Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Assistant Chief Counsel, Edinburg, TX. This announcement will be open for 5 business days OR until the first 75 applications have been received, whichever happens first.

Duties

In this Staff Assistant position you will become a key team member of Homeland Security professionals, supporting a manager within the Office of the Assistant Chief Counsel. It ensures opportunity for developmental assignments, as well as on-the-job and formal classroom training, designed to equip its incumbent with the level of knowledge appropriate to perform administrative research, support, and analytical assignments at increasingly higher grade levels. This position starts at a salary of $49,025.00 (GS-7, Step 1) to $77,955.00 (GS-9, Step 10). Typical duties for this position could includes: Serving as the primary point of administrative support and overseeing the administrative operations of the office; Updating and maintaining procedures to include work schedules, time and attendance, arranging for meetings, maintaining control of the officials' schedule, and updating emergency contacts; Handling the acquisition, safekeeping, and recording of supplies and equipment, monitoring, advising and taking action on office administrative needs, and assisting with the budget process; Assisting with records management and inventory, handling and distributing incoming mail, coordinating building services, opening and closing case records, and coordinating staff subscriptions and licenses; and Preparing and updating reports using various databases, computer applications and automated systems. GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position.Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts.

Requirements

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for the GS-7 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Communicating effectively orally and in writing; Conducting studies of clerical work processes in various organizations to identify, analyze, and recommending solutions to problems in organizational structure, staffing, administrative procedures, work processes, or workload distribution; and Preparing and delivering briefings to managers on study findings. NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements. Education Substitution: Have successfully completed one year(or more) of full-time graduate education or a Master's (or higher) degree from an accredited college or university; or have successfully completed all the requirements for a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and claim eligibility for superior academic achievement (SAA) based on one of the following: (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. Combining Education and Experience: Have a combination of successfully completed graduate education in an appropriate discipline and experience, with the total equaling 100%. Experience: You qualify for the GS-9 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Conducting studies of clerical work processes in various organizations to identify, analyze, and recommend solutions to problems in organizational structure, staffing, administrative procedures, work processes, or workload distribution; Applying fact-finding and investigative techniques (e.g., employee/supervisor interviews, review of work procedures, instructions, records, and files) to gather clear-cut factual evidence of administrative waste and abuse, or compliance with regulations; Preparing and delivering briefings to managers on study findings and giving recommendations. Education Substitution: Have successfully completed two or more years of full-time graduate education, A Master's (or higher) degree in an appropriate discipline, or an LL.D. or J.D. degree from an accredited college or university. Combining Experience and Education: Have a combination of successfully completed graduate education in an appropriate discipline and experience, with the total equaling 100%. 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. You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 05/17/2024. In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. 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. Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information, review the following links: Background investigation and the e-QIP process. Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions: Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period. Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. View information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibilityon OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered eligible under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be placed in the Well-Qualified category for this position, as described within this announcement. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this job announcement.

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.

Contacts

• Address Office of the Chief Counsel Please see HOW TO APPLY Washington, DC 20229 US
• Name: CBP Hiring Center
• Phone: 952-857-2932
• Email: [email protected]