Staff Assistant

Summary This position is located in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Office of Administrative Law Judges. This position primary purpose of this position is to directly manage all administrative duties for the office. Responsibilities As a Staff Assistant, your typical work assignments may include: Assists and advises staff on all procedural and administrative aspects of staff actions Distributes and independently drafts and completes routine correspondence on the Office Head's behalf. Participates in special projects and initiatives and performs special assignments. Responds to routine inquiries on actions and their status. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications For more information on eligibility requirements see: DEA Employment Eligibility Applicants must meet all of the required qualification requirements described below by the closing of this announcement. Applicants applying for the GS-9 must meet one of the following requirements: A. Have at least one full year of specialized experience that is at least equivalent to work performed at the GS-07 grade level. Specialized 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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Qualifying experience must demonstrate the following: 1) Ensuring efficient and effective flow of staff papers, reports, and recommendations; 2) Tracking all incoming suspense correspondence by maintaining an accurate suspense status; 3) Receiving and reviewing outgoing correspondence for clarity, consistency, completeness, and compliance to organizational policies and directives; and 4) Assisting with travel arrangements for frequent travel. B. A master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. OR C. A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. Applicants applying for the GS-11 must meet one of the following requirements: A. Have at least one full year of specialized experience that is at least equivalent to work performed at the GS-09 grade level. Specialized 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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Qualifying experience must demonstrate the following: 1) Ensuring efficient and effective flow of staff papers, reports, and recommendations; 2) Establishing a sophisticated correspondence tracking system to ensure that deadlines are met and follows up to ensure that actions are completed; 3) Assisting with the coordinating with the visiting organization, scheduling transportation arrangements, accommodations and other items necessary for completing trip itinerary; and 4) Ensuring all outgoing correspondence is accurate and in a detailed manner. B. A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. OR C. Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. Additional information on the position qualification requirements are located in the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Qualifications Standards Handbook. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Education See the qualification section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements. 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. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Additional Information Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. ( Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment under Merit Promotion procedures, the veteran must be a preference eligible or a veteran separated after 3 years or more of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions. Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to similar positions in any Division/Office listed in this announcement. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions. Recruitment and/or Relocation Incentives may be considered and approved under conditions specified provided the agency has determined that the position is likely to be difficult to fill in the absence of an incentive and funding for such an incentive is available. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may 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. If eligible, telework agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. Drug Enforcement Administration