Staff Assistant

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Department of State career or career conditional status employees in the competitive service; employees who are on temporary or other non-status appointments who have reinstatement or non-competitive eligibility for a competitive service appointment (e.g., career Foreign Service employees, employees on an excepted service appointment at the USUN who have previous career status, etc.); and CTAP.

• Manages all operational support to the organization and develops operating procedures and best practices to facilitate the coordination of operational efforts, program and operational studies, logistical studies and recordkeeping.
• Develops processes and procedures to conduct and coordinate all management issues including personnel, travel, general services, training, procurement, communication and correspondence issues, space management, records, and scheduling.
• Creates work processes for scheduling, logistical, and planning support for inter organizational groups/meetings. Engages bureaus to facilitate meetings and organize inter organizational groups, and establish a process to formalize relationships.
• Review important matters requiring the attention of the Under Secretary and members of staff; analyzes proposals and policy recommendations, office correspondence, reports and other highly classified documents for clearance and endorsements
• Undertakes special projects, as assigned, by the Under Secretary, Chief of Staff, Senior Advisor or other leadership staff.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.

Qualifications

Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements, by the closing date of this announcement.

Time-In-Grade Requirements: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions, per 5CFR 300, Subpart F.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following: 

• Experience managing all operational support to the organization to include facilitating senior official visits or meetings;
• Experience managing calendars, coordinating travel arrangements and developing office management procedures;
• Experience preparing oral and written reports, briefings and papers for senior leadership; AND
• Experience managing international partnerships, programs/initiatives and high-visibility representational events, convenings and conferences. 

There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-12 position.

How you will be evaluated

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

A review of your resume  will be conducted and compared against your responses to the crediting plan questions to determine if you are qualified for this job.  Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements, as described in the “Qualifications” section of this announcement, will be assigned a score between 70 and 100. The evaluation process consists of an online assessment and a subject matter expert  resume review of applicants found to be among the top qualified candidates based on the crediting plan assessment. Resumes longer than two pages will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered further.  Responses to questions that are not fully supported by the information in your resume may result in adjustments to your rating.  

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies: 

• Skill in developing, scheduling, coordinating and managing projects/resources, considering the contract type and various contracting and procurement techniques.
• Ability to provide office management support.
• Ability to arrange travel. 
• Skill in oral communication. 
• Knowledge of data integrity in computer systems.
• Ability to apply logic and reasoning.

In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. We do not make assumptions regarding your experience. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials may result in your removal from consideration. 

Applicants found to be among the top qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview.  Qualified non-competitive candidates must be deemed best qualified based on the applicant assessment in order to be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview. 

Resume review: Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. Your resume should demonstrate how you meet all aspects of the specialized experience statement. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., links embedded in your resume will not be opened.).  If meeting basic qualifications through education only or a combination of education and experience, applicants will not be referred to the SME panel but will be reviewed by the HR Specialist for referral. 

Agency Career and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP and ICTAP) candidates must be considered well-qualified for the position and submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement to receive consideration for selection priority. To be considered well-qualified, in addition to earning a score of 85 or above and meeting minimum qualifications, candidates must demonstrate proficiency in some, but not all of the major aspects of the position. 

All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to our automated system by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

1. Resume limited to two pages showing relevant work/volunteer experience, education and training. Include the start and end dates (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours per week worked/volunteered. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must support your answers to the completed online assessment questions. Resumes longer than two pages will be deemed ineligible and will not be considered further.

2. Most recent SF-50s (Notification of Personnel Actions), if you are a current eligible DOS employee (per 3 FAM 2313.4(a)(5)), including current employees applying under a non-competitive hiring authority. The SF-50s must show: effective date, position title, series, grade, salary, tenure, position occupied, full promotion potential, and name of agency. Multiple SF-50s may be needed to show all required information (e.g., promotion, within-grade increase, and separation SF-50s). Award SF-50s often do not show the required information. 

3.  Performance appraisal, strongly encouraged for current eligible DOS employees. Submit a copy of your most recent (i.e., usually within the last 18 months) final (i.e., not a mid-year review) official (i.e., signed by the rating official and in original format) annual performance appraisal for the hiring manager’s consideration. If a performance appraisal is not available, you may provide a statement and/or a statement from your supervisor explaining the reason one is not available and your servicing HR Office contact information (name, email address, phone number).

Note: You may be requested to provide an appraisal to the hiring official if one was not provided with your application.  To receive a promotion, the employee’s most recent performance rating must be “fully successful” or an equivalent level or higher. Employees who are tentatively selected to receive a promotion will be required to provide performance documentation within two business days of request. Servicing HR Offices may be contacted to verify performance ratings.

4.  Non-competitive hiring authority eligibility documentation, if applicable. If you are a current eligible DOS employee applying under a non-competitive hiring authority (e.g, FS tenured employees, USUN reinstatement eligibles, Schedule A), you must submit proof of non-competitive eligibility with your application.  For information related to Schedule A hiring authority for individuals with disabilities visit OPM’s hiring information site.  

5.  CTAP documentation, if applicable (e.g., reduction-in-force (RIF) separation notice, certification of expected separation, etc.).  In addition submit a copy of your current (or last) performance rating of record which must be at least fully successful or equivalent and submit all required documents listed above that apply to you (e.g., resume, transcripts, SF-50, etc.).

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