Program Assistant

Summary

Securing Travel, Protecting People - At the Transportation Security Administration, you will serve in a high-stakes environment to safeguard the American way of life. In cities across the country, you would secure airports, seaports, railroads, highways, and/or public transit systems, thus protecting America's transportation infrastructure and ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

This Program Assistant position is located at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) , Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Duties include but are not limited to:

• Providing a range of diverse administrative support assignments that include spending a minimum of 25% of time assisting managers in evaluating programs and their effectiveness in delivering services. You will perform a combination of routine and multiple and varying assignments in support of management efforts to evaluate, administer, and improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity of organizations and programs.
• Providing assistance to a program area which may include finance, human resources, model workplace, scheduling, or other core functional area. Work activities typically support multiple projects/programs and contribute to one or more organizational units and major subdivisions.
• Assisting managers and other employees in day-to-day operations of the office.
• Compiling, tracking, and analyzing data. Applying analytical techniques and methods to perform a variety of administrative and analytical duties in support of TSA field operations.
• Coordinating the implementation of new office policies and systems and writing policy and internal procedural guidance after clarifying applicability of past practice, emerging guidance, and established policies and procedures with seniors or subject-matter experts.
• Interacting with internal staff and external customers including managers and employees. Contacts involve exchanging information, tracking status, and coordinating efforts.
• Acting as a lead for other support staff to coordinate multiple assignments.
• Preparing complex and sensitive correspondence including evaluation and assessment of the impact of changes to policy, practices, or program characteristics in assigned area.
• Providing advanced computer assistance.
• Undertaking complete analytical studies of limited scope under the direction of a senior, supervisor, or manager
• Reviewing work of lower level administrative support staff for accuracy and completeness.
• Scheduling meetings including conducting analyses of agenda items and proposing recommendations for a range of administrative or program matters for which precedents have been established.
• Providing advice and guidance to employees, timekeepers, supervisors, financial management specialists, and human resource specialists on rules, regulations, and procedures relating to pay, including unusual situations where the guidelines require considerable interpretation and/or research of past precedents. Training staff to enter time-card data. Certifying time-cards and corrections each pay period and conducting random audits, to include the most difficult payroll issues.
• Acting as a point-of-contact with the National Finance Center (NFC) to resolve employee payroll issues.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

1. You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National.
2. You must complete a favorable Background Investigation (BI).
3. Selective Service registration is required.

If you fail to meet the conditions of employment or any other pre-employment requirements, such as missing any of the scheduled appointments, the hiring agency may rescind their tentative offer of employment.

Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for TSA to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Qualifications

To qualify for the SV-F Pay Band (equivalent to GS-9/10), you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the SV-E Pay Band or GS-8 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such experience includes:

• Providing payroll or timekeeping support, AND
• At least two (2) of the following:
  
  
  • Assisting with the development of reports;
  • Formulating recommendations based on findings of analyses or reports;
  • Monitoring metrics; OR
  • Researching files, records, and electronic systems

Credit for experience is given based on a 40-hour workweek. Part-time experience is credited on a part-time ratio, i.e., working 20 hours per week for two months equals one month of experience. No additional credit is given for overtime.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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.

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.

You must meet the qualification requirements for this position no later than the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

Additional information

Eligibility to apply for other Federal positions: TSA is an Excepted Service agency exempt from most of Title 5 United States Code, including regulations which apply to displaced Federal employees (CTAP/ICTAP) of other agencies, and employment with TSA does not confer "Competitive Status" that generally results from selection and service in Competitive Service agencies. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established an Interchange Agreement, which allows most permanent TSA employees to apply and be considered for vacancies in Competitive Service agencies. Information from OPM on this or other Interchange Agreements is available at:

To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation as a condition of placement into this position.

DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.

If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

TSA employees who are absent for the purpose of performing military duty may apply for any vacancies announced in their absence.

More than one position may be filled from this announcement.

If you are entering TSA employment on an appointment without time limitations, you must serve a basic trial period unless you have already met the requirement.

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. (

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including: health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays. Other benefits may include flexible work schedules; situational telework may be permitted in accordance with departmental policy telework; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select "Benefits." Disabled veteran leave will be available to any Federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more.

Employees who transfer to TSA from an agency that allows employees to maintain an annual leave balance higher than the maximum accumulation for the appointed position will have their leave ceiling set to the maximum accumulation for the appointed position (e.g., United States duty location - 240 hours, foreign duty location - 360 hours, or TSES position - 720 hours). TSA will not make a monetary payment for any leave forfeited under these circumstances.

Review our 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.