Chief of Staff

Summary

You will serve as a Chief of Staff with the Bureau of Reclamation, Commissioner's Office, in Washington DC. The Chief of Staff is responsible for a variety of special assignments of a high degree of responsibility and difficulty in support of the Commissioner's initiatives and the Reclamation mission.

Duties

• The major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following: Serves as the Commissioner's Chief of Staff, managing sensitive, high-responsibility special assignments in direct support of the Commissioner and Reclamation's mission. Provides program oversight for major Reclamation-wide initiatives, integrating and coordinating high-impact projects, delegating complex and time-sensitive work, and offering recommendations on organizational structure, policy, and long-range planning. Reviews and edits policy statements and major program materials to ensure they accurately reflect the Commissioner's views and align with Departmental and Reclamation goals. Plans and coordinates key Commissioner responsibilities, including budget submissions, personnel actions, annual assurance statements, IT certifications, and major meetings and events involving internal and external stakeholders. Exercises supervisory responsibilities including assigning and reviewing work, setting priorities, evaluating performance, and approving leave. Leading liaison and coordination efforts with private-sector representatives, Federal, state, local, and Tribal governments, and other key stakeholders to advance complex, sensitive, and high-visibility issues.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 09/15/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Specialized Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sector). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience in leading and advising work in water and related resource management and hydropower generation, demonstrating the ability to: communicate effectively with internal and external leadership, anticipate leadership needs, and develop clear briefings and talking points; interpret and synthesize data from multiple systems to support decision-making and priority setting; manage rapidly changing situations, provide continuity, and represent leadership in varied settings; perform complex, sensitive or critical assignments under tight or short-notice deadlines; apply project management principles (time, resources, budget) to develop, implement, and improve processes and procedures; and ability to demonstrate strong collaboration, diplomacy, situational awareness, and sound judgment. Supervisory Competencies: Applicants should possess proficiency or the potential to develop proficiency in the following competencies for successful performance of Federal supervisory work: accountability, customer service, decisiveness, flexibility, integrity/honesty, interpersonal skills, oral communication, problem solving, resilience, and written communication. Additional information on supervisory competencies: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/Specialty-Stds/GS-SUPV.asp 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.

Requirements

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. You may be required to travel occasionally for this position to attend meetings, conferences, training, or site visits. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority. A financial disclosure report will be required within 30 days of appointment. This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest. This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

This position does not allow substituting education for experience.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the 09/15/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement to receive consideration. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13052653 Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. 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://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.