Staff Assistant

Summary The Staff Assistant position is in the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (R). The R Front Office serves the Under Secretary and provides vision and guidance to the practitioners in the field, as well as the R family bureaus and components of the regional bureaus in Washington. As the Staff Assistant, you will be responsible for coordinating and assisting in the accomplishment of complex administrative and operational issues, processes and business needs. Responsibilities Manages all operational support to the organization and develops operating procedures and best practices to facilitate the coordination of operational efforts, program and operational studies, logistical studies and recordkeeping. Develops processes and procedures to conduct and coordinate all management issues including personnel, travel, general services, training, procurement, communication and correspondence issues, space management, records, and scheduling. Creates work processes for scheduling, logistical, and planning support for inter organizational groups/meetings. Engages bureaus to facilitate meetings and organize inter organizational groups, and establish a process to formalize relationships. Review important matters requiring the attention of the Under Secretary and members of staff; analyzes proposals and policy recommendations, office correspondence, reports and other highly classified documents for clearance and endorsements Undertakes special projects, as assigned, by the Under Secretary, Chief of Staff, Senior Advisor or other leadership staff. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements, by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade Requirements: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions, per 5CFR 300, Subpart F. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following: Experience managing all operational support to the organization; Experience managing calendars and coordinating travel arrangements; Experience developing standard procedures for records management of employee information; AND Experience preparing both oral and narrative reports for senior leadership. There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-12 position. Education Education requirements do not apply to this vacancy announcement. Additional Information To request a reasonable accommodation for additional time on the timed sections of the assessment, please submit your request using the “Request a Reasonable Accommodation” button within the Assessment Application. For all other reasonable accommodations at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations (OAA) at View email address on click.appcast.io. OAA is responsible for reviewing and adjudicating reasonable accommodation (RA) requests for the Assessment Battery being used for this announcement. The following applies to all RA requests: RA requests cover additional time on timed sections only. Applicants submitting a RA request MUST attach supporting medical documentation signed by a licensed, treating medical provider. The documentation should describe the nature, severity, and expected duration of the condition, identify the relevant medical condition or diagnosis, and explain the basis for the requested extension. RA requests that do not contain supporting medical documentation attachments at the time of initial request may be subject to further review. Note: the following documents do not, on their own, qualify for automatic approval of the RA request: Schedule A letters, VA benefits letters, or SSA letters. Applicants MUST submit their application before the vacancy closes, even if pending an accommodation decision. Applicants are encouraged to carefully follow instructions related to medical documentation provided in the vacancy announcement prior to beginning the RA process. Applicants will have 48 hours after their RA request is adjudicated to complete the assessment battery. Scores generated after the allotted timeframe will not be admissible and the applicant will not be considered further for the vacancy. If a different type of RA is needed, please contact OAA directly at View email address on click.appcast.io. If eligible, situational telework agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other similar positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department for up to 240 days and may require a higher or lower security clearance. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions. Agency & Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP & ICTAP): View OPM's CTAP & ICTAP eligibility website for more information. You must be rated in the Well-Qualified category and submit supporting documents under the required documents section of this announcement to receive selection priority consideration. To be considered Well-Qualified applicants must: score an 85 or above, meet Minimum Qualifications, and demonstrate proficiency in some, but not all major aspects of the position.