here.
• Supporting documentation if seeking eligibility based any other special hiring authority (e.g., disabled veteran, Schedule A) For a detailed list of documents, click here.
• Supporting documentation ICTAP/CTAP if applicable
• Status candidates submit a recent copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action); your document must reflect grade, step, tenure code 1 or 2, and type of position occupied.

• Documents That Are Required for Verification of Eligibility:Your resume:your resume must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Please limit your resume to 2 pages with the font size no smaller than 10 points. If your resume is more than 2 pages, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed and considered for the qualification determination.
  
  Other supporting documents:

  Proof of Eligibility to Apply: Your application must include the documents which prove you are eligible to apply for the vacancy. You must meet the requirements of at least one of the authorities listed in the Who May Apply section above to receive further consideration.

• (If applies) Copies of transcripts are required if qualifying based on education for this announcement; failure to submit will result in removal from consideration. If you are selected for the position, official transcripts are required before appointment to official duty
• Veterans' documentation, if requesting consideration under any veterans' hiring eligibilities such as VRA, preference point entitlement (e,g, DD214, SF-15, and Veteran's Administration Letter).
• Proof of United States Citizenship (birth certificate or other acceptable documentation, may be required upon request).
• Proof of military service (DD214s or other equivalent documents).
• Proof of government service providing reinstatement eligibility Notification of Personnel Action, SF-50 or other equivalent document.
• SF15, Application for 10-Point Veteran's Preference and appropriate documentation (for 10-point compensable or non-compensable disability preference, Purple Heart, disability pension, or preference based on service of spouse or child).
• Supporting documentation if seeking eligibility based any other special hiring authority (e.g., disabled veteran, Schedule A) For a detailed list of documents, click here.
• Status candidates can submit a recent copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action), your document must reflect grade, step, tenure code 1 or 2, and type of position occupied.
• Proof of government service documenting that you have met time-in-grade requirement: If you are applying for a higher grade and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one year time-in-grade requirement so you will need to provide an SF-50 which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within-grade Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old).

Next steps