Program Specialist, GS-301-11/12

Job Description

SALARY RANGE: $63,091.00 to $98,305.00 / Per Year OPEN PERIOD: Tuesday, October 7, 2014 to Tuesday, October 14, 2014 SERIES & GRADE: GS-0301-11/12 POSITION INFORMATION: Full-time appointment in the Competitive Service. This position IS NOT in the bargaining unit. - Permanent PROMOTION POTENTIAL: 12 DUTY LOCATIONS: 1 vacancy - District of Columbia, DC View Map
WHO MAY APPLY: USAID employees currently in permanent (career or career-conditional), competitive, civil service positions, including those eligible under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP). SECURITY CLEARANCE: Secret SUPERVISORY STATUS: No JOB SUMMARY:

About the Agency

USAID is an independent Federal Government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. With headquarters in Washington, D. C., USAID fosters transformational development around the world. Our work supports economic growth and trade; agriculture and the environment; education and training; democracy and governance; global health; global partnerships and humanitarian assistance. We operate in four regions of the world: Sub-Saharan Africa; Asia and the Near East; Latin America and the Caribbean; and Europe and Eurasia. USAID employees in the Civil Service and Foreign Service, as well as individuals employed through Personal Service Contracts, must adhere to our Counter Trafficking in Persons Code of Conduct. For information on the effort to counter all forms of human trafficking, including the procurement of commercial sex acts and the use of forced labor, visit http://www.state.gov/g/tip.

For more information about USAID, visit http://www.usaid.gov.

This position is assigned to the Bureau for Foreign Assistance (BFA), Office of the Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources in the Department of State. The incumbent performs a liaison function between that office and USAID ES; and coordinates and tracks executive correspondence, attends daily staff meetings, and ensures timely taskings to USAID.

TRAVEL REQUIRED

• Not Required

RELOCATION AUTHORIZED

• No

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• U.S. Citizen.
• Relevant experience (see Qualifications below)
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance
• Males born after 12/31/1959, must be registered with the Selective Service
• Direct Deposit/Electric Funds Transfer is required
• USAID employee serving under tenure code “1” or “2” on your SF-50

DUTIES:

As a Program Specialist, you will:

• Receive, assign, issue, and track executive correspondence submitted by bureaus and offices requiring action and/or approval from BFA as well as any internal taskings assigned on behalf of the Director
• Prepare letters and memoranda for the Director’s signature and revises correspondence, talking points, briefing materials, and other documents prepared elsewhere in USAID and the State Department
• Coordinate and manage this process and work closely with internal and external colleagues
• Interact effectively with senior officials and staff at the interagency level
• Edit, format, and proofread documents and correspondence as required

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

In order for your application to be considered, you must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-9 level to apply to the GS-11; and the GS-11 level to apply to the GS-12, in the Federal service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis.

Examples of qualifying specialized experience at the next lower level for this position includes:conducting technical review of correspondence and documents; serving as a manager of an office’s official records; maintaing liaison with key officials in USAID and State Dept.; preparing materials for use at high-level and sensitive meetings; and developing action plans to correct program issues/problems.

This position does not have a positive education 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.

Career Transition Program: This program applies to Federal workers whose positions have been deemed ‘surplus’ or no longer needed, or an employee who has been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service. For information on how to apply and what documents to submit as a CTAP eligible, go to: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

We use a multi-step process to evaluate and refer applicants: Qualified applicants receive a score of 70 to 100 before veteran’s preference points are applied (if applicable). You will be rated on your qualifications for this position based on your education, experience, and training you report demonstrating the extent to which you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities or competencies listed on this vacancy announcement. USAID must be able to conduct reference checks as part of its assessment process. Applicants who do not permit a reference check from previous employers may be disqualified.

Your application must show that you meet all requirements, including the education and/or experience required for this position. You may be found “not qualified” if you do not possess the minimum competencies required for the position. If your application is incomplete, we may rate you as ineligible.

Qualified applicants will be evaluated in the following competencies and knowledge, skills and abilities:

1. Customer Service/Interpersonal Skills
2. Oral and Written Communications
3. Clerical and Administrative Skills
4. Problem Solving
5. Knowledge of the major issues, program goals and objectives, work processes, and administrative operations of the organization
6. Skill in effectively and collaboratively working with internal and external stakeholders to enable achievement of key priorities and objectives
7. Ability to review and evaluate official correspondence, documents and taskers for consistency with agency policies and format standards to determine appropriate handling

To preview questions please click here. BENEFITS:

You can review our benefits at:https://careerconnector.jobs.treas.gov/cc/usaid/vacancy/preview!benefits.hms?orgId=664&jnum=114142

OTHER INFORMATION: This announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies within 5 months of the closing date.

