Administrative Support Specialist

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO). The primary purpose of this position is to serve, in a developmental capacity as an Administrative Support Specialist. As such, the employee performs a variety of office management and administration support duties to ensure smooth and efficient operation is achieved in organization. Non-BU: This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Duties

• As a Administrative Support Specialist, GS-0301-5/7, your typical work assignments may include: Performing recurring technical assignment. Participating in special projects, studies, and program initiatives. Adhering to specific and detailed guidelines that cover all aspects of assignments, consulting with the supervisor or a higher-graded Specialist as needed. Identifying and developing solutions consistent with operating procedures. All DHS-HQ announcements have a 5-business day open period due to the number of applications received. This announcement will be open for 5 business days OR until the first 100 applications have been received, whichever happens first. View common definitions of terms found in this announcement: Common Definitions.

Qualifications

Specialized Experience GS-5: You qualify at the GS-05 grade level if you possess one of the following: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-4 grade level in the federal service (or public or private sector equivalent), that demonstrates the ability to: Provide verification, badging for visitors, mail distribution, logging incoming deliveries from UPS, Federal Express, and other couriers, Receive work order requests in person, email, or customer submission, Maintain and dispose of files in accordance with government regulatory procedures, Determine how incoming mail should be distributed. Ensure incoming mail is properly distributed and taskers appropriately assigned; OR Four years of post-high school study leading to a bachelor's degree in any field; OR Combination of successfully completed post-high school education and general experience as described above. This will be calculated using your resume and unofficial transcripts or a list of courses/course hours submitted with your application. NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible). Note: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience for Clerical and Administrative Support Positions and Technical and Medical Support Positions. Specialized Experience GS-7: You qualify for the GS-07 grade level if you possess one of the following: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the federal service (or public or private sector equivalent), that demonstrates the ability to: Advise managers and staff regarding property management issues, Recommend actions to the management for resolving losses of property and collection of debts, and Schedule inventories and assure all inventories, cyclic and periodic, are completed in accordance with existing policies and procedures; OR One full year of graduate level education from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university, in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the position; OR A combination of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience as described above. This will be calculated using your resume and unofficial transcripts or a list of courses/course hours submitted with your application; OR A bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement, which is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership: Class standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. Grade-point average (GPA.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. All requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. 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. Current or Former Political Appointees: 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: To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, the DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation for Public Trust clearance as a condition of placement in this non-sensitive position. This review may include financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.

Education

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; applicant's resumes and supporting documentation should only reflect education received from schools accredited by such institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following Website: https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency (a U.S. private organization's interpretation that such education has been deemed at least equivalent to conventional U.S. education programs) with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For more information regarding evaluation of foreign education for federal employment, please visit the U.S. Department of Education webpage on the Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. For more general information, system requirements, reasonable accommodation information, and to request assistance regarding the USA Hire Assessments, review the following resources: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_Assessments. To update your application, including supporting: 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: Click on this: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. All application materials, including transcripts, must be in English. Applications and supporting documentation will not be accepted by mail or email. The address below is for inquiries only. You may apply more than once, but the most recent application is the only one that will be used. Only resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. Applicants with resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. The vacancy questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions. This provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question. Please provide a response of 200 words or less to each question. You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot. To preview the questionnaire please click the link below: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13050532. It is your responsibility to verify that any information entered or uploaded is received and is accurate. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. Determining your eligibility and qualifications is dependent on the supporting documentation and information provided, which may impact your referral for further consideration. If a document is not legible, you will not be able to view it in your application. Applicants must submit all required documentation to properly qualify for this position. Interviews are required for this position. Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration. 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.