Supervisory Government Information Specialist

Summary

The Traveler Engagement Division (TED) provides information to the traveling public on TSA programs and activities and responds to their inquiries, requests, compliments, or complaints. TED supports the Agency's work to improve the U.S. Government's engagements with the public and supports the TSA workforce by managing public expectations. TED is comprised of the Redress Branch; Traveler Civil Rights and Engagement Branch; Customer Experience Branch; and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Branch.

Duties

• The incumbent serves as a Supervisory Government Information Specialist (FOIA Branch Manager) for the Traveler Engagement Division, Civil Rights & Liberties, Ombudsman and Traveler Engagement (CRL/OTE), Office of the Administrator. In this role, the incumbent: Provides overall leadership and supervision for the FOIA Branch, including assigning and monitoring caseloads, shifting resources to meet demand, ensuring staff training and development, conducting quality compliance reviews, and reviewing staff decisions for legal and regulatory compliance. Formulates agency-wide policies, directives, and guidelines ensuring compliance with statutory mandates and executive orders. Develops agency positions and issues final determinations on FOIA and Privacy Act matters. Makes decisions regarding the release or redaction of sensitive, controversial, and complex records with significant legal, political, or operational implications. Manages conflicting interests (public transparency vs. national security/privacy) and oversees concurrent agency-wide projects. Coordinates stakeholder inputs, facilitates consensus, develops agency positions, and issues final determinations. Consults with information owners and collaborates with offices, such as Chief Counsel, Privacy Officer, and Sensitive Security Information office. Serves as primary liaison to DHS Chief FOIA Officer, TSA Chief Counsel, and TSA senior leaders on FOIA matters. Develops and delivers training for TSA personnel at headquarters and in the field. Ensures timely and accurate production of documents and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. Directs preparation and publication of documents to the TSA FOIA Reading Room. Develops and submits annual FOIA reports for inclusion in DHS's report to Congress and the public. Provides regular internal reports to inform CRL/OTE, TSA, and DHS leadership of case statistics and major issues. Establishes and maintains contact with Chief Counsel, Sensitive Security Information office, executive leadership, planning, budgeting, and accountability staff. Serves as agency liaison with other federal agencies, audit and budgeting agencies, and TSA Legislative Affairs. Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

To qualify for the SV-K Pay Band (equivalent to GS-15), you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the SV-J Pay Band or GS-14 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in state or local government or the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience is defined as: Applied expert knowledge of FOIA, Privacy Act, and federal regulations to resolve complex information access and disclosure issues for TSA and DHS, ensuring compliance with Sensitive Security Information (SSI) and agency priorities. AND Led agency-wide FOIA and Privacy Act policy development and process improvements, provided authoritative guidance and training, and made critical decisions on sensitive matters while managing resources and engaging stakeholders. 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.

Requirements

You must possess U.S. citizenship or be a U.S. National. You must have reached the minimum age (18) at the time of application. Selective Service registration is required. You must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret Clearance. You must complete a favorable Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI). Supervisory/Managerial Probationary Period Requirements: Unless previously completed, you must satisfactorily complete a one-year supervisory probationary period to continue in this supervisory/managerial position. 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.

Education

This position does not have a positive education requirement.

How to apply

All of the following must be received in our office by 11:59 PM EST (Eastern Standard time) on the closing date of this announcement. If we do not receive all required information by the closing date, your application may not be considered. To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. Your application must include: Resume Manual Assessment for this position Applicable supporting documents (see Required Documents Section) To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your résumé and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account, or your application will be incomplete. It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center. We encourage you to apply online. If you have any questions, please see Agency Contact Information for further assistance. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, manual assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.