KEY REQUIREMENTS



• Incumbent will be subject to random drug testing.
• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.
• Relocation expenses will NOT be paid.
• Domestic and overseas travel may be required.
• One year probationary period, unless excepted by regulation.

The incumbent is this position provides substantive staff support in a variety of areas to the Office of the Deputy Secretary.  The major duties include:

-  Carrying out special assignments requiring a high degree of tact and diplomacy and requiring a comprehensive knowledge of the operations of the Exchange Visitor Program, as well as the views of the DAS and other senior ECA bureau officials.  

-  Assisting in logistical and at times substantive scheduling, planning and implementation of events/meetings/travel involving the Deputy Assistant Secretary. Often joins the DAS in meetings and on travel. 

-  Taking actions on or coordinating action on programs, requests and matters received in the office. 

-  Provides leadership in the assignment, preparation, completion and clearance of all DAS memos, statements, talking points and information papers and makes recommendations where appropriate.  

-  Serves as liaison between DAS and Exchange Visitor Program sponsors and stakeholders, maintains extensive contacts and understands the complexities of the relationship between that community and the Department of State.

- Organizing and maintaining correspondence and operational files for the DAS.

- Executing sound judgment and discretion in a fast paced and high-visibility office.

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements, including education and any selective placement factors described below by the closing date of this announcement.  Education may only be substituted in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook.  Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order to be credited towards qualifications.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States.  It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying.  Click on the link for a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials.
Applicants applying for the GS-09 grade level must meet one of the following requirements:

A. Have at least 1 full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service which provided you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.  Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following: 

OR

-Experience with the Exchange Visitor Program.

-Experience with the United States Government (USG) organizations' roles and responsibilities, programs, missions, goals, and interrelationships with other organizations.

-Experience in oral and written communication. 

B. Have a master's or equivalent graduate degree, OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, OR LL.B or J.D. from an accredited college or university.  This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the work of the position to be filled;

OR  

C. Have a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience (as described above), which is equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal Service. This experience and education together meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.
Combination of Experience and Education: When an applicant has less than one year of specialized experience as described in the announcement, he or she may combine successfully completed graduate-level education with experience to meet the total qualification requirements.  Generally, 18 graduate semester hours is equivalent to 1 full-time year of graduate study (your school and department determine what constitutes 1 full time year of graduate study).  The percentage of specialized work experience and the percentage of graduate study must total at least 100%.
Note:  All applicants WILL BE required to submit transcripts as verification of educational requirement.  If you fail to provide requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you may lose consideration for this position.

.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

Your application will be evaluated and rated under the Category Rating and Selection procedures.  Based on your responses to the job-specific self-assessment questions, eligible candidates are placed for selection consideration into one of three pre-defined quality categories as described below:

Highly-qualified Category - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications for the position, candidates must fully demonstrate proficiency in all major aspects of the position.  

Well Qualified Category - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications, candidates must demonstrate proficiency in some but not all of the major aspects of the position.

Qualified Category - In addition to meeting minimum qualifications, applicants must demonstrate a basic level of knowledge, skill and ability of the position.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs) and other characteristics that are relevant to the duties of this position and must be fully supported by information in your resume:

2. Knowledge of and experience with the Exchange Visitor Program.

3. Ability to liaise with others, organize extensive communications and maintain a robust contact list with program stakeholders.

4. Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.

5. Ability to interact with and support senior Department officials.

Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience(s) and education (if applicable) as it relates to this job opportunity.  In order to fully evaluate your application and receive proper credit, your resume should include: (1) paid and non-paid experience, job title, dates held (month and year for qualifying purposes to receive credit), number of hours worked per week, and salary (2) knowledge of the subject matter and technical skills pertinent to this position; (3) specific duties performed that fully detail the level and complexity of the work; and (4) names and phone numbers of your current and/or previous supervisor(s). Your resume should contain sufficient information to make a valid determination that you fully meet the basic/specialized experience requirements as stated in this job opportunity announcement for each grade level(s) for which you are applying.  This information should be clearly identified in your resume.  Failure to provide information sufficient to determine your qualifications for the position will result in loss of consideration.  For tips on writing your resume, please visit the USAJOBS Resource Center.

If, after reviewing your resume and self-assessment questionnaire responses and a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, a score will be manually determined that reflects your documented experience.  This may result in a lower score, which may also eliminate you from consideration for this position.

Application of Veterans Preference: The Category Rating Method does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three," but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each pre-defined quality category. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent (i.e., CPS and CP) must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) candidates must be rated "Well Qualified" for the position to receive consideration for special priority.

Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements and submit any required supporting documentation by the closing date of this announcement.  Applicants found to be among the top qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring official for further consideration and possible interview.

The Department of State offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health benefits, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. In addition to these benefits, we also offer the Student Loan Repayment Program, Child Care Centers, Child Care Subsidy, Flexible work schedule, Transit Subsidy Program. For additional information on Federal benefits click here.

OTHER INFORMATION:

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER - Your Social Security Number is requested under the authority of Executive Order 9397 to uniquely identify your records from those of other applicants who may have the same name.  As allowed by law or Presidential directive, your Social Security Number is used to seek information about you from employers, schools, banks, and others who may know you.  Failure to provide your Social Security Number on your application materials will result in your application not being processed.

SELECTIVE SERVICE - If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify at the time of appointment that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under Selective Service law.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION - This agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.  If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the Office of Employee Relations, Disability/Reasonable Accommodations Division, at (202) 261-8180.  The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY - The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.

Please carefully read all the instructions before you begin the application process.
To apply for this job opportunity, you must submit a resume and an on-line application through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) application system, USAJOBS.  This information will be transferred to the Department of State's Gateway to State Automated Application System.

You have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement to complete the following four-step application process:

STEP 1: Select the "Apply On-line" button and follow the instructions to register or sign into USAJOBS.

STEP 2: Submit a detailed resume or any other written format you choose documenting your job-related qualifications, experience, and education (if applicable).  Cover letter is optional.  If you submit a cover letter, you must also submit a resume.  Please see the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section for specific information that should be outlined in your resume.

STEP 3: Answer the job-specific self-assessment questions on-line through the Gateway to State automated application system.  These questions will be used to evaluate your qualifications and experience for this job opportunity.  

STEP 4: Submit all required documentation, applicable to you, listed in the Required Documents section of this job opportunity to the Department's automated application system "Gateway to State" prior to the closing date of this announcement.  For instructions on how to view the status of your supporting documentation, please click here.

Technical assistance with your on-line application can be obtained by contacting the Help Desk at mgshelp@monster.com OR by calling (866) 656-6830 or (703) 269-4944 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. ET

ALTERNATE APPLICATION PROCEDURES

NOTE:  If applying online poses an extreme hardship, you may request alternate application procedures to submit your application package by fax.  Contact the Human Resources office listed on the announcement between the business hours of 8:15 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET, at least two working days prior to the closing date of this announcement.  The application package for alternate application procedures must be submitted and received in the Human Resources office no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the closing date of this announcement.

NOTE:  Paper applications and information sent by mail WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

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

1. Resume - your resume or any other written format you choose should contain the required information as specified in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section.  Insufficient information will result in an ineligible rating.

2. A completed online job specific self-assessment questionnaire through the Department's automated system "Gateway to State".

3. Transcripts - if you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed under the Qualifications and Evaluations section, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript(s) with your application.  If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.

4. Veterans Preference - If claiming veteran's preference, you must indicate the type of veteran's preference you are claiming on your resume.

For 5-point veteran's preference, you must provide a copy of your DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge which must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty.  If you are currently on active duty, you must provide an official statement of service from your command/unit which states the date you entered active duty, expected discharge type and date, and campaign medals you have received OR other official documentation (e.g., documentation of receipt of a campaign badge or expeditionary medal) that proves your military service was performed under honorable conditions.  If the appropriate information is not submitted to confirm your discharge status, dates of service, etc., you will not receive credit for the claimed active duty military service.

For 10-point veteran's preference, you must submit a SF-15 and any documentation required by this form to support your claim.  If we cannot verify your 10-point preference status, you will receive 5-point preference if veterans' preference requirements have been met.  For further information regarding Veterans, click here.

To gain access to your DD214 online, please visit: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/get-service-records.html

5. If you are qualifying based on other criteria listed under the Qualification Section of this announcement, you MUST submit the required supporting documentation (certificates, certifications, etc.) with your application.

6. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must submit a copy of the appropriate documentation with their application. See links below:

ICTAP Considerations
CTAP Considerations

All documentation, applicable to you, must be submitted by the closing date of this announcement.  If the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility or you fail to submit any of the required documents, it will disqualify you from being considered for this job opportunity.

AGENCY CONTACT INFO:

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT:

After all application packages have been received, we will review your resume to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements.  After we review and evaluate all applications, the most highly qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interviews.  After a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability and or security background investigation.
 
You will be notified up to four times during the hiring process:

1. Upon receipt of your application.
2. Upon minimum qualification determinations.
3. After the certificate is issued.
4. After final selection is made.

For instructions on how to view the status of your application, please click here.