Senior Legislative Affairs Specialist

Senior Legislative Affairs Specialist

Transportation Security Administration

Open & closing dates

 07/18/2018 to 07/25/2018

Arlington, VA

$79,141 a year

Part-time

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. For additional information about our agency please: Click Here

This position is also being announced through Government-Wide procedure under Announcement #HQ-LA-18-472252-G. Candidates who wish to be considered under both Public (US Citizens) and Government-Wide procedures must apply to both announcements.

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

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This Senior Legislative Affairs Specialist position is located in Legislative Affairs (LA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If selected for this position, you will work in a fast-paced office with the office’s senior management and serve as Team Lead to other Legislative Specialists. In this position you will assist in identifying and resolving problems on complex legislative issues and situations. Typical assignments will include, but are not limited to:

Working with LA's Assistant Administrator, Deputy Assistant Administrator and Legislative Director by assisting in the planning, developing, and tracking of the agency’s legislative program, as well as monitoring and researching any proposed legislation impacting the agency’s operations.

Initiating and implementing internal organizational procedures and processes to ensure timely and accurate responsiveness to DHS, TSA, and congressional inquiries, correspondence, mandates and directives.

Advising and reporting on the office’s Hill activities to senior leaders and assist in preparing program offices and leadership for interactions with Congress, including congressional hearings and Member and staff-level briefings.

Researching historic and recent agency responses and positions on programmatic issues. Drafting testimony, briefing memos and talking points for leadership.

Coordinating with DHS and TSA organizations, specifically DHS Office of Legislative Affairs, TSA’s Finance and Administration, as well as TSA’s Chief Counsel, on the mission, goals, and transportation and security policies and working to develop unified and cohesive presentations to Congress.

Developing daily and weekly reports for wide distribution amongst agency headquarters on significant legislative activities pertaining to TSA.

Providing legislative advice consistent with the U.S. House and Senate rules and ethics in presenting a strategic framework to promote the agency’s legislative initiatives.

The major duties described above reflect the full performance level of this position. Typically, the lower pay band (Pay Band I) performs the same duties but will receive more guidance and projects or work assignments may be less complex.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status

No

Promotion Potential

J

Who May Apply

This job is open to…

Open to all U.S. Citizens.

Salary range listed includes Locality Pay of 28.22%.

This position is located in Arlington, VA.

Questions? This job is open to 1 group.

Job family (Series)

0301 Miscellaneous Administration And Program

Similar jobs

Assistants, Office

Office Assistants

Requirements

Help

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National.

You must complete a favorable Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI).

You must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret Clearance.

Selective Service registration is required.

Must pass pre-employment drug screening AND random drug testing.

See additional "Conditions of Employment" and "Other Information" section

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

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

You must pass pre-employment drug screening AND you will be subject to post-employment random drug testing.

You must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret Clearance.

Qualifications

To qualify for the SV-I Pay Band (equivalent to GS-13), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-H or GS-12 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such experience is defined as:

Conducting legislative research and drafting papers or talking points on transportation security legislative matters.

Assisting in the coordination and clearance processes of the documents.

To qualify for the SV-J Pay Band (equivalent to GS-14), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-I or GS-13 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such experience is defined as:

Conducting legislative research and drafting papers or talking points on transportation security legislative matters.

Assisting in the coordination and clearance processes of the documents.

Evaluating legislative activities and programs to prepare leadership for congressional interactions, hearings and provide recommendations.

Education

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: http://www.opm.gov.

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.

It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. Information about an individual’s employment experience will be used only to determine the person’s qualifications and to assess his or her relative level of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Although an individual’s personal conduct may be relevant in any employment decision, including conduct during periods of unemployment or evidence of dishonesty in handling financial matters, financial difficulty that has arisen through no fault of the individual will generally not itself be the basis of an unfavorable suitability or fitness determination. For more information, click here.

Payment of relocation expenses (Permanent Change of Station) is not authorized.

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.

TSA policy requires verification of Selective Service registration for male applicants born after 12/31/59. For more information click here.

View common definitions of terms found in this announcement.

Veterans and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the documentation that is required, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

Read more

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of the experience and/or related education as reflected in your resume and supporting documentation. You are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show possession of the competencies required for this position. We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If, after reviewing your resume and any supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your category placement may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

When completing the assessment questionnaire for this position, you will be prompted to elect if you wish for your application to be considered as External (where Veterans’ Preference applies), as Status (current or former Federal Employees), and/or Internal to TSA as a current permanent or competitive temporary employee. At that time, please select the answer(s) that apply to you and your application to this position.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Grouping procedures. Under Category Grouping, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF) and appropriate Desirable (Quality Ranking) Factors as determined by the job analysis.

Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPFs as determined by the job analysis.

Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs as determined by the job analysis.

Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. (This position [is or is not] considered scientific/professional.) Other 10-point preference eligibles and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. View information on veterans’ preference .

To preview questions please click here.

Read more

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance

Top Secret

Drug test required

Yes

Required Documents

Help

Required Documents

In addition to a resume and the assessment questions, you must submit copies of any of the following documents if you are applying based on Veterans' Preference or eligible Veterans' Service (a veteran who was honorably discharged from the armed forces after completing at least three (3) years of continuous active duty service), or education or a combination of education and experience:

DD-214 - If you are claiming Veterans' Preference or eligible Veterans' Service, provide a copy of your DD-214 (Member Copy 4), Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other appropriate documentation to prove your entitlement and to provide verification of an Honorable Discharge.

SF-15 and VA Letter - If you are claiming Veterans' Preference based upon a Compensable Disability, Widow or Spouse Entitlement, or as a Purple Heart recipient, you must submit your DD-214 or other proof of entitlement; an SF-15, and the required proof of disability, i.e., Department of Veterans Affairs letter dated 1991 or later.

Transcripts - If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed under the Qualifications and Evaluations section, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript(s) with your application. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

Benefits

Help

Benefits

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. Learn 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; 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 www.dhs.gov/careers and select “benefits.”

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.