ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT ASSISTANT

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• 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. If selected you will be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are not able to reimburse any fees incurred for fingerprints.
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
• 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 E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position.
• A minimum 40 words per minute typing skill is required.
  
  

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.

Specialized Experience for GS-05: To qualify for the GS-05 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as providing a variety of administrative duties such as filing and retrieving corporate documents, records, and reports, answering phone calls and direct calls to appropriate departments or taking messages, preparing meeting agendas and/or recording meeting minutes.

Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-05 level: 4 years of education above high school level, leading to a Bachelor's degree; OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy.

Specialized Experience for GS-06: To qualify for the GS-06 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as providing a variety of administrative and technical support such as preparing timekeeping records in accordance with agency guidelines, gathering required information to prepare travel arrangements, scheduling meetings and/or reconciling meeting schedules, and drafting invoices, reports, memos, letters, financial statements, and other documents, using word processing, spreadsheet, database, or presentation software.

Specialized Experience for GS-07: To qualify for the GS-07 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-06 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as performing a variety of administrative support services in support of a business and/or program office such as assisting in preparing operating budgets, provide time and attendance support, prepares personnel action requests, making travel arrangements, managing and tracking assigned vehicle fleet and/or routine maintenance as well as accident reports, complete office supply inventories to prepare supply requests, and reviews operating practices and procedures to determine whether improvements can be made in areas such as workflow, reporting procedures, or expenditures.

Specialized Experience for GS-08: To qualify for the GS-08 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as performing a variety of administrative support services in support of a business and/or program office such as making purchases of office supplies and equipment and tracking expenditures, providing timekeeping services and performing leave and attendance audits, monitoring operational budgets and providing upper level management analysis of potential problems, prepares contribution and/or operational agreements for department use, conducts orientation training for new staff, performs office space evaluations, and establishes work procedures or schedules to organize the daily work of administrative staff.

Note: There is no education substitution for the GS-06, GS-07, or GS-08 level.

For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: Miscellaneous Clerk and Assistant Series 0303 (opm.gov)

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.

Education

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

You must submit a copy of your transcripts to include course number, title, completion and grade. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement.

Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Click on this link for more information.

Failure to provide all of the required documents/information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

Additional information

• Locality Pay: The salary for each location may vary depending on locality. Locality tables may be found at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/.
• 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.
• Promotion Potential: 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.
• Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.
• Physical Demands: The work places no special physical demands on the employee. The work is typic ally sedentary and requires some walking, bending, standing and carrying of light items such as paper and books. Normal precautions must be taken for extended use of computer terminals.
• Work Environment: The work is performed primarily in a typical office setting and involves the normal risks and discomforts of an office.
• PLEASE NOTE: In the interest of filling these positions as efficiently as possible, we are requiring the following:
• If called for an interview, applicants must be available to interview within 3 business days of being contacted.
• If a tentative job offer is extended, selectee will have 2 business days in which to accept or decline.
• This position is eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements. Current USDA policy includes telework for an 8 hour work day, 4 days per week; other flexibilities are possible dependent upon availability and/or the position and its associated duties. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor.
  

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• Help Help A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  
  

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.