These are Testing Designated Positions (TDP’s) under the Agency’s approved Drug Free Work Place Program. All applicants selected for this position will be subject to random drug testing once they begin working for the Agency.

Moving and relocation expenses are not authorized

EEO Policy: www.eeoc.gov/eeoc

Reasonable Accommodation Policy: www.opm.gov/disability/reasonableaccommodation.asp

Disability: www.opm.gov/disability/mngr_3-13.asp

Veterans’ Information: www.fedshirevets.gov/

Telework: www.telework.gov

Selective Service Registration: www.sss.gov/ HOW TO APPLY:
The following instructions outline our application process. You must complete this on-line application process and submit any applicable required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. If applying on-line poses an extreme hardship, you must contact the human resources office no later than two business days prior to the closing date of this vacancy announcement. An alternative application method will be provided upon approval of the hardship notification. After this time, requests to apply via alternative methods will not be granted.

Please note that all required documents must be received by the closing date, via online or alternative methods, and that we will determine your eligibility and qualifications based solely on the material received by the closing date.

Step 1 - Review the Job Announcement
Before you apply, we suggest you review the entire job announcement. Pay close attention to the Major Duties section and the How You Will Be Evaluated section where you will see the areas upon which your application will be evaluated and a link for previewing online questions.

Step 2 - Create or Upload a resume with USAJOBS (www.usajobs.gov)

-Create or upload a resume in USAJOBS. You may wish to customize your resume to ensure it supports your responses to the online questions and addresses the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement. For resume tips, click here.

-Although you must enter your Social Security Number (SSN) for USAJOBS, we will only see the last four digits for identification purposes.

Step 3 - Apply Online
Click the “Apply Online” button on this announcement and then select the resume you wish to submit with your application. You will be redirected to the Department of the Treasury’s CareerConnector website to complete the application process.

Step 4 - Answer the Online Questions and Submit Your Online Application
If this is your first time on Treasury’s CareerConnector website, you will be prompted to register by answering questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. The system will save these responses and take you back to the main screen so that you can answer the job-specific questions. Select “Take me to the assessment” and click on the “Next” button to answer the job-specific questions. You must answer all the questions and click the “Finish” button.

Step 5 - Review and Confirm Your Submission
You will now have the option to upload a document or print fax cover-sheets for documents (see Step 6 for details). Once you click “Done,” you will see a summary of your application for your review. You may also print a copy for your records. When you click “Finish” at the bottom of the page, you will then be directed back to USAJOBS where you can confirm that your application has been submitted and track your application status.

Step 6 - Submit Documents
You can submit any applicable required or optional documents (see below) by document upload, fax, or e-mail. Whichever method you choose, please include the job announcement number with your documents. To protect your privacy, we encourage you to remove your SSN from any documents that you submit.

Document Upload: You may upload documents in one of two ways:
1. Once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement, you will be prompted to upload your document(s) to your application. You will be given the choice to either upload the document as part of the application process or you can select a document that you’ve already loaded on USAJOBS. Or

2. You can upload a document to an existing application by logging into your USAJOBS account profile. Click on “My Applications” and search for the vacancy. Once you’ve located the vacancy, click on the vacancy and select “Apply Online.” Move through your existing application to the Documents page and select Upload in order to add a document to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation that the document uploaded.
In the Application Review section, you may verify acceptance of your documents in Career Connector if you see them listed on the “Vacancy Documents” screen. Then, click on “Finished” to be returned to USAJOBS.

Fax: Print a fax cover-sheet in Career Connector by following the “Faxing Supporting Documentation” instructions. The fax number will be provided on the cover-sheet.

If you are having difficulty within the Career Connector system and need technical assistance please email the help desk at careerconnectorhelp@treasury.gov. The help desk is available to assist you during the hours of 8:00 am- 4:30 pm EST.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

• Resume showing relevant experience.
• Most recent copy of your SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action); your document must reflect grade, step, tenure code “1” (Career) or “2” (Career-Conditional Appointment ONLY), and type of position occupied.
• Most recent performance appraisal

AGENCY CONTACT INFO: Stephanie L. Robinson
Phone: 202-216-3548
Fax: 202-630-0056
Email: strobinsont@usaid.gov Agency Information:
United States Agency for International Development
1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington , DC
20523-0016
US
Fax: 202-630-0056 WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT: Applicants are evaluated using an automated applicant assessment system. After determining basic eligibility and qualifications, the supplemental questionnaire will be used to identify the best qualified applicants to be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and possible interviews. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation. A final job offer is contingent upon a favorable suitability determination and a favorable SECRET level security clearance investigation and determination.

You may check the status of your application for this position at any time by logging onto the USAJOBS “My Account” tab and clicking on “Application Status.” You will receive final notification via email when this vacancy has been filled. Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.