Program Support Assistant

Summary

This position is located within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS). The location of this position will be determined upon selection. In this position, you will serve as a personal assistant to the Research Leader and other professional staff providing various secretarial, administrative, and program support duties, allowing them to focus on the organization's primary mission.

Duties

Participates in program planning support work such as research project coordination, travel documentation, budget coordination/tracking, agreements, and purchasing/procurement of supplies and equipment, and human resources administration.

Serves as the primary administrative business process point of contact for the Unit.

Performs various tasks using on-line systems.

Prepares graphics, photos/slides, creates tables and graphs based on statistical data for Research Leader and professional staff.

Coordinates the processing of manuscripts and reports for public information; edits material for correct structure, clarity and arrangement of format for scientific journals and other media.

Develops and implements new systems or administrative processes to meet Unit needs.

May serve on special committees or special projects.

Requirements

You must be a US Citizen or US National. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt. Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. GS-06 Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. Qualifying experience for GS-06 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-05 which is directly related to the work of this position, and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience preparing or reviewing financial documents; using computer programs to prepare and review written documents; and providing information on policies, procedures, or guidelines. GS-07 Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. Qualifying experience for GS-07 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-06 which is directly related to the work of this position, and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience preparing or tracking financial forms or reports; maintaining detailed records or files for an office environment; coordinating all aspects of travel for staff or supervisors; and ensuring compliance with regulations for all program administrative procedures. Applicants must be able to type 40 words per minute. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Evaluations

Applicants who meet basic minimum qualifications will be placed in one of two or three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans. Category placement will be determined based on applicants' quality of experience and the extent they possess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) or competencies: Administrative Management Financial Management Clerical Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Those determined to be in the best qualified category will be referred to the selecting official for consideration. Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service. Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right. To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13092767

How to apply Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing. Resumes must not exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.

Other information Salary Information: AMES, IA - $45,777 - $66,132 BOWLING GREEN, KY - $47,298 - $66,576 BURLINGTON, VT - $46,336 - $66,939" COLLEGE STATION, TX - $46,409 - $65,599 COLUMBIA, MO - $45,409 - $65,599 CORVALLIS, OR - $48,927 - $70,682 EAST LANSING, MI - $ 50,087 - $ 72,358 FAYETTEVILLE, AR - $45,409 - $65,599 GENEVA, NY - $53,512 - $77,306 ITHACA, NY - $53,512 - $77,306 KIMBERLY, ID - $45,409 - $65,599 LAS CRUCES, NM - $45,409 - $65,599 LINCOLN, NE - $45,409 - $65,599 LOGAN, UT - $45,409 - $65,599 LUBBOCK, TX - $45,409 - $65,599 MANHATTAN, KS - $46,150 - $66,670 MISSISSIPPI STATE, MS - $45,409 - $65,599 NEW ORLEANS, LA - $45,409 - $65,599 OXFORD, MS - $45,409 - $65,599 PARLIER, CA - $45,638 - $73,010 PULLMAN, WA - $51,037 - $73,731 RALEIGH, NC $47,418 - $68,502 RIVERSIDE, CA - $45,409 - $65,599 SIDNEY, MT - $45,409 - $65,599 STILLWATER, OK - $45,409 - $65,599 STONEVILLE, MS - $45,409 - $65,599 WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - $45,409 - $65,599 Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. This position is being concurrently announced under Merit Promotion Announcement Number ARS-M27Y-13092768-NW. Current or former Federal employees or other eligible applicants may apply to both announcements to expand all possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. See the above announcement for more information. If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements. Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. The final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official.