Congressional Relations Specialist

Duties

This position is located in the Office of Congressional Relations within the Office of External Affairs at Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington D.C. The Congressional Relations Office reports directly to the Associate Director of External Affairs and is responsible for coordinating all communications with Congress and serves as liaison to Capitol Hill.

The Congressional Relations Specialist performs the following major duties:

• Uses established procedures and policies in monitoring congressional requests for information.
• Independently drafts, edits, reviews, and proofreads a variety of non-routine and complex informational materials related to Peace Corps operations. Properly oversees personally identifiable information (PII) and ensures compliance with Privacy Act requirements.
• Based on knowledge of agency operations, determines appropriate person to receive technical inquiries using personal knowledge of assigned organization programs, priorities, goals, and objectives. Manages sensitive inquiries.
• Manages correspondence service by overseeing tracking system.
• Monitors programs and activities of legislative, oversight, and representational interest to the agency. Drafts contributions to the annual report for the Congressional Relations Office; articles for the agency newsletters; and other reports or publications concerning congressional activities and the agency.
• Prepares complex correspondence for signature based on knowledge of agency programs, projects, and policies.
• Produces congressional outreach materials for electronic distribution using advocacy database subscription service. Generates ideas and implementation strategies for proactive outreach activities with members of Congress.
• Reviews daily press clippings and disseminates them to appropriate congressional offices.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Telework Eligible Positions: Telework eligible positions do not guarantee telework. Employees must meet and sustain telework eligibility requirements (e.g., reporting at least twice a pay period to your assigned duty location) and supervisor's approval to participate in the Telework Program. As a reminder - If you are selected for a position, you are responsible for reporting to your designated POD (location) on the negotiated start date or as directed by management.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National and provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. (Birth certificate showing birth in the U.S; Unexpired U.S. Passport; Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization; or Report of Birth Abroad of a U.S. Citizen (Form FS-240))
• All Federal employees are required to have federal salary payments made by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer to a financial institution of their choosing.
• Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
• If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
• Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. These documents must be unexpired original or certified copies.
• Applicants must successfully complete a background security investigation with favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet this requirement will be grounds for employment termination. This position requires a Public Trust security clearance.
• A one year trial period is required.
• This is a non-bargaining unit position.

• This is a Federal civilian job in the Excepted Service. Peace Corps employees are paid on the Foreign Personnel (FP) pay scale.
• Initial appointment of employment cannot exceed five years.
• Qualified internal applicants will be given full consideration.
• Additional hiring needs may be filled through this vacancy.

How You Will Be Evaluated

• 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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal 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.

• Required Documents

  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.

  As described below, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.
  
  1. A detailed RESUME showing all relevant work experience (paid and unpaid) including job title and duties performed. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. The following information must be provided in your resume: full name and address of the employer; start and end dates (month/day/year); work schedule (part-time, full-time, number of hours if intermittent); salary; and any completed education and training (program title, subject area, number of hours completed, and completion date).

  • If you are a current Federal employee or former Federal employee, provide your pay plan, series, and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09). TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume. If your resume does not contain this information, your application will be marked as incomplete and you will not receive consideration for this position.
  • If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.

  2. Other Supporting Documents: Proof of Eligibility to Apply: Your application must include the documents which prove you are eligible to apply for the vacancy. You must meet the requirements of at least one of the authorities listed in the Who May Apply section above to receive further consideration.

  • Transcripts, Are you using education as a substitute for some or all of the experience requirement? Is there a basic education requirement for this position? Check the Education section above to see what is allowed and what is required. Any claims you make in your resume or assessment questionnaire regarding education or degrees MUST be supported by submitting with your application official or unofficial transcripts or list of courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned issued from your school. While unofficial transcripts are acceptable for initial application, official transcript(s) will ultimately be required if you are selected for the position. Education must be accredited by an institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be used towards qualifications. Therefore, applicants must report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by recognized institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at this website.
  • Are you a veteran claiming 5-point veterans' preference or claiming sole survivorship preference? You must submit a copy of your latest DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; current active duty members [Honorable, General, etc.]) OR VA letter that shows dates of service or service connected disability AND character of service. If you have more than one DD-214 for multiple periods of active duty service, submit a copy for each period of service. If you were issued a DD-215 to amend aforementioned information on the DD-214 you must submit that too. If you are not sure of your preference eligibility, visit Department of Labor's website: Veterans' Preference Advisor.
  • Are you a disabled veteran or claiming 10-point veterans' preference? If you are eligible to claim 10 point veterans preference you must submit a DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty as described above for 5-point preference. You must also provide applicable supporting documentation of your disability (e.g. disability letter from the VA) as described on Standard Form-15 http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf.
  • Are you an active duty service member? Active Duty Service Members are required to submit a statement of service printed on command letterhead and signed by the command. The statement of service must provide the branch of service, rate/rank, all dates of service, the expected date of discharge and anticipated character of service (Honorable, General, etc).

  All required documents listed above, that are applicable to you, must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 08/01/2023 (the closing date of this announcement).Note: All applicants (including internal) are required to submit the applicable documents listed above as verification of eligibility. If you fail to provide the information requested, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you may lose consideration for this position.

• How to Apply

  To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 08/01/2023 to receive consideration.

  • To begin, click "Apply Online" to create an account or log into your existing USAJOBS account.
  • Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package.
  • You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, the assessment questionnaire, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. Please ensure you click the "Submit My Answers" button to submit your application.
  • 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. HR will not modify answers/documents submitted by an applicant. If more than one resume is received, only the last resume received and processed will be reviewed.
  • Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process so please plan appropriately. You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.
  • 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.

  To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

  Agency contact information

  Peace Corps Jobs

  Email

  peacecorpsjobs@peacecorps.gov

  Address

  Office of External Affairs
  1275 First St. NE
  Washington, DC 20526
  US

  Next steps

  If you provided an email address, you will receive an email message acknowledging receipt of your application. Your application package will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking for this position. If you are determined to be ineligible or not qualified, your application will receive no further consideration.
  
  USAJOBS has added an alert setting to their system to provide status updates for applicants. You can elect to activate the status updates from your USAJOBS profile at any point during the application process.
  
  If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to the Selecting Official for further consideration.

• Fair and Transparent

  The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
  • Reasonable accommodation policy
  • Financial suitability
  • Selective Service
  • New employee probationary period
  • Signature and false statements
  • Privacy Act
  • Social security number request

Required Documents

Clarification from the agency

United States Citizens Veterans Individuals with Disabilities