The Congressional Research Service (CRS) seeks a senior manager to serve as the Deputy Assistant Director for its Knowledge Services Group.

Duties

This position serves as head of the Knowledge Services Group (KSG), the division at CRS responsible for general and legal reference and research, knowledge management, acquisition and collections, and technical services. In this capacity, and reporting directly to the Assistant Director of the KSG, the Deputy Assistant Director assists in leading, planning, directing and evaluating KSG services to congressional users and CRS staff, and ensures that it is of the highest quality and consistently meets the Service's standards of objectivity, nonpartisanship, timeliness, authoritativeness; and confidentiality.

Requirements

• See requirements listed below under Qualifications Required.

Qualifications

The competencies below are required for this position. Those marked with a double asterisk (**) are considered the most critical competencies for this position. A candidate's resume must show a proven record of accomplishment that clearly demonstrates he or she has: Ability to lead and manage a program/area of responsibility.** The successful candidate has the ability to acquire and administer human, financial, material, and information resources to accomplish an organization’s mission. This includes the ability to accomplish strategic and operational goals by ensuring the effective interaction and integration of processes; delegating and managing multiple tasks; and planning and organizing resources, people, and activities effectively and efficiently. This includes the ability to take ownership of the organization’s work and results and to determine the most effective methods necessary to get things done.  Ability to apply knowledge of information research within public policy research frameworks.**  The successful candidate has ability to apply knowledge of the theories, concepts, processes, techniques, principles and/or practices of librarianship and information science to integrate information research with public policy analysis. This includes applying these approaches and frameworks, methodologies and techniques to the evaluation of complex issues. This also includes the willingness to acquire new skills and knowledge by staying current in information research methods, techniques, and technologies. Ability to lead people and manage a workforce.** The successful candidate has the ability to oversee the overall performance of direct reports as well as the Division by assessing staffing requirements in relation to current and anticipated needs of Congress; developing staffing plans, justifications, and requests; and making policy area assignments for staff in order to assure the availability of the intellectual capacity needed to meet the current and changing needs of Congress at a sustained level of excellence. This includes the development and oversight of recruiting, hiring, mentoring, and training a diverse workforce as well as building and maintaining exceptional staff performance. Ability to instill a collaborative work environment. The successful candidate has the ability to create, promote, and sustain collaborative approaches to the work of the organization. This includes creating organizational protocols that constitute an environment in which collaboration is expected. This also includes ensuring an atmosphere in which input is sought from colleagues with diverse expertise, skills, and abilities and using that input to inform and enhance the work of the organization. This includes the ability to marshal the expertise of other individuals and/or programs to accomplish goals and articulate problems and issues from an enterprise perspective. Ability to lead and effect change. The successful candidate has the ability to lead and effect change in carrying out the organizational mission that integrates key goals, priorities, values, etc. This includes championing ideas that promote the mission with enthusiasm, conviction, and assertiveness; gaining support and commitment from others; and motivating and inspiring others. Ability to define and solve problems and make decisions. The successful candidate has the ability to identify the problem or issue, and to gather, examine, and interpret information to generate effective solutions to problems and make sound decisions.  This includes the ability to seek, logically examine, analyze, interpret, and synthesize information from different sources; generate and evaluate reasonable alternative solutions and the implications, consequences, and benefits of choosing each alternative; recommend the most promising alternative or course of action; and commit to action, even in uncertain situations.  This includes the willingness to bring issues into the open and attempt to resolve them in a collaborative manner. Ability to innovate. The successful candidate has the ability to approach institutional challenges with creativity and an appropriate level of risk taking to advance organizational goals and mission. This includes the ability and willingness to challenge oneself and the status quo, to generate new ideas, and to apply new and emerging technologies to improve work efficiencies, productivity, and client service.  This also includes exploring new ways to undertake work activities or accomplish organizational goals. Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing. The successful candidate has the ability to speak clearly, politely, and under control to peers, staff, managers, supervisors, and external audiences to both provide and seek information.  This also includes actively listening to and understanding information; and listening to and answering questions thoughtfully and completely. This includes appropriately judging the amount, form, depth and level of detail, and content of information to the needs of the receiver/audience. Knowledge of information research and knowledge management principles. The successful candidate has knowledge of information seeking behaviors and how to design information research approaches in order to support a research community. Understands information resource management, including the full life cycle of information from its creation or acquisition through its disposition in order to support an enterprise-wide knowledge asset management program. Ability to communicate in writing.  The successful candidate has the ability to write a variety of clear, cogent, and well-organized products, including targeting the amount, form, depth and level of detail, and content of the information to the needs of the receiver/audience. Knowledge of congressional decision-making. The successful candidate has knowledge of congressional decision-making, including how legislation becomes law, the federal budget process, the appropriations process, and oversight, sufficient to ensure timely and legislatively relevant assistance to congressional committees, Members, and senior staff. Knowledge of institutional and political environment in which congressional decision making occurs, including the roles and relationships of the President and executive and independent agencies, the judiciary, state and local governments, and interest groups, and the ramifications of those decisions on existing policies and affected constituencies. Continue with the application process only if you are able to document on your resume that you meet all the critical competency requirements at the levels described below. Ability to lead and manage a program/area of responsibility: I have led and managed a program(s) for a department or division and accomplished its’ strategic and operational goals. Ability to apply knowledge of information research within public policy research frameworks: I have knowledge of the theories, concepts, processes, techniques, principles, and/or practices of librarianship and information science to integrate information research with public policy analysis. Ability to lead people and manage a workforce: I have led and managed the performance of a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Education

Experience must have demonstrated the ability to perform, supervise, or direct one or more of the functional areas of work covered by this series; to understand the concepts, theories, new developments, and co-relationship of information in related fields; and to maintain up-to-date information on the state of the art. For positions where foreign language proficiency is needed, applicants must be able to read and/or translate material in the appropriate specialized subject-matter field.

For Librarian (appropriate specialization): Applicants must also possess specialized knowledge of a subject-matter field and/or proficiency in one or more foreign languages directly related to the position(s) being filled. When such knowledge is required for the position, an applicant's education or experience must have included or been supplemented by the requirements specified in one of the paragraphs below:

1. A full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university that meets all academic requirements for a bachelor's degree that included at least 24 semester hours in the specialized field for which the applicant is being considered, e.g., physical science, biological science, social science; or that included any combination of subjects with at least 15 semester hours in a major subject (such as physics or chemistry) that is especially applicable to the position for which the applicant is being considered;

   or

2. Completion of at least 24 semester hours of legal study in an accredited law school for positions primarily concerned with providing library services in law or legislative reference;

   or

3. Four years of pertinent experience of such nature and level to provide a knowledge of the basic principles, theories, practices, techniques, terminology and expressions of the appropriate discipline or subject-matter field; an understanding of the standard methods, procedures, and techniques of research and analysis in the subject-matter field; ability to acquire additional information about the field and related fields; and some knowledge of literature resources in the field.

   Such experience should be equivalent to that which would have been acquired through successful completion of a full 4-year curriculum in an accredited college or university with major study in appropriate subjects, or combination of subjects, as specified in (a) above; or legal training as specified in (b) above;

   or

4. Any time equivalent combination of experience as described in (c) with education as described in (a) or (b) above;

   or

5. Demonstrated ability as shown by education or experience to read or translate information from one or more foreign languages into English.

Contacts

• Address LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 101 Independence Ave. SE LM-107 Washington, District of Columbia 20540 United States
• Name: Customer Service Center
• Phone: 202-707-5627
• Email: [email protected